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The weather was only partly cooperative when children from Silverdale Primary School took out their kites for a Matariki kite-flying day last week.
Originally planned for Metro Park, the event had to be moved onto the school grounds at the last minute due to the miry condition of the reserve.
That didn’t stop the fun, however, as excited kids ran around the muddy fields, launching kites of all colours and styles, homemade and shop bought, with varying levels of success. Occasional gusts of wind helped, and the sun made several brave attempts to shine.
Year four classmates Alba Lee, Isla Bigwood, Ryan Campion, Seth Minnaar and Carter Roberts were happy to show off their creations. Skye Parata said she had made her feather-festooned kite by herself, with a little help from mum. Ayla Nielsen’s black and white kite was decorated with the words RIP Shadow – the name of a friend’s recently-departed dalmatian.
Kite-flying has long been associated with Matariki, the Māori new year.
Traditional Māori kites are known as manu tukutuku (long-tailed kites) or sometimes manu aute (kites made with the bark of the aute or paper mulberry plant). Manu can mean both bird and kite. Another word for a Māori kite is pākau, which means the wing of a bird.
