Across the seven days of hīkoi and carkoi, many non-Māori joined in at various points to lend their support. The associate education minister says some schools are formally endorsing the hīkoi against his bill, flouting rules on political neutrality.

The Māori Queen Ngā Wai Honoi te Pō says Aotearoa New Zealand needs to “embrace our shared identity” as an estimated 30,000 prepare to descend on Wellington in the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti. Kiingitanga spokesman Ngira Simmonds said the Queen would join the marchers under the protection of Te Kahu o te Raukura,

Police continue to report no significant issues as Hīkoi mō te Tiriti reached Palmerston North on Saturday, where participants stayed overnight. On Saturday morning, approximately 9000 people marched through Hastings, before the main hīkoi headed south down State Highway 2 through Waipawa, Waipukurau, and Dannevirke.

Te Pāti Māori vice-president Fallyn Flavell, a hīkoi organiser, told the Rotorua Daily Post that it was hard to say exactly how many people would arrive in Rotorua on Thursday as “numbers had fluctuated from place to place”.