On the 30th October and the 1st November Hub 6 visited Taumutu

Over two days, the Hub 6 students visited Ngāti Moki Marae. The purpose of the visit was to:

• For the students to experience a pōwhiri.
• To understand the tikanga of Ngati Moki Marae.
• To learn about the efforts of the local people to rejuvenate the waterways in and around Lake Ellesmere/Te Waihora.
• To learn about the history of Ngāti Moki.

Here are some sections of different student recounts about the day.

When the bus stopped, I got down and looked towards the marae. WOW! I thought I didn't expect it to look like that. When we got off the bus, we practise a waiata called Tutira Mai Ngā Iwi. This was the song we were going to sing to the Tangata Whenua.

After a few minutes, we crossed the road and got set up; girls in the middle and boys on the outsides. We did that because the boys need to protect the girls. Then this lady called Fion did this thing called the Kai Karanga. When she as saying this, we walked slowly to the building called the Whāre Tipuna.

by Isabella Ge

After the whaikorero and the waiata, we all stood up, and row by row we went up to do a hōngi (pressing of noses and foreheads) with Fiona and CeCe. I was feeling quite nervous. What we had to do for the hōngi is we had to place our hand on their shoulders and hold hands with them, then we had to press noses.

by Bella Clark

When we had finished eating, we got to play on the playground and on the hill which was the site of an old pā. We then went on a nature walk to an old church, where there was a cemetery. After we learnt about the history, we walked back through the wetlands and saw a giant white swan.

by Michelle Permal