Rakiura 2020

The move out to Mamaku Point this year was a huge success! More students were able to experience what Rakiura has to offer and the facilities were a big upgrade from previous years. Here is what a couple of the students had to say.

On the first day, after arriving and unloading the heavy luggage, I helped put up our tents and went to sleep. Tuesday was amazing. We split into two groups and visited Ulva Island. We went on a tramp around the island, watching for birds and looking for native birds and animals in the forests with our guide. Afterwards, we caught plenty of delicious blue cod and had them with chips for a scrumptious dinner at the pub. Tramp day. Plenty of excited and nervous faces going around as we started our long walk across beautiful scenery and pleasing struggle. The hard work paid off, as that night I stalked around the streets waiting and listening for kiwis. Approximately half the group spotted one. The kiwi ran around us, a meter away, pecking at our boots and running through someones legs, It was amazing! On Thursday we caught heaps of paua, and had an awesome scavenger hunt around Halfmoon Bay. On Friday we traveled back to Dunedin across in a fairy, and took a van back to school. We were all sad to leave camp, but excited to go home and talk about the fun we had with our family.

Adam 

Stewart island was such a great opportunity for me to make new friends and get to discover what it’s really like. I’ve always dreamed of going there and the year 2020 must’ve been my lucky year! My favourite part was when we went fishing or when we tramped to Maori beach. I didn’t see any kiwis, but it was still really cool knowing they were out there, hiding from us. Thanks to all the teachers who came and helped out.

Ella

 I loved Stewart Island! It’s such a beautiful place and I feel so privileged to have been able to go there, see all the amazing scenery and meet all the lovely people. One thing I enjoyed was going down to the beaches and relaxing with my friends while just soaking in the beauty, calmness and the pure happiness that comes with being there.

Julia

Stewart Island was such a great trip to go on, all of the activities were worth the car trip and boat ride. One of my favourite things to see was all of the bird life around and on the island. I really loved the tramp and the Ulva Island trip because the tramp ended on a great beach and it was a lovely day.The Ulva Island trip was so much fun and the guides were great with showing us all of the great spots and birds around the island. The teachers who came on the trip were so helpful and made great food. I enjoyed the trip so much, I would definitely go again with my family.

Sophie

On Stewart Island we did all sorts of things, like go to Ulva Island and fishing, a tramp, getting paua and scavenger hunts, it was all in all an amazing experience.

My favourite part was when i was attacked by a weka, it was so funny. I also got splashed when we were on the boat back to Stewart Island from fishing and Ulva Island. We ate paua and crayfish and some went fishing off the wharf some even jumped in the water! I had a great time and I wish I could go back.

Lyvia

On The 21st of September, a group of 26 children from Tahuna left for Stewart Island.

On That Monday we left in the school vans headed for Invercargill and Bluff. At around 4:00 PM we got ferried to Stewart Island from Bluff and we landed in Halfmoon Bay. When we arrived we had to quickly unpack all of our gear and load it into the waiting cars. For the five days and four nights we were staying at a fenced off predator free reserve called Mamaku Point. There we set up tents to sleep in throughout the week.

The next day on Tuesday we woke up early to be on time at the wharf in Oban. That day we were going fishing and visiting Ulva Island. We split up in 2 groups and my group went fishing first and we caught loads of Blue Cod. Then we arrived at Ulva Island and swapped with the other group. Ulva Island has been a predator free sanctuary for 11 years since 2009 and provides a huge variety of endangered native Flora and Fauna.

Later that evening we had the fish cooked at the pub for dinner, it was delicious! The next morning we set off for a tramp on Stewart Islands coast line through the forest. At around 9 o'clock in the night we set off to find Kiwis in the wild, We managed to see 2 kiwis!

The next day we just explored Oban Township and had Paua and Crayfish.

Sadly on friday we had to leave and return to Dunedin.

This trip has been by far the funnest school trip I have ever done.

To any year sevens I would highly recommend applying for this trip next year if you love exploring New Zealand's wildlife.

Lukas

The Stewart Island trip was a great opportunity for me, and I had a lot of fun for me and my friends, and I got a lot out of the trip. I had never been to Stewart Island before and I did a lot of things that I had never done before. I especially like doing night walks and kiwi finding. My favourite day was when we did fishing in the morning and went to Ulva Island in the afternoon. I liked seeing all the different types of rare birds on Ulva Island. Thank you for taking us on this trip. I had a great time.

Will

Day 1 We didn’t do that much. All we did was get there and put up tents and went kiwi spotting. Day 2 was awesome. We went to Ulva Island and went blue cod fishing. I caught 3 blue cod 2 were too small but that is OK! After we finished fishing we gave the fish to the pub and they cooked it for us for dinner. Day 3 TRAMP DAY. Started tramp at around 10:00. We did the tramp. The tramp had uphills and downhills, but it wasn’t that hard. Day 4 BEACH DAY! Today we went to the beach and went on a scavenger hunt. I found 5 coloured shells. And the whole group found 3 penguins. 2 adults and one baby. While we were having a  scavenger hunt Mr Lousley and Mr Scoles were paua diving. Day 5 The way back. We went to the beach well the adults were tidying / packing up. Then we packed our bags into the trailer and went to half moon bay wharf. Then we went back on the hour boat ride and then had dinner at Invercargill. Then unpacked our bags and went home.

Kate 

The Stewart Island trip was a highlight of my time at Tahuna. I enjoyed meeting new people and making new friends. It was cool to do things that I haven't done before. I had lots of fun exploring Oban and Rakiura, as well as going fishing and trying the different seafoods we had an opportunity to try.

My favourite part was the fishing and exploring the different parts of the Island. It was also awesome to see a kiwi on the final night of the trip. I hope that I have the chance to go back to one day.

Archie