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See below for English translation
Ngā wai ora o Te Waiariki
Tērā pōhēhē nui tērā, ko te tikanga he whakapakari kē te take i haere ai ahau ki te puna wai kaukau, nā wai rā ka hua ake hei mahi mā Hereana.
Kua huri tōna ao i ngā marama kotahi tekau mā waru ko hori. ' I ēnei wiki e rua kua pahemo kua tū nei ahau hai pouako hākinakina i ngā puna kaukau. Ka tū ngā karaehe kia whā ngā rā i te wiki kotahi, he rātahi, he rātoru me te rārima, ā te hau whā ki te iwa o ngā hāora i te atatū nā wai rā anō tētehi karaehe ā te ahiahi pō o te rātahi.
Atu i tēnei kai te whare pakari hoki ahau e whakaheke toihau ana kai Flex Fitness nō reira ko te mahi i te puna kaukau me te whare whakapakari he mea oranga ngākau mōku.
"Kua roa kē a Aqua fit e tū ana mō ngā tau e whia kē. Engari mō te hunga e āhua kūware nei ki te whakapakari tinana ka tae mai, ka rukua te wai kātahi ka rangona i te ngākau hākoakoa, he wā pai ki te tūtaki ki ngā tangata hou hoki'.
Ko te take i huri ai a Hereana ki tēnei momo whakapakaritanga ko te kimi koringa hou e whakaohooho ake ai i tōna manawa ora.
"He mea nui ki ahau te kaupapa hauoratanga, kai te pakekengia ahau ka noho mai ki te tihi o oku whakaaro me pēwhea te manaaki i taku tinana.
"E mea nei ahau, kai tetehi taumata o te ara pakeketanga ināianei, ko te mea nui kia kaha ake ai ahau mōku me āku mokopuna hoki'.
Ehara ko ia anake engari kua puta tēnei kaha ki āna hoa kapa haka, ara, ko ngā wāhine o Tūhourangi Ngāti Wahiao, nā wai rā ka toro atu ai ki ngā tāne e tū kakara ai rātou mō Te Matatini.
"Atu i aku hoa kapa haka, ka tae mai te hunga hauā, ara, ko te hunga kua whara ētehi wāhanga o te tinana, e hē ana ngā turi, e hē rānei ngā hope, ko ngā kaumātua te nuinga ,ehara kau i te mea mā ngā kaumātua anake tēnei kaupapa – ehara! Ko te ia kōrero e mea ana he kaupapa mā ngā kaumātua,engari ka whia kē o te hunga rangatahi e korikori nei , ā, hei ētehi o rātou, he mahi uaua hoki ka pirorehengia kē te tianana, wheoi anō ko te mea rangatahi katoa o taku karaehe katahi nei ia ka kotahi tekau o ngā tau – auahi ana tēnei mahi ki a ia".
Kai te mea atu a Hereana, ko te Aqua Fit he kaupapa e tāea ai e te hāpori nui tonu, 'Ka nui taku hiahia kia whai oranga ai taku kapa i tēnei tū kaupapa, ā me āku mema hoki. Ka nanao atu ahau ki aku tamariki me te whānau otīā ngā mema pahikitepōro hoki, wheoi anō ki te iwi whānui tonu kia hau katoa mai ki tētehi kaupapa mana nui'.
Tuhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao kapa.
Kia eke ai a Hereana ki te taumata pouako ka noho ia hai pikituranga ki a June Jospeh tētehi mātanga nui.
Kātahi ia ka hau atu ki te karaehe o Sharaleen Brown whaihoki ka mahi rangahau hoki a Hereana kia mātau nui ai ia ki tana kaupapa me te āhuatanga tika o tana mahi. Mō te pae tata nei ka nui te pirangi a Hereana ki a hiranga āna karaehe e whai take ai te hunga ka tae ā wehi mai, ā, wana mai ki te puna wai kaukau.
"Mēnā kua oti i a au taku ako karaehe ka whakamihia ahau e ngā wāhine me ngā tāne, ko reira e mōhio pū ai taku ngākau kai te tika katoa te haere.
Koinā te whāinga nui kia hau katoa mai te tini me te rau tangata ki te kaupapa whakapakari, kaupapa tiaki tinana".
He pōwhiri nāna ki ngā tangata katoa mēnā kai te puna kaukau koe, kai reira hoki a Hereana e mahita ana, kāua e wehi, kāua e whakamā haere ki tana karaehe kai te pūare ōna ringaringa ki ngā momo me ngā tini tangata katoa. Me te mea hoki ko te karaehe tuatahi, he herekore. He utukore.
'He rautaki nāku tēnei, ka tae mai tētehi manuwhiri, ka hari tōna ngākau, ka hoki mai ia me ētehi atu'.
Ā te rua tekau mā waru o Hūrae haere ai a Tūhourangi ki Rarotonga ki te hui ahurei o Maeva. E wha tekau mā tahi katoa ngā tangata kai te whakatepera atu.
He kaupapa whakakotahi i a tātou i te korenga o ngā kaupapa kapa haka , pai te ahurei engari i titiro kē mātou ki pae tawhito, nā pūare kau ana ngā kēti o te motu ki te ao, kātahi ka āhei ai te iwi ki te rere i te motu nei, ka whakaarohia e mātou ki Rarotonga.
"E hika mā, hinga ngā iwi katoa i te wehi o te māuiui urutā, e tika ana kia puta tātou ki tētehi wāhi atu i tēnei motu, e rere ai a Tamaterākura, e hākoakoa ai te ngākau me te mea hoki e hau atu ai anō tātou ki te ao whānui – ki a haere a Te Arawa nei ki te whakamihi ki te whakahoahoa ki te whakangā, mātua ki a noho ngātahi ai tātou katoa.
— Raimona Inia</strong>
It was not a role Hereana Roberts had envisaged for herself when she began her aquatic fitness journey 18 months ago.
"As of two weeks ago I became one of the aqua fit class instructors. Classes are held four times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8.45am and Monday evening at 5.45pm.
"In between this all I also weight train, you can find me at the gym at Flex Fitness Rotorua, so juggling this between my aqua fit classes has been amazing.
"Aqua fit has been running for years so it is nothing new. But it is new for some people who have never done this sort of exercise. It's always exciting to meet new people through this type of workout."
Hereana's whole purpose in doing aqua fit in the first place was to try another type of exercise to help on her fitness and wellbeing journey.
"Hauora is very important to me especially as you get older. Given I've approached my golden years, I would like to keep myself fit for my mokos."
Hereana has persuaded her Tuhourangi kapa women to become involved in this kaupapa.
As well, she will be getting their tane involved for their Te Matatini campaign.
Instructor Hereana Roberts with the 8.45am Aquafit class members.
"The people that I currently take in my class beside the kapa, are people with injuries such as knee and hip. They are an older generation, although aqua fit is not specifically for the older generation.
"It has been stereotyped as being for the older people, but in actual fact, a lot of younger generation that have done it, have found it quite hard, but exciting, the youngest member of one of my classes has been 10 years old, and loved it."
Hereana says everyone can benefit from Aquafit.
"I would like my kapa to benefit from this kaupapa, and also my class members. I try to get my kids and my whanau, also my basketball mamas who like to come and do this, as many people as possible to get into this type of exercise."
To become a qualified instructor Hereana shadowed instructor June Joseph who has had years of experience. She also joined Sharaleen Brown's classes and carried out a lot of research in her own time.
In the short term, Hereana is keen to deliver the best classes she can, that benefit the people who join her classes.
"If members are coming up to me after class with postive feedback then I know I am doing a great job.
"That is the goal, to see so many of our community getting involved, getting fit getting healthy."
Hereana would like to encourage anyone who is at the Aquatic Centre around the times of her classes to come and try them out. She is always open to taking new members and to giving their first class for free.
"That's in the hope that I may inspire more of our people to get involved in the health journey."
Tuhourangi kapa is heading to Rarotonga on July 28, for the Maeva Festival.
"We are taking a group of 41 performers. This was a way of keeping our people together and giving them something positive to look forward to after being starved from haka.
"We had Ahurei which was great, but we set our sights on something else, so once the borders opened we had looked at taking a group over to Rarotonga, as a way of keeping our kapa together.
"After the impact covid has had on the world, it is nice to have some positivity to look forward too, and also nice to get out into the world again together as Te Arawa and share our culture again to the world, as one people."
