Ko pukemokemoke te maunga (mountain)

Ko mangatia mangatea te awa (river)

Ko tainui te iwi (tribe)

Ko ngati-wairere te hapu (sub tribe)

Ko maramatutahi te marae (building)

When you go to a Marae the powhiri is the welcoming ceremony. The girls go in the front, then the boys sit in the front. The people from the marae are the tangata whenua the visitors are called the manuhiri. A lady from the tangata whenua will do a call to welcome you on to the marae.

The Wharenui house (main house or sleeping house) has been built in a special way. The figure on the top is called a tekoteko and if you look at it carefully you can see the body, legs, arms, ribs and the backbone. People take their shoes off before entering to show respect..

A very important part of the Marae life takes part in the Wharekai…eating! All the meals are served in here during the stay at the Marae. A person from the tangata whenua says a prayer before people start to eat. The manuhiri are served first after you have finished eating you should always get up and leave the table so space can be made for the next group of people.

There were three activities. Mrs Hazlehurst taught us string games and a counter game. One of the other activities was flax flowers. Mrs Brown took the last activity. She read us the tale of “Maui and the Sun” retold by Gavin Bishop. We made paper suns. We used paper construction to make the sun.

We played out in the hot sunshine outside the Wharenui and the Wharekai. The short grass was prickly to play on. Bat-down was the first game been played by lots of people. Then a big game of soccer was played. At the end we were all tired and really HUNGRY!!!

Night Walk

Mr Hopa took as to Pukemokemoke bush reserve. We had to be very quiet and we couldn’t shine our torches otherwise they won’t glow very bright. Everyone was tired walking. We walked back and by the bridge we saw a koi cape.

The next day we went to the bush. Mr Hopa was our guide. He showed us some leaves to make tea. If you put it on your skin it will absorb it.

At the end of the Marae visit we went Pukemokemoke bush walk my dad, Naomi, Monique and Amirn made a speech about letting us stay at the Marae.

I had a ball at the Marae. It was my first time going to a Marae. I had fun doing the activities like string, flax flower and Maui and the sun. Me, Devon and Shannon got a toy from Devon. When we went to sleep it went Devon, me then Monique all sleep together. The next day we went to breakfast in our pj’s I had toast. Then we made some buns. Then we got dressed. Then we went on a bush walk. Then we went back to school. By Faith

My first visit to the Marae was very exciting when they welcomed you as if it was your home. We learned more of the Maori culture and my favorite activity was the string games. After we all went for a night walk and we saw gleaming glow worms. We were so tired when we got back we brushed our teeth got changed and went to sleep. The next morning we ate breakfast and had a little play and went for a walk. By Monique

I enjoyed playing at the Marae. I learned a lot from the tangata whenua. Bat-down was fun under the hot yellow sun. the night walk was spectacular with the glow worms. We all slept squishy. The next day we went for a day walk. When we came back and had scrumptious lunch. By Patricio

I enjoyed staying at the Marae . I loved how the elders introduce us. I liked eating the food it was yummy. I enjoyed playing bat-down it was very fun. I enjoyed playing all 3 activities. I liked looking at the glow worms at night. I was very tired. I liked having a cozy sleep. By Amrin

I loved jumping out of bed packing the stuff in to the car. Jumping in the car going to school. Getting our passengers going to the Marae. I loved see the glow worms and I loved the food. I loved going to the summit and seeing the view. By Cameron

Staying at the Marae was very exciting. I enjoyed playing in the sun. My favorite activity was the flax flowers. I especially liked looking at the glow worms it was my first time seeing them. It was fun sleeping with my friends . It was fun looking at the view from the top of the bush. By Navjot

Staying at the Marae felt going to our beach house. I liked the bush walk, glow worms, the tower and the summit. We slept in the whare nui. Faith, Shannon and I played scoop ball and we played with the cones around the trees. Faith, Shannon and I played Mum and dads. Faith and Shannon went off and played somewhere else. Then Navjot and Monique came and played with me. Monique, Navjot and I played with the pot. This was my first time at a Marae. By Devon

The visitors to the Marae would have a powhiri to welcome them to the Marae. A gift from the visitors is called a koha. We played bat-down and we played soccer. By Tahana

When we got to the Marae one of the Tangata Whenua hosts of the Marae welcomed us. We played some games like soccer, bat-down and scoop ball. We did some activiites eg flax weaving, Maui and Son and string games to learn more about Maori culture. Then we went to see the sparkly glowworms. We all back to the Marae and went straight to bed. In the morning we went to the reserve and went for a big walk up to the summit and then along the logging trail on the way back. After lunch we went home. By Michael