Ruakituri Valley – a long way from the Beehive!
September 17, 2009
Chris visiting his Wairoa constituents…….
A recent visit to Wairoa took me from Te Reinga Falls through the famous Ruakituri valley to the Ohuka valley and up to Tuai and home. Wow what a stunner of a drive!!
Northern Hawkes Bay really has some breathtaking country side and it was a privilege to visit the locals up there.
We left Wairoa at 9.15am (after the drive from Napier) and headed for Ruakituri to visit the school and Board of Trustees. Accompanying us was an exchange student from Wairoa College, Percy Anez (from Bolivia) who has an interest in politics. Percy lives in the city of Santa Cruz with his family and Spanish is his first language so he is learning to speak kiwi (with a Wairoa dialect) – he did well to converse with both students and parents.
At 9.45am I reached Ruakituri School to discuss some problems they are having with the school bus route. What a great school Dianna King runs with fantastic parent and community support. Ralph Wichers was there as well and was reading to the kids. He travels all the way from Wairoa, visiting remote schools to teach the children religious instruction. I was humbled when Dave Withers gave me a copy of his book about the history of the valley – Thanks Dave!
At 11.30am I was welcomed onto Ohuka School and treated to some wonderful singing and a rousing haka from the students. Credit to Principal Julie Thelwell for a group of well prepared pupils. I was pleasantly surprised at their knowledge of parliament and they seemed genuinely interested in what we do. While at the school we discussed concerns for local School Bus Transport with parents and the board of trustees and hope to offer some assistance in solving their problem.
From Ohuka we raced out to Te Kura Waikaremoana School at Tuai arriving about 1pm. Once again I met the principal, Judith Morice, and learnt about the issues faced by students in the Tuai area.
On the way back to Wairoa we met with locals near Piripaua who were concerned about the continual dust from the remaining unsealed portion of the lake road. They have had years of frustration in trying to campaign to have the remaining 8 kms of unsealed road completed. I will try and support their case in this.
I left for Napier at 4.00pm to meet a deadline of 5.30pm where I had to make a speech to diners gathered for a meal before the Hawkes Bay versus Tasman Rugby match at McLean Park. What a nail biter that was with a narrow 28 – 26 victory over Tasman – COME ON THE BAY!!
A perfect finish to busy day.
