What moments shaped you in 2025?

Karehua | Kaikohe

Karehua is ‘te tama taiao’ (the nature boy) in his whānau. He shares his commitment to caring for the natural environment, and a special moment from 2025 that deepened it.

“E noho ana mātou ki tōku kāinga, ki Te Pū o te Wheke.

Ko tētahi o ngā wā i whakaharihari i ahau ko te wā i haere mātou ki runga i tō mātou maunga, a Huruiki. He pai tērā wānanga ki ahau, tā te mea i pure tātou, ā, i heke mai ngā roimata o Ranginui ki runga i a tātou, kātahi ka whakanoa i te tapu, ā, ka tango i te taimaha ki runga i a tātou.

I reira a Matua Che, ko ia tētahi tohunga me kī, ki a mātou. I kōrero mai ia e pā ana ki ngā toka ki reira, e pā ana ki te taiao ki reira. I kōrero ia me pēhea e hono ana ki tana maunga, erangi, ko tērā tana whakaaro noa iho. Ki a mātou, he tika. I kōrero mai ia kore he pūrākau, kore he waiata e pā ana ki a Huruiki, nō reira i waiho ngā tūpuna i tērā mana ki a tātou ki te whai i ngā kōrero tuku iho, ki te whai i ngā waiata tawhito. Me whai tātou i tētahi ara pai, kia ara a Huruiki.

Ko ngā hua i puta mai i hoki tātou ki tērā maunga. Kāore mātou i tino haere ki reira i ngā wā katoa, nō reira he pai te hoki ki te ūkaipō. Ko tētahi atu hua, ka taea e mātou te rongo i te hononga ki ngā rākau, ki te awa, ki te whenua. Ko au te tama taiao o tēnei whānau, nā reira he pai ki te whakahono ki ahau.

Pēnā ka haere koe ki ētahi wāhi o te taiao, me mārama koe, he aha te wairua o tērā wāhi, me kite koe he aha ngā mātauranga. Pēnā he wāhi tapu me takoha ai tētahi mea ki ngā patupaiarehe, tā te mea ka whakahaumaru ngā patupaiarehe i ērā wāhi, ā, me whakaaro nui ake, kaua e whakaaro he pai te āhua ā, he pai mā tētahi papa tākaro, me nui ake te whakaaro kia hono tika ki te taiao. Ko te tūmanako ka tū tonu au hei kaitiaki mō tērā maunga, mō ngā maunga katoa.” (See comment section for English translation)

English translation:

“We are staying at my home at Te Pū o te Wheke (Kaikohe).

One of the times that brought me joy was when we went up to our mountain, Huruiki. I liked that gathering because we did pure (purification ritual), and rain came down upon us, and then it removed the tapu, and took the weight off of us.

Matua Che was there, he is an expert to us. He spoke to us about the rocks there, about the environment there. He spoke about how he connects to his mountain, but that was just his own thoughts. To us, it’s correct. He told us there are no legends, no songs about Huruiki, therefore the ancestors left that mana to us to seek the inherited knowledge, to seek the ancient songs. We must seek a good path, so that Huruiki awakens.

The benefits that came forth are that we returned to that mountain. We didn’t really go there all the time therefore it’s good to return home. Another benefit is that we were able to feel the connection to the trees, to the river, to the land. I am the nature boy of this whānau, so I like connecting with it.

If you go to some places in the natural environment, you must understand the spirit of the place, you must see what the knowledge is. If it’s a sacred place you must leave an offering to the forest folk, because the forest folk protect those places, and you must think bigger, don’t just think it looks nice, and it’s good for a playground, the thinking must be deeper to properly connect with the natural environment. The hope is that I will continue to stand as a guardian for that mountain, for all the mountains.”