One of our Year 11 ākonga recently achieved Excellence on his descriptive piece of writing about his marae. Judah Pomare was asked to write a description on a place of importance to him - and this is what he came up with. Kei runga noa atu!

My Marae (Te Pounga)

Te pounga marae, I see this mighty marae sitting up on a strong and stable hill, it looks like a mighty castle built by the best architectures in the world. Walking into the marae makes me feel as if I'm in the warm arms of my loved ones. I feel the sun's warmth constantly brushing against my skin, with the smell of fresh, country air and sometimes, cow crap.

As I look at the surroundings of Te Pounga, I can see the beautiful, bright, blue sea as the sun reflects off the water like a lazerbeam. The chilly wind brushing against my skin is like walking into mad butchers and getting hit in the face with the freezing cold air. The wind blows hard as it tries to snatch my scarf and hat like a robber. I can hear the wind howling like wolves all around me. I hear the trees psithurism like hundreds of people whispering all at once. I can smell the scent of something beautiful. I follow the scent like a dog on a trail, as I get closer I can hear voices chatting away with each other. That beautiful smell was coming from the kitchen, with all my aunts and nanas in there cooking what looked like an army of soldiers getting ready to fight.

When I hear all the wonderful sounds of Te Pounga marae, I hear all of my whanau singing with their amazing voices sounding like angels singing for God. I hear and see my cousins and uncles doing the haka, like they are about to go into battle. Shivers running down my body like there is a cold breeze, as I hear and see them performing the haka. I also feel every part of my body being covered with goosebumps, like someone is poking me with a needle on every part of my skin. I hear the cows moo as I look over a thin line of wire keeping the cows and us separated. I hear the cows pounding the ground as they run away from me like cavalry charging into battle defending their homeland.

The food at Te Pounga always tastes so amazing and tastes like it's been cooked by a whole army of professional cooks. I will never forget the taste of roast pork with gravy and mashed potatoes. It’s like someone opened my brain and stuck the taste of it into my memory so that I will never forget. The taste of the kai moana always makes me feel like a king on his dinner table eating all that he wants surrounded by his whanau. As we all finish our dinner and our plates have been taken away by the aunts and cousins, I see my nana and my aunts bring out trays and trays of cheesecake, ice cream, rice pudding, and eclairs for dessert. My heart jumps out of my chest with excitement, waiting for the trays to come to me so I can get whatever I want.

After dinner, all of the cousins and I go into the marae and lay in our beds, talking all night with each other as the adults are outside having a party. I can hear the loud beautiful music through the thick walls of the marae. I can also hear the adults singing with their beautiful angelic voices singing to the music. As I lay there looking up at the Maori patterns on the ceiling I feel the warm, soft, comfortable wool blankets resting on my skin. I feel the presence of all my cousins surrounding me like an army protecting its fellow comrade.

Now that I'm back here at my marae (Te Pounga), it's always the best feeling driving up that long gravel driveway, hearing the gravel underneath the tires like a car driving over a million shells, hearing the shells crack and break. When I got out of the car and smelled the same fresh, clean, country air with a hint of cow crap. I can see lines of cars parked along the side of the gravel road with people walking up the long road to the marae. I wait and watch as hundreds of people wait outside of the marae gates waiting to be welcomed on by the elderly like an army waiting outside the castle gates waiting to be let in. I hear the karanga (call performed by women), welcoming the people into the marae.

I can still hear my aunts and nans singing in the kitchen while cooking like they are about to feed an army. I can feel the same warm, beautiful breeze blow against my skin like a lion's breath. I see all my nephews and nieces all outside of the marae doing kapa haka. I see and hear all the tamariki running around playing games while their mums and dads work at the marae. I can also hear and see the tamariki get into trouble by their nans, while I stand there laughing as I remember the time when I was a kid and got into trouble by my nans and aunts. The wind still howls like wolves, and the trees still whisper in the wind like people having a korero with one another.

Everything is exactly the same as it was years ago when I was a kid. I can still hear all the same sounds, I still have the same feeling every time I come here, and that feeling is home. The feeling of my ancestors walking with me is always stronger when I'm here at my marae, the feeling is indescribable. This place I will never forget.