When we arrived in Sydney friends Matt and Michelle Chase picked us up from the airport and we drove to a bar in town for a drink and bite to eat. It was a Belgian bar and the cider there was really good so we were happy! We didn't stay long though and went back to Matt's parents' house where we have been staying. The house is lovely, the shower is great and our bed is really comfortable so we are really thankful to them for having us after 4 weeks of not so grea...

On Monday we had workshops after waiata practice. My cousin Pauline taught some of us to make Maori Bread how my Nanna used to and fried bread which is a lot different here. We had lunch while it was rising and put it in the oven afterwards. Phil went off to the beach in the afternoon and I finished off my bread and had a nanna nap! After a few days, sleeping among all that snoring catches up with you! That night Rhys gave us all a talk at the marae about differ...

On Boxing Day we had our first Waiata, song, practice after breakfast. We learnt the actions to a song called Paikea, the unofficial East Coast national anthem and a song which I recognise well but never knew the words to. After lunch we headed to a beach called Sponge Bay but when we got there discovered it was high tide and there was no beach to sit on! So we went along the coast a little and found a nice spot in front of a playground for the kids. The water w...

We stayed at the marae from the 23rd. As we were among the first there we helped make the beds in the wharenui, meeting house, where the family sleep and met everyone as they arrived. The carvings and paintings inside and out all depict our ancestors and every aspect of the building has a story behind it. I love waking up in the morning and lying there looking at all the faces and patterns. Christmas eve was spent welcoming family who were arriving and hanging ...

Our first couple of days in the Gisborne area we stayed with my Aunty Amy who is my Nanna's sister and her daughter Aunty Maureen. Aunty Mo taught us lots about my grandmother's side of the family and our marae, where we would be staying at Christmas. We also took a drive up the coast to where my grandfather was from. We drove past a cemetary that I recognised from visiting last time we were here so stopped and found lots of old Matete graves and a Herewini one, ...