The Tour

Te Ao Hou, March 1962, Page 12

The Tour Considering that most of them had never been away from Te Araroa, the children proved to be very good travellers. At Omaio, where we lunched, the group was asked to do a few items at a Youth Club Meeting, and without any show of shyness they all performed creditably. This was pleasing, because now we could be sure that coaxing would not be necessary if the children were called upon to sing. We had a breakdown near Omarumutu but otherwise the trip was uneventful—not to the children of course—they saw limitless things of note to them. We arrived at Kokohinau Pa, Te Teko, that evening, and were treated like royalty. The following morning, just before our departure, or hosts handed back our donation towards expenses. This gesture was greatly appreciated by us all, and their generosity will be remembered by the people of Horoera. In a like manner were we treated at Rotorua. We stayed at Tinohopu, and the Ngati Whakauwe Kotakitanga members were wonderful to us. The children were thrilled to see their kai cooked in a ngawha. On the way to Rotorua we visited the Tasman Pulp and Paper Mill at Kawerau. The biggest thrill of all was when everyone was taken to the top of the lookout in a lift—the first lift for most of the them. There were many ‘first times’ for these isolated children, and it is surprising how much they retained in their minds.