March 21, 2018
Hato Paora tour reconnects to whanau
Rugby, history, kapa haka, whanaungatanga and rugby are on the agenda for a tour of Te Taitokerau by 56 senior students from the largest Maori boys boarding school, Hato Paora in Feilding.
Tour manager Danny Karatea Goddard says the group includes the first fifteen, the second fifteen, and the senior kapa haka roopu.
They're in Tamaki Makaurau today for a game against Marcellin College as well as a museum visit.
Mr Goddard says it's a chance to reconnect with whanau.,
It also show the students part of the country of great significance to Maori Catholics and gives them a chance to spread their wings.
"We can't always assume they've either been to marae or been outside their local districts, and of course our guys are from all over New Zealand. This trip to the north is really important to us, firstly because of our Catholic heritage from Hokianga, all those stories that go with Pompallier," Mr Goddard says.
The trip also includes rugby games at Kaitaia and Kerikeri, a hikoi to Cape Reinga, and tours of the Treaty Grounds at Waitangi and Pompallier House at Russell.
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