Project Raki Film - a Northland Road Trip

It’s a wrap, work on Project Raki – a film aimed at promoting Northland to international students as a land of Māori culture, stunning natural beauty and adventure – has been completed. The project is the first joint-partnership between Study Northland – part of the Northland Inc Business, Innovation and Growth team – and Study Auckland, the international education arm of Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED), and involved three days of filming throughout the region this week.

A production crew followed three international student ambassadors from Auckland and Northland as they explored Northland. Along the way they participated in a range of activities on both land and sea, from sandboarding at Ocean Beach, exploring the kauri boardwalk at AH Reed Park, Whangārei, with Tu Tika Tours, to visiting the hives at Tahi Honey in Pataua North, and kayaking, snorkelling and fishing in the Bay of Islands.

At Waewaetorea Island, with The Rock Adventure Cruise in the Bay of Islands, the students were approached by a pod of dolphins that swam under and around the kayaks for more than an hour. “It was a magical experience,” said Jo Lees, Study Northland Project Manager, “and a real high note on which to finish the filming.”

The completed film, she said, would be showcased to youth visitors, including international and working holiday youth, both in Auckland and overseas. “Both students and film crew were blown away by Northland and the places they experienced and the people they met.

Lees explained that Study Auckland is planning to create nine separate videos from the Project Raki footage. “Once students in Auckland see these videos and realise Northland is a short drive away, they will all want to come for a weekend or longer.”