The School Gate - Opotiki

Every so often, when I'm leafing back through my photo files, I come upon photographs that I not only like, but enjoyed taking - images and the experience of capturing the image, that have stayed with me long after the event. These are three - taken at Opotiki Primary School at Opotiki in Bay of Plenty. Opotiki itself is the gateway to East Cape, which is one of my favourite New Zealand places for its richness of living Maori culture; and for me, the gateway at Opotiki School somehow summed that up. Like many schools around East Cape, it is so elaborately decorated with historical Maori carvings and designs that I was often given to wondering if the current pupils ever think about their unique school environments. I suppose not. It is after all, all that most of them have ever known. Perhaps they think all New Zealand primary school have beautiful gateways like this? I have written about the Opotiki School before and you can see full images of the gateway in that previous post by clicking on Opotiki Primary School in the label line below this entry.