Te Hui Ahurei

Te Hui Ahurei o Te Tai o Poutini 2019...

On Monday, the 23 of September 2019, the Kapa Haka roopū of Westlan
High School attended the annual Te Hui Ahurei o Te Tai o Poutini Kapa Haka
festival held at the Greymouth Regent Theatre. Ngarama and I stayed at my
sister’s place the night before the event. We woke up at 6:00am on Monday
morning to get ready for the day ahead, excitement was rushing through
our bodies throughout the morning. After everyone was ready we got in
the car and drove with my older sister to the Greymouth Regent Theatre. 

We arrived at the theatre and went up on the stage to begin the
pōwhiri, welcoming the manuhiri into the venue. Following the pōwhiri
Greymain Primary School Kapa Haka Group kicked the day off with an
amazing performance. As the other groups began to perform their brackets
Ngarama and I went and bought waffles, lollies and ice cream to eat as we
waited for the Hokitika Primary School to perform. Once they began
performing I felt a great sense of pride watching my cousins as well as my
little sister performing for the Hokitika Primary School Kapa Haka roopū.
Overall, I really enjoyed watching the primary schools perform. 

As the second high school roopū began to perform that
afternoon, Westland High School Kapa Haka group walked to backstage area
to prepare for the performance ahead. I felt a little nervous just before we
walked onto the stage. However, the nerves left my body as soon as we
walked on the stage. Through the performance it felt like we were just singing
in class like usual, overall I thought our performance was solid. When we

walked off the stage it felt as if mountains were lifted off of my shoulders.

We all felt pleased with our performance and the joy and excitement by our

whānau and the audience.

After a long day of watching kapa haka performances, it was time to
get McDonald's and then return home to the metropolis of the
West Coast Hokitika. 

Nā Ani Mason