Whenever the world gets too loud I come to Koriniti Marae, where the birds welcome me home | Leigh-Marama McLachlan

The sacred Mori meeting place is a place our ancestors once walked. Even when there is no one here, I am not alone

• Guardian writers and readers describe their favourite place in New Zealand's wilderness and why it's special to them

I know we are almost there when we spot the lone yellow house on the left hand side of the rural and isolated Whanganui River Road, near the central North Island. The quiet thoroughfare winds its way alongside native bush and through valleys that have been carved out by the longest navigable river in Aotearoa. Even as a kid, I knew the little yellow house meant we were just a few bends away from reaching my favourite place in the world, Koriniti Marae.

Marae are sacred communal meeting grounds for the indigenous Mori peoples of Aotearoa - they provide for everything from sleeping and eating to learning. They are the basis of traditional Mori community life, and typically feature one or more wharenui, or meeting houses, usually painted white and deep red and sometimes carved with Mori art. While many marae are no longer the bustling communities they were pre-colonisation, they continue to serve as pillars of Mori cultural identity today.