Waiheke Island
My travels have been limited since returning home in August 2013 but I
did have a trip to Waiheke Island for our hui in February this year. It
was so nice to get away from our gloomy summer and wear summer clothes,
have a barbecue on the beach and sit out on the deck late enjoying a
meal with fellow kaiarahi.
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| Kaiarahi on board the ferry. Engia is our newest member and she travelled from the Cook Islands to be with us. |
It was a lovely trip across to the island on the ferry and as you can
tell from the faces we were all looking forward to our learning!
The hui is a learning curve for kaiarahi and we learn new skills to
work with our akonga on NAPP as well as improve our knowledge of 21st C
leadership, especially our awareness of cultural diversity and Treaty of
Waitangi partnerships with Maori.
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| Piritahi Marae |
We work on our coaching skills and share our own learning via posters we
had to create around an aspect of our work with akonga. Initially it
was a daunting challenge but we all rose to it and a lot of learning was
done as we shared our learning together and discussed the implications
of our investigations.
This year we were exposed to skilled Maori artists working on the
island, some in private studios and others working on carvings for the
Whare kai on the Piritahi marae where we stay.
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| At work in the whare nui |
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| Paora outside his studio |
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| The sculpture exhibition on Waiheke Island |
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The view from the marae-beautiful
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Piritahi Marae is situated in a lovely bay opposite to where the ferry
terminal docks. we have been coming here now for three years so it feels
like home. We all have a connection now to this place and the whanau
make us very welcome.
All to soon our three days came to an end and we headed back home in
time to celebrate Waitangi Day. All the richer for our visit, prepared
and ready for another year of learning and fellowship.
