By Jim Marbrook
Awa Hikoi: The River Journey documents a unique journey towards wellness. In late 2004, a group of Maori Mental Health consumers started a three-day canoe trip through the upper reaches of New Zealand's Whanganui River.
For many it was the first time they had visited the land their ancestors had first settled. Some saw it as "a kind of home coming. "Others had to face the very real physical challenge of freezing water and winter rapids. For most it was an opportunity to explore a side to their recovery that many felt was unacknowledged by health professionals: the wairua (spiritual) side of healing.
Screened on TVNZ in October 2004, Jim Marbrook's 30-minute documentary is a chronicle of this trip.
Click the link below to watch a clip of the documentary.
The River Journey
Copyright 2004, Used with permission from TVNZ.
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