Every great journey begins with a point of orientation—
A fixed, unchanging beacon that helps us find our bearings when the terrain gets steep and the path uncertain.
South Star School 10 Day Pilgrimage
This 10-day, cross country expedition from the glacial majesty of Mt Aoraki to the sweeping expanse of the sea is more than a physical trek; it is an inward and outward exploration of stewardship, reciprocity, and ecosystems.
As we follow the braided currents of the Waitaki River, we step deliberately into nature to question the constructs that bind us—challenging what it means to own land, water, or sky, and shifting our gaze from consumption to profound communion.
Every day of our journey offers dedicated rhythm of movement, mindfulness, and creation.
Whether we are:
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Sketching with earth pigments,
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Foraging sustainably,
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Vavigating the dark skies of the Mackenzie Basin,
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Burning through the fire of personal commitment,
Our trek translates our reflections into a living body of work.
Our inaugural journey will be captured by a dedicated documentary filmmaker, creating a short film designed to share our learnings and inspire big-picture thinking in everyday life, inspiring change and action.
Practice:
Night sky contemplation and silence walk.
Creative Expression:
Long-exposure photography or reflective night journaling
Focus:
Using Aoraki's Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve to explore how navigating internal darkness clarifies our purpose and connection
Itinerary
Day One: AORAKI
Theme: Navigation in Dark Times
Day Three: OMARAMA
Theme: Sky and Atmosphere
Practice:
Pranayama breath work aligned with high altitude winds.
Creative Expression:
Atmospheric photography capturing light shift and cloudscapes.
Focus:
Moving from consumer mindset to a reciprocal participant, and asking what we take, versus what we give, to maintain ecological balance.
Day Four: OTEMATATA
Theme: Foraging and Gathering
Practice:
Mindful, sustainable harvesting workshops and wetland exploration.
Creative Expression:
Macrophotography of seeds, textures and sustinence.
Focus:
Moving from consumer mindset to a reciprocal participant, and asking what we take, versus what we give, to maintain ecological balance.
Day Two: TWIZEL
Theme: Land and Foundation
Practice:
Walking meditation and grounding.
Creative Expression:
Earth pigment sketching.
Focus:
Questioning the meaning of 'owning' land versus belonging to it, and examining the physical footprint of stewardship differs from domination.
Day Five: BENMORE
Theme: Water and Life-Force
Practice:
Cold water immersion, river mindfulness.
Creative Expression:
Flow state journaling or hydro-ink painting.
Focus:
Tracing the hydro-electric manipulation of the Waitaki River. Questioning water ownership, access as a human right, and internal emotional currents.
Day Six: Hakataramea
Theme: Interdependence and Mahi
Practice:
Karma yoga and community contribution project along the trail.
Creative Expression:
Collaborative mixed media canvas combining all participants work.
Focus:
Synthesising individual growth into group harmony. Understanding how personal transformation ripples out to family, community, and biosphere.
This is the place of 'Many Mists'...
Day Seven: Te Kohurao
Theme: Wayfinding in Uncertainty
Practice:
Navigation without using digital tools.
Creative Expression:
Cartography sketching - mapping internal shifts among geographical lines.
Focus:
Learning to read natural signs. Translating physical navigation into emotional resilience when facing personal and planetary ambiguity.
Day Eight: Duntroon
Theme: Commitment and Transformation
Practice: Evening fire circle ceremony.
Creative Expression:
Work in the historic blacksmiths to forge iron.
Focus:
Using the metaphor of controlled burns and historical fires in the landscape to forge unbreakable personal commitments. Transforming grief into radical energy.
Day Nine: Papakaio
Theme: External & Internal Ecosystem Restoration
Practice: Restorative yin-yoga focused on tension release.
Creative Expression:
Composing micro-poetry focused on bodily and environmental healing.
Focus:
Identifying personal and ecological trauma. Exploring local rongoā (plant medicine) concepts to understand how the land heals us when we heal the land.
Day Ten: Waitaki Mouth
Theme: The Horizon and Reflection
Practice: Sunrise gratitude circle where the river meets the Pacific Ocean.
Creative Expression:
Final manifesto writing and blueprint design for post-treck action.
Focus:
Completing the journey from mountain peak to ocean. Cementing the transition from passive observer to active steward of land, water, and sky.
The South Star Pilgrimage takes its name and its spirit from the South Star School, a sanctuary of creativity and community that acts as a guiding light for those seeking deeper connection, meaning, and healing.
Just as travellers across the centuries looked to the skies to find their way home, this community serves as an anchor of creative and spiritual support, reminding us that we never truly walk alone.