School hits beach for live class

The whale gave the kids of Matauri Bay School an unforgettable nature lesson. PHOTO / JASON TAYLOR

Children at a Far North primary school had a nature lesson they'll never forget when a whale called in for a visit.

Normal lessons were abandoned at Matauri Bay School on Thursday when a southern right whale spent the morning hanging out at nearby Wainui Bay.

Teacher Jason Taylor said one of the buses that calls in at Matauri Bay each morning is big enough to fit the entire school, so the driver agreed to take everyone - kids, teachers and staff - about 10 minutes north to Wainui Bay.

The southern right whale splashes about at Wainui Bay. PHOTO / JASON TAYLOR

They spent 45 minutes watching the whale just 10m offshore. Each time it came to the surface the kids fell silent to listen to it breathe.

"There were lots of oohs and ahs. They were fascinated," the Year 2-3 teacher said. "Then we came back, did some research online, and wrote about it. It was a really good opportunity for inquiry learning. The kids loved it."

Mr Taylor said the children were especially fascinated by the "barnacles" on the whale's head, white growths called callosities that are home to large numbers of whale lice.

The Department of Conservation told Mr Taylor it was probably the same whale seen earlier off Whangarei Heads and Cape Brett. It had spent the previous few days at Mahinepua.

Matauri Bay School has a roll of 87 children in Years 1-8. Due to a major tangi only about 40 were at school on Thursday.