Kia Ora! Visit Whakarewarewa!
1. The geothermal area
2. Whakarewarewa: daily practices
3. Visit Whakarewarewa
We have already high expectations when greeted with a kia ora at the entrance of the Māori village Whakarewarewa at Rotorua. Māori villages and communities still exist in New Zealand – and continuously build on the indigenous heritage. One of these is Whakarewarewa.
Whakarewarewa is a living Māori village where the inhabitants, the Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao people, are descendants of the Polynesian people who arrived in New Zealand about a thousand years ago.
The tribe has settled here in Whakarewarewa, where the daily practices are centred around geothermal resources. The underground hot water and geothermal energy are used for everything: to cook, bath and heat the homes. This way of living, exploiting natural resources, has been practised since the tribe came to live at Rotorua long ago.
Photo: Travel In Culture
New Zealand belongs to the Polynesian Triangle. There are three famous destinations making up the vertices of the Polynesian Triangle. In addition to New Zealand, it is Hawaii and Easter Island. Read about the other two: Hawaiian Culture & Oahu Itinerary and Discover Hanga Roa in Easter Island
Rotorua is one of the unique geothermal areas in the world, with trails along striking natural wonders. One of these is the world-famous Pōhutu Geyser, which spurts up to twenty times per day – each time up to 30 m (100 ft) into the air. It is just one of the signs of the thermal activity beneath your feet at Rotorua.
From the Pōhutu Geyser lookout in the village, you may experience all three geysers: the Pōhutu Geyser, the Prince of Wales Geyser and the Kereru Geyser – located near each other. The eruptions occur around a small crystal blue lake, ‘The Blueys’.
Photo: Travel In Culture
Our Māori representative and guide lets us know that there were previously 30 geysers in the area, but it changes constantly. Some years ago, remarkably, the number of geysers was reduced to two – now there are three again!
The area seethes with thermal activity: steaming lakes, thermal pools, steam vents and fascinating bubbling mud pools – all with boiling material of different degrees depending on the material. You can catch a glimpse of the spectacular and wondrous sites by following the established nature trails around the area.
Our guide in Whakarewarewa is one of the local men with indigenous background. He gives a brief introduction to their culture, their language and the daily practices in the Whakarewarewa village.
Photo: Travel In Culture
Before showing us around, he teaches us some phrases in the Māori language, ‘te reo’. – for instance, the well-known and commonly heard phrase kia ora. Kia ora has a broader meaning than just ‘hello’, as it is used today in many contexts. This meaning of kia ora was adopted through the last century as a welcome to visitors – but, originally, it was a term used to make wishes at the end of something. In the native language, kia means ‘to be’ and ora means ‘health’ or ‘life’.
Besides kia ora, we also learn several other Māori phrases and terms helpful for communicating and relating to Whakarewarewa – and he eagerly asks us to repeat them to make sure they hang on! Some of the words are long. The longest word in ‘te reo’ contains 84 letters! However, they sometimes use abbreviations like Whaka for Whakarewarewa.
Whakarewarewa features several carved Māori sculptures | Photo: Travel In Culture
New Zealand North Island 8 days
Beer price New Zealand/your country
Road safety New Zealand/your country
Our guide now takes us through the village, explaining the various locations and Māori customs.
In Whakarewarewa, there are, in total, 18-25 families living in the houses. Today, they have, in addition to the traditional utensils and techniques, also modern amenities. They use, for instance, cars in the village and have a school for the children.
We pass the funeral areas with the Māori cemetery. In the village, they have two churches: a Catholic church, the original one, and an Anglican church. A big eruption occurred in 1850, destroying the previous Rotorua wonder: the stunning pink and white terraces. It was used as an occasion to move the Anglican church to the site here. So today, there are two churches in the village in addition to the Meeting House used for assemblies, marriages and funerals.
The Meeting House in Whakarewarewa | Photo: Travel In Culture
Our Māori guide now shows where they prepare the traditional Hāngi meal in a steam box. When he was a child, he used to have the job to put a couple of chickens in the box on the way to school. They then cooked slowly over the thermal heat most of the day, and he picked them up again when returning from school – ready for the family’s dinner!
Visitors can also taste a corn cob boiled in a thermal pool – the kitchen pool! It is where they cook corn, other vegetables and seafood. He immerses the bag of corn into the pool for about a minute – and they are ready! The temperature in this pool can be up to 180 degrees centigrade (over 350 degrees Fahrenheit)! Moreover, the pool is at least 15 m deep (50 ft). They tried to locate the pool bottom once, but the metal rope nearly melted! As a curiosity, he informs us about other cooking times. Lobsters need 4 minutes in the pool, and mussels only 20 seconds.
Our guide pulls the corn out of the kitchen pool | Photo: Travel In Culture
Our Māori companion explains that the activity level in the pool changes constantly. It is surprising what happened during the Italian volcano Etna’s eruption in 2001. As a consequence of this eruption on the other side of the Earth, the water mirror in the cooking pool here decreased by several metres! According to our guide, this geothermal connection surprised everyone!
In addition to the kitchen pool and the steam box, the Māori families generally have a normal kitchen in the houses, which they also use for cooking. In this way, they adapt themselves to the modern lifestyle as well.
We also get an introduction to other Māori traditions like weaving, carving and tattooing. Tattoos play an important role in their society and their body tattoos are very symbolic.
The bath at Whakarewarewa | Photo: Travel In Culture
The bathing ritual is also significant. One of the pools at the site is the commune bath. There are a couple of pools with different temperatures. The hottest pool is 55 degrees centigrade (131 degrees Fahrenheit), but, for instance, the children’s bath is less hot. Grooves in the stone floor regulate the temperature in the adjacent pool. Our guide now encourages everyone to touch the water. Due to minerals, it is very soft and feels like silk on the skin!
There are specific bath hours outside the visitor hours, so the families can have their daily bath undisturbed.
Whakarewarewa map | Photo: Travel In Culture
A visit to Whakarewarewa includes, in addition to the language lesson and the cultural insight provided in the guided tour of the village, the opportunity to take a self-guided walk on the grounds following the trails. Here, you can study all the boiling mud pools, other geothermal pools, and unpredictable geysers.
You can boardwalk through the steam mist surrounding some of the hot pools. Of course, it is essential not to leave the trails since the grounds outside can be both boiling and toxic!
Photo: Travel In Culture
You will also get the chance to attend a passionate dance performance where the traditional performing art, the kappa haka, is demonstrated (haka means dance). It is a fascinating show where both men and women perform, dance and sing traditionally. It is storytelling when best – the talented dancers interpret and express some of their legends and war dance with a high intensity! Note that the dancers use dilated pupils and tongues to scare the enemy!
At the same time, you will see them use traditional instruments in their performance – and you will get time to study the different tattoos they have on their bodies! A performance varies in intensity and emotions – you will hear loud shouts, screams, and soft, ear-catching singing.
Finally, you can also, in addition to the corn cobs, try a genuine Hāngi meal – cooked in the steam box!
Our guide explains that the Māori society today depends on tourism to a large extent. There is a private part of town where people live and act as they have always done – and a tourist/educational part to ensure an income. In addition to this income, the Māori community receives some subsidiaries as the village has a cultural and educational value.
Today, visitors greatly help preserve the village and the Māori history, legends and traditions.
Kia ora, Whakarewarewa!
Kia ora – visit the village | Photo: Travel In Culture
Read next: Best Things to Do in Sydney in 4 Days and 15 Cool Things to Do in Melbourne
Find useful travel gear: Travel Essentials
‘Kia Ora! Visit Whakarewarewa’
Featured image of
Kia Ora! Visit Whakarewarewa:
Travel In Culture
Kia Ora – Visit Whakarewarewa – the living Maori village
