Bring the moana to your kura.

One session or a full term — classroom, pool and moana. We design with you, not for you.

How it works

1. Register interest (no charge) on any programme below, or korero with Sacha first.
2. We send the full EOTC School Pack — external provider agreement, activity RAMS, instructor qualifications, insurance and AdventureMark evidence, and full programme pricing. Everything your board needs, in one pack.
3. We design the programme together and sign the agreement.
4. Consents and health profiles collected — our forms, two weeks before delivery.
5. We deliver — and you get a debrief and written report after every trip.

Choose your programme

Registering interest costs nothing and holds your term dates. Once we have had a korero, we send a full programme pack — pricing included — so your board has everything it needs.

Classroom Ocean Sessions — In-School Visits

Any year level · breathwork, marine ecology & water safety in your classroom

Try Freediving — School Pool Day

Year 5+ · breath-hold basics, water confidence and safety culture in one pool day

Ocean Discovery Day — Snorkel & Freedive

Year 7+ · classroom brief then a sheltered-bay snorkel and freedive · marine reserve option

EOTC Week — Moana Immersion

Year 7+ · classroom, pool and ocean field trip, plus follow-up session and restoration project

Term Programme — Te Wheke Moana (our flagship)

The full Te Wheke programme: classroom, pool, two ocean field trips, restoration · NCEA pathway options

Noho Wananga — Two-Day Overnight Course

Two days on an overnight wananga, your choice of our subjects · year-long Trades Academy options too

Ecology & science add-ons

Bolt an SSI ecology specialty onto any programme. Students earn an internationally recognised digital certification alongside their school experience. School rate: $75 per student (regular price $100).

Marine Ecology

Ocean food webs, habitats and the role every species plays — connects directly to science curriculum

$75 / student

Manta & Ray Ecology

Behaviour, biology and conservation of the rays of Te Tai Tokerau — spot them on your ocean day

$75 / student

Marine Mammal Ecology

Dolphins, orca and whales of Northland — science, behaviour and why they matter

$75 / student

Shark Ecology

Separating myth from fact — shark biology, behaviour and their critical role in healthy oceans

$75 / student

Fish Identification

Learn to ID the species you meet on your ocean day — great for science and kaitiakitanga themes

$75 / student

Marine Invertebrate Ecology

Urchins, kina, starfish and beyond — invertebrate biology and what they tell us about reef health

$75 / student

Nudibranch Ecology

The most colourful creatures in the sea — a crowd favourite for junior and senior groups alike

$75 / student

Sea Turtle Ecology

Green turtles and leatherbacks of the Pacific — biology, migration routes and why they nest in Te Tai Tokerau

$75 / student

Coral Identification

ID the coral species found in Te Tai Tokerau — reef ecology, bleaching science and kaitiakitanga connections

$75 / student

Waves, Tides & Currents

Ocean physics for the classroom and the water — links to science and geography achievement standards

$75 / student

Marine Guide

Leadership and kaitiakitanga in the ocean — ideal for senior students on longer programmes

$75 / student

Island excursion days

Add a full freedive adventure day at one of Northland's iconic marine environments. School rate from $150 per student — priced by location (regular adventure day price $450). Available as a standalone day or paired with any multi-day programme.

Bay of Islands

Sheltered coves, marine reserve, snorkel & freedive

$450 $150 / student

Cavalli Islands

Clear water, reef systems and rich biodiversity

$450 $175 / student

Poor Knights Islands

NZ's premier marine reserve — for senior & experienced groups

$450 $195 / student

Where we go

We're based in Paihia and deliver Northland-wide. Classroom visits travel from Kaitaia to Whangarei; pool days run in Kerikeri, Kawakawa, Kaitaia and Whangarei; and ocean programmes explore the sheltered bays of the Bay of Islands, the clear freshwater of Kai Iwi Lakes, and — for senior groups — the Cavalli Islands and the Poor Knights Islands marine reserve.

Safety, sorted

We're an AdventureMark-certified adventure activities operator with an externally audited Safety Management System, available on request. Ratios: pool 1:8 instructor-to-student · open water 1:4 in-water plus a dedicated lookout · Year 8 and below 1:2 adult-to-student. All kaimahi are Children's Act safety checked, oxygen and first aid come on every activity, and programmes are led by Aotearoa's first female SSI Freediving Instructor Trainer.

The full evidence pack — EOTC provider agreement, activity RAMS, a sample consent form and instructor qualifications — is sent to your school on registration.

Funding your programme

• School EOTC budgets — the most common route for single days.
• Gateway — workplace learning credits for senior students.
• STAR — secondary tertiary alignment funding for short courses.
• Tu Manawa Active Aotearoa — activity funding for tamariki and rangatahi.
• Water Safety NZ — funding aimed squarely at what we teach.
• Creative and environmental grants — strong fits for marine education, restoration and kaitiakitanga.

Our programmes are built for funding applications — each has a clear per-akonga cost (in your programme pack) that drops straight into a funder budget line. We'll help you build the case.

Te Wheke Hauora Moana

Our programmes are built on Te Wheke Hauora Moana — a framework where each tentacle of the wheke holds a dimension of hauora, explored through the moana: from breath and buddy skills to the food web full circle, ray ecology and the marine mammals of Te Tai Tokerau. Read about it on the Te Wheke page, or see it in full flight in the Term Programme — Te Wheke Moana.

FAQ

Do students need to be swimmers?
For pool and ocean programmes, basic water confidence helps, but we meet akonga where they are — classroom sessions need no water skills at all. Tell us about your group and we'll design accordingly.

What does the school provide?
A liaison teacher contactable 24 hours, behaviour and pastoral care, health and behaviour profiles, parent helpers to ratio, and transport. We bring everything else.

What happens if the weather turns?
We make a GO/NO-GO call 48 hours out and again on the morning. If the moana says no, we reschedule free — no penalty to the school.

Are your staff vetted?
Yes — every kaimahi is Children's Act safety checked, and instructor qualifications are included in your School Pack.

How far ahead should we book?
A term ahead is ideal — dates release each term and popular weeks go fast. Registering interest holds your dates while the paperwork happens.