Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua

Arowhenua kaumātua trip to Arahura

Arowhenua kaumātua, all 34 of us, set off again at the early hour of 7am from the marae on Thursday, 16 February, destination Arahura. The mood was light, jovial, and full of expectations. We had kaumātua with us that had not been on previous trips. This was great to see, as we keep building our numbers.

The first stop was Rakaia, followed by Darfield for morning tea, a stretch of the legs, and that dreaded word these days a “cigarette” for some. On time and heading for Arthurs Pass. Two Men @ Work stops and a loss of nearly an hour deterred no one. The rowdy lot at the back of the bus kept everyone entertained and it was just another excuse for fresh air and a ciggy. As we exited the pass you could see we were in for beautiful sunny weather, most unexpected for Hokitika people would say. Weather-wise we have been lucky with all of our trips away. What a lovely scenic drive along the coast before we turned off for Arahura. Only 20 minutes late, not bad.

We were welcomed onto the marae with a pōwhiri, followed by kai. We were joined by some Arahura kaumātua. The staff put on a beautiful kai for us and over kai, there were plenty of discussions and catch-ups. After kai, we all went back into the wharenui, and introductions were made with a lot of laughs. The carvings were spoken about. The inside of the marae is stunning, listening to who carved them, the time it took, and the meanings of some of them, everyone present was enthralled. We also met our kamahi, Joe Mason, and his moko who would also join us for dinner that evening and accompany us the following day.

Time to check in at the Beachfront Hotel which was our accommodation for the night – all rooms had ocean views. We like to spoil our kaumātua.

Our meals were catered by the hotel with a three-course dinner and a full buffet breakfast the following morning. After dinner that evening several kaumātua visited the Glow Worm caves which were just down the road from the hotel, while the rest enjoyed a few drinks and time to take in their surroundings overlooking the ocean.

More kai to start the day it was beginning to seem like all we did was eat. Our first stop was the Ngāti Waewae Pounamu shop.

Joe our kamahi for the day gave a talk to the kaumātua on pounamu after which many made purchases in the store. While waiting for those still shopping, others sat outside enjoying another day of beautiful sunshine, looking at the Hokitika landmark – the clock tower – and eating ice cream. Did I say we all just had a cooked breakfast!

It was back on the bus to take a quick ride along the shoreline before embarking on a visit to Roto Māhinapua. What a majestical place. The view was spectacular and the kaumātua sang a waiata which made it even more special. We had all been given the background to the roto at the marae the previous day.

The next stop was the Arahura Bridge at the awa. Again, our kamahi Joe gave us a very informative talk. It was then time to go back to the marae for lunch and to say our goodbyes before departing for Arowhenua.

The Arowhenua kaumātua would like to express our many thanks to all the Ngāti Waewae staff, kaumātua, kaimahi, and everyone else that made this visit possible, the hospitality shown to the Arowhenua kaumātua will be forever remembered.