Our Trip

What a wonderful time we had at Arataki; we all learnt so much about the bush!

Our day started with self-guided activities. We completed a really fun crossword about the plants and animals around the visitor centre and watched a movie about the Waitakere ranges.


Mrs Tofa's group went on to a short trail to investigate the different types of trees in the bush and to make 'perfume' from some of the leaves with different aromas.  One of the trees produced leaves that smelt like lemon!


Miss Stone's group took a walk along the "beverage" track where they looked at the plants that can be used for medicinal purposes. We found out about heaps of different plants, including Kawakawa, which the Pukeko group studied.

After lunch both groups set off for an hour and a half bush walk. Along this walk our guides taught us heaps of information about the bush.  We learnt about birds, seed dispersal, different plants, possums and possum traps and about the Kauri tree. We also learnt about Kauri dieback and made sure that we sprayed our shoes a few times on the trip!

We were all really interested to learn about the life cycle of the Kauri as they can live for 2000 years!


Once we return to school we will be creating recounts and video's to share our exciting journey with you.