Orewa Estuary, Te Ara Tahuna, was buzzing with energy on 24 February as ākonga gathered for one of the most anticipated House events of the year, the annual Waka Race.
Orewa Estuary comes alive as Houses battle it out on the water
Orewa Estuary was the place to be as Batten, Sheppard, Nepia, McLaren and Blake took on the annual House Waka Race, building their rafts in the morning and racing them after lunch in front of a big shoreline crowd.
From 10am, Houses worked with barrels, planks and rope to get their waka ready. By 1.40pm, students lined the shoreline waiting for the start. Batten got away quickly and stayed in front the whole way, their raft holding together across the course. As Caleb McCauley put it, “We flipped the competition but not our raft.”
McLaren kept close to Nepia for much of the race, while Blake had a tough moment when their raft split in two. Even so, their leaders kept calling out, “Blake is still better!” On the bank, Aria Whitsomburg summed up the mood: “It’s free entertainment. Lunch is boring.”
Final placings were:
Batten
Sheppard
Nepia
McLaren
Blake
The Waka Race remains a key date in the House calendar, bringing teamwork, problem solving and plenty of House pride to the water.
Article credit: Lucy Chechova and Sophie Paddison
Photo credit: Ethan Van Wyk, Jasmine Mahoney
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TikTok credit: Tayla Griffiths, Suhani Mohan
Photo Credit: Jasmine Mahoney
Photo Credit: Ethan Van Wyk
Photo Credit: Ethan Van Wyk
Photo Credit: Richard Wells
Photo Credit: Ethan Van Wyk
Photo Credit: Ethan Van Wyk