On Friday, the 15th of March 2024, we went to Riverton for a school trip.

We, the ESONZ students including our teachers, got to miss half a day of school since the ESOL trip was from 9 am to 1 pm. We were lucky enough to get the chance to travel and experience the history of New Zealand. It felt like we went back to the early years when we were looking around the museum

Inside the Te Hikoi Museum, we got to learn heaps of interesting things. We learned about how the Maori people sailed and found New Zealand, what they used for hunting and clothing, what they ate (maori people loved eating mutton birds), the arrival of the British people here in Southland New Zealand, Sealing for making boats and clothes from sealskin and whaling for oil were the first occupations to be available in New Zealand. We were also told that it only took the Chinese people less than a year to build a town named Long-HIlly near Riverton. After being told some of the histories, they showed us Sir Edmund Hillary’s sledge that he used to climb Mount Everest. Then we were led to a theatre and watched a mini 15-minute movie.

After the tour of the museum, we went to a Dairy Shop near the beach to buy food. We got to try a kiwi snack that was a bit unusual but was surely delightful. The teacher made hot chip sandwiches for each of us to try. We then got to walk around the beach while enjoying the breeze and hearing the waves gently crash onto the shore. We also got to play at the playground beside the beach, some of us took pictures and some just enjoyed the Riverton view.

We, the ESONZ students, found the ESOL trip very helpful for learning about New Zealand's history and making the International students feel at home and welcomed by giving us experience and trying new things.

Written by Leirah Coleta and Mae Lagan