In April our Puke whānau travelled up to Christchurch to attend Manawa Hou at Wairewa Marae. It was such an awesome experience being there catching up with old faces and meeting some new faces as well. It was great to spend a week with a group of rangatahi who have the same interests and intentions as my own. We were getting up at early hours of the morning to get our bodies warmed up and ready for what the day was going to bring us and our very first bonding experience was going for a hīkoi up the maunga Te Ūpoko o Tahumatā.
Over the week we rangatahi became closer as a whānau and learnt many stories about the area. On the last night a few of us got to experience the feeling of playing a main role in a pōwhiri process, either doing the whaikōrero or the karanga. I was lucky enough to have experienced doing my first karanga on the marae and I felt I had done everyone proud as I was now a part of the Wairewa whānau.
It’s amazing how much you actually learn while you are having fun. The stories, experiences and challenges I was faced with while being on this wānanga will always stay with me and has changed the way I think for the better.
Nāku iti noa nei, Hayley Bungard.
Rōpū photo at the top of Te Ūpoko o Tahumatā.
Hayley Bungard, Serenity Timothy and Te Anahera Parata kai karanga at the hākari.
Rōpū at the caves by Birdlings Flat.