East Coast rangatahi are gearing up to embark on a six-day hikoi into the Raukumara Ranges, following a trail walked by their ancestors for hundreds of years.

The 21 students, aged between 14 and 16 years old, are entering the bush on Sunday with Raukumara Pae Maunga kaimahi.

They have been identified as leaders who already spend time in nature, through activities such as hunting and diving.

Wiremu Wharepapa will be leading the hikoi from Te Kaha to Ruatoria as the Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and Ngāti Porou rangatahi traverse rivers, mountains and waterfalls.

They will carry most of their supplies on their backs, learn to conserve their water and how to identify a clean drinking water source.

Helicopter operator Steve Woods will be doing food drops throughout the week.

The ancient trail is not open to the public, crossing private land at times, and is difficult to identify for those without the ancestral knowledge.

Rangatahi will be engaged in various wānanga (educational lessons) during their trip, including water monitoring, plant identification, five-minute bird counts, rongoa, wahi tapu, maramatanga, and karakia.

Mr Wharepapa said the hikoi would demonstrate firsthand the work being done to reverse damage caused by pests, and to reconnect them with the bush their tīpuna called home.

“We call her (Raukumara) māmā. That is our mother, and we need to nurture her. She has been stripped. All her leaves have been taken off the trees; the possums eat the tree from the top down and the deer eat the tree from the bottom up.

“We just want to take our tamariki in there and tell them that once upon a time, our tīpuna used to travel through here. They would run through here like their playground, but there has been a massive change.”

Mr Wharepapa said the aim was for the next generation to take the conservation reins and continue working towards the sustainable future that current kaimahi are attempting to establish.

While this trip has been a long time in the making, with health and safety a top priority, Mr Wharepapa would like to see a day when whānau can make a casual visit to their whenua.

“We shouldn’t be making big plans to visit our backyard; we should be going in and out like it’s going to the shop,” he said.

“Once we start rolling our kids through, I’m hoping it will get to a point where they are able to just pack their swag and head in like it’s the norm.”

Governance manager Ora Barlow said she was excited for the group of rangatahi, acknowledging they were embarking on a tough journey physically, but also potentially emotionally.

She said by tracing their tīpuna’s footsteps, they would be able to remember their connection to the whenua and feel its heartbeat.

“Then you start to understand the pain of that whenua, then you start to understand why restoration has to occur, and what it is that we’re saving.

“We’re actually saving ourselves.”

Ms Barlow said rangatahi would be supported by the best of Raukumara Pae Maunga’s people.

“Everyone will face their own memories and their own pains and their own thoughts, as well as have the ability to share it.

“It’s a beautiful time to come together with our rangatahi, to grow that next generation to connect with their whenua, and it’s all about whakapapa to that maunga and that range.”

A no smoking or vaping rule has been established for the trip.

Communications and engagement adviser Rangitahi Wharepapa, daughter of Mr Wharepapa, said that decision was made because they were going in to cleanse their wairua (spirit, soul).

“This is a place of healing, and we are privileged to still be able to go in there, so we want to make sure we respect it.

“All the rubbish we take in will come out too.”

The trail’s roots lie in her hapū, Te Whānau a Kaiaio, and she thought it was particularly special that their descendants were still using it.

She said she was incredibly proud of the work done behind the scenes by kaimahi and whānau to ensure the hikoi – the first of its kind involving rangatahi – is a success.