Te Waonui o Tāne, the great NZ forests, will always be places of reverence, contemplation, recreation and learning. For Maori, in ancient times, forests were also hotbeds for aro-takaro (traditional games artefact) creation, play creativity and a myriad of exciting meet & greet protocols which are rarely practiced today.

Come enjoy a free relaxing journey with Harko Brown as we firstly karakia with toko-tuia and bond with matamata-rongo, two fun cultural activities, which remind us of our strong connections to birds. We will then recreate our own uru-tapu (bush play setting), make a ki (ball), discover new hupara (tree / log play) opportunities and enjoy forest resilience-building with unique cultural tu-toru (triple rope braids) and honga (co-operative block balancing). We will also explore why certain flora were chosen to make games implements and recall some of their interesting narratives.