I was looking forward to visiting the Tamaki Maori Village most of all, to experience the traditional customs of the Maori people. On the bus we selected our chief, James, and had 10 minutes to prepare a song, that we were going to sing to the Maori guides on arrival into their village.

When we arrived, we received a private traditional welcome and then sang 'Stand by Me' which went well but we forgot the majority of things we had prepared on the bus! The Maori guides then shared with us their common customs and protocols of the marae before entering intricately carved wharemoe (communal sleeping houses). I learnt the spiritual importance as to why Maori people come together to share their resting place. Heard the meanings and stories of the magnificent carvings that adorn the wharemoe. As a group we were then taught a song in the Maori language which is used to help children learn pronunciation of the alphabet. This song was called A Haka Mana. The guide then dropped it on is that we were going to have to perform this song in front of the 130 guests that would be joining us later that evening.

After all the hard work we were then invited to share afternoon tea that consisted of tea, coffee, hot chocolate and a variety of delicious biscuits and cakes!

The afternoon programme then took place beneath the canopy of the ancient Tawa forest. The Maori guides brought us together to take part in a variety of traditional activities Mau Rakau, combat training and Waiata Ringaringa, a hand action song. We all had a great time and shared lots of laughs! Afterwards, we had time to sit down before we joined the Tamaki Maori Village Evening Experience and Hangi feast. We were given an insight into the sights, sounds and activity of days gone by, including facial tattooing, weaving, carving and demonstrations of how our food was cooked and preserved many years ago.

After the rest of the guests went home we had full use of the bar and hot tubs for the evening and got to know the others who were on our bus. It was a fantastic evening and will be hard to beat!