"Did we set out to climb Taranaki Maunga ki te tihi (to the summit)? E kāo—nope!"

But I told the kids I’d take them on a bit of a hīkoi towards Pouākai Hut. We drove the 10 km from the Murray whānau homestead, left the van in the carpark, and started our trek up the maunga.

I explained to them that another name for hōkioi—one of their pūhoi teams at kura—is pouākai, and how stories from Taranaki tell of the pouākai coming down to feast on Māori children. "Kia hiwa rā! Be alert!" I told them. But of course, they didn’t listen—off they sprinted so fast that Te Kākahi o Tū (who was on my back) and I didn’t see them for a while.

The girls did end up spotting a kiwi rummaging around in the undergrowth: “Kiwi ngutu roa torotoro ngārara kai, roto ngaherehere.” Ae mārika—he kitenga!

We let off some steam, reconnected with te taiao, and probably got within 30 minutes of the actual Pouākai Hut before I called it—time to head back so we’d be home in time for the Warriors game!

On the way down, I spotted Jaymi’s hat on the track, tucked it into my shirt, and said nothing. Eventually, Waitohi and Jaymi came running—“Matua! Kua ngaro tōku pōtae!”
I told them they’d better find it. When they gave up, I handed it back with a quick lesson:

“If a bad man was chasing you, he’d know exactly where you were heading because of this. Be smart. Only leave traces when you want to be found.”
Lesson learned.

The Warriors won, and it was another mīharo day in Taranaki. Check out some clips from our somewhat "short" (only a few hours) adventure below.