Local Focus: Waka experience a key to learning

Students from Rotorua Primary School were given a once-in-a-lifetime experience aboard a waka last week in Maketū.

For many it was the highlight of their three-week stay at Tapiti Marae.

The group of around 280 leave the marae armed with a new understanding of their ancestors and the Te Arawa whakapapa.

"We're visiting significant places around Maketu like Pukemarie Pa and Kotukutuku Gully," facilitator Layla Rask said.

"Up at the surf club, it tells us how big the Te Arawa waka was, so learning the names of the anchors."

Students from Years 1 to 8 were taught the journey of Te Arawa waka and its captain Tama-te-kapua.

"We've started here in Maketū as this is the ihu (bow) of the Te Arawa waka," Rask said.

"We live in Rotorua which is the takere (hull) of the waka and hopefully next year we'll be going to Tongariro which is the kei o te waka (stern)."

The experience of paddling a double-hulled canoe was a fundamental part of the teachings.

"We learned about how we paddled, so inside out, inside out," student Nixon Hubbard said.

"We learned about Ehinga and his journeys, and about the marae."

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