Last week, Year 10 Māori Studies students and Year 13 mentors spent a week in Paradise, Glenorchy.

This was a new destination for the annual Year 10 Māori Studies leadership wānanga/camp and it did not disappoint. Our home for the week was a small clearing in a beautiful beech/tāwhai forest, nestled between two stunning mountains - Mt Earnslaw/Pikrakatahi (2830m) and Mt Alfred/Ari. These two iconic mountains that dominate the top of Lake Wakatipu provided a breathtaking backdrop. 

The purpose of the camp was to "get off the grid" and retrace the footsteps of Māori who once used the Dart Valley/Te Awa Whakatipu and Greenstone, Caples and Route Burn valleys as greenstone trails/ngā ara pounamu.

We packed in a huge amount into five days and a highlight for me was the school visit to Glenorchy Primary School on Thursday morning. The local kids and principal, Mrs Paula Miller, loved the way our students taught them about ngā ara pounamu/greenstone trails, toi ataata/visual art and ngā tākaro/traditional games. A very special morning indeed.

Lastly, a huge thank you to our kaimahi/staff - Mrs Julie Buchanan, Steve Cogger, Emma Young, Theresa White and our Year 13 mentors Raumati Hanning, Cassius Marunui, Niko Tili, Temika Apuwai-Bishop and Te Wheturangi Aitken for such great contribution and team work.

Matua Lucas