Published: 19 December, 2023
Hine Waitai
Our Whānau Ora Navigators in Motueka, Alena Beard and Toya Piggott, report back on an incredible dive wānanga run by Shannon and Adrienne Thompson of He Kai Kei Aku Ringa.
We were lucky to be accepted on this course along with three other uri of Te Ātiawa and four others from Te Tauihu.
We started with five days in Christchurch to get our PADI dive open water qualifications from DIVE HQ. This involved us diving in Akaroa at Wainui Bay and also inland at Lake Coleridge – what an amazing experience.
Two weeks later we all arrived at Waikawa Marae for our gathering wānanga. This dive was taken in Kura Te Au and we were taught how to gather adhering to tikanga me ngā kōrero I tuku iho and safe gathering practices.
The support crew involved our very own Jim Skipper and the brothers Gabe, Nate, Mo and Shannon who have all spent a lot of time diving for the Army and Navy. Also joining us was Akita Kees who is a dive instructor and friend to Shannon and Adrienne.
A big shout out to Dive Waikawa who were amazing to let us utilise what we needed for the weekend, even providing one of their boats for our dive groups.
On Sunday, we cruised over to Port Underwood, to learn how to gather kōura. Each of our wāhine had a go and managed to get their first ever kōura successfully. The smiles and yahooing as we reached the surface was enjoyable to see and hear.
We would like to thank all involved but especially to He Kai Kei Aku Ringa, for the amazing opportunities they provide for both our pākeke and rangatahi in the realm of both Tangaroa and Tane and learning the tikanga and methods of hunting and gathering to feed our whānau, marae, iwi, and hāpori.
