Tane (Ethan Browne) and Nikau (Kawakawa Fox-Reo) are shaken after visiting Ari (Rob Kipa-Williams) in remand on Home and Away.
He clearly isn’t dealing well in prison, but he refuses to reveal the truth. Nikau is furious.
He wants Chloe to admit that she, not Ari, was the one who killed her father Matthew (James Sweeny). Tane, on the other hand, will not go against Ari’s wishes – and warns that he should not either.
“Nikau is suffering,” Kawakawa says in an interview with TV WEEK. “Seeing someone you care about in a situation like that isn’t a pleasant sight.”
Mia (Anna Samson) and Tane try to concentrate on the wedding over dinner, but Nikau isn’t interested.
He later tells Tane that losing Ari makes him think of his father, and he can’t bear it. He wishes to depart from Summer Bay.
“It’s difficult to deal with the trauma of already having gone through this,” Kawakawa says.
Tane advises Nikau to pack his belongings the next morning. They’re going camping, but this isn’t your typical camping trip.
Nikau is subsequently given a Taiaha, a traditional Mori weapon. It was Nikau’s fathers who did it. Tane will teach him how to be a warrior and help him get the answers he requires.
Tane teaches the technique at the campground. Nikau, on the other hand, lacks patience and is unable to learn it.
Tane implores him to concentrate; not all is gone. Nikau begins to find the courage and wisdom he’s been looking for as time passes.
“The Taiaha sequence has a great influence on Nikau since it is such an important element of who he is as a person,” explains Kawakawa.
“Grounding him and reminding him of the ideals that come with it is tremendously empowering and grounds him in a way that he really needs.”
