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Whakarewarewa, The Living Maori Village Guided Tour with Optional Hangi Meal

35 reviews

Whakarewarewa, The Living Maori Village Guided Tour with Optional Hangi Meal

from USD $33.17

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Enjoy an authentic Maori cultural experience at Whakarewarewa, The Living Maori Village set in the geothermal region of Rotorua. A local guide takes you on a tour of the village’s highlights and shares stories about the way of life, history, craft traditions and land, including the famous Pohutu and Prince of Wales geysers. Watch a cultural show with traditional dance and song then have time afterward to explore on your own. For a real treat, opt to include a ‘hangi’ meal of traditional foods cooked in boiling hot geothermal pools and steam vents.

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In Brief

Location:

Rotorua, New Zealand

Country:

New Zealand

Duration:

4 hours

Operates:

Daily

Visit: Whakarewarewa, The Living Maori Village, 17 Tryon Street Whakarewarewa, Rotorua 3010 New Zealand

After making your way to Whakarewarewa, the Living Maori Village for the guided tour and cultural show, enjoy a village welcome from your guide. As you tour the grounds, your guide shares the origins of the village's (long) full name, tourism developments in Whakarewarewa Village and the Te Whakarewarewa , the impact of the War Memorial gateway, and a penny diving tradition that still exists today.

See important sites in the village, including homes and artisan shops, the communal outdoor area for cooking and cleaning, communal garden, cemetery and churches, preschool and ancestral meeting house. At each site, your guide shares informative details, such as how the preschool helps preserve the Maori language, how food is produced and shared from the garden and how the arrival of missionaries affected local people. Learn how skilled weavers make the piupiu (dancing skirt) and about other craft traditions such as carving and ta moko (tattooing).

At the Earth Science Facility, your guide discusses the geothermal environment and compares Maori legends to the earth science perspective. Check out two viewing platforms where you can clearly see Whakarewarewa's most famous geysers: Pohutu and Prince of Wales. As many as 20 times per day these geysers erupt with jets of hot water that spray up to 99 feet (30m) high.

After your 1-hour tour, take a seat for the 30-minute cultural show, which features a mihi (traditional welcome), song, poi dance and haka. Towards the end of the show, the performers invite audience participation and make time for photo ops.

Upgrade to include a hangi meal prepared in Whakarewarewa’s traditional fashion, by cooking the food in natural steam vents and hot pools. As one of the only living Maori villages with geothermal vents that can steam and cook food, the people of Whakarewarewa cook in this manner (other villages use heated rocks in a dugout pit).

The delicious meal includes chicken, beef, potato, kumara (sweet potato), bread stuffing, carrots, cabbage and sweet corn on the cob with gravy. For dessert, savor the tasty steam pudding, which comes with fruit salad, custard and cream. Drinking water, tea and coffee are also provided.

To make the most of your time at Whakarewarewa, The Living Maori Village, please see the suggested schedules under Itinerary below. For all options, you are free to explore the village on your own after the scheduled activities.

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ITINERARY
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Recommended schedules:

• 10am tour, 11:15am show, 12pm hangi meal
• 11:15am show, 12pm tour, 1pm hangi meal
• 12pm hangi meal, 1pm tour, 2pm show
• 12pm tour, 1pm hangi meal, 2pm show
• 1pm hangi meal, 2pm show, 3pm tour

Inclusions

Cultural show (11:15/14:00 daily. 12:30 only in summer)
Guided tour - 9.00am, 10.00am, 12.00pm, 1.00pm, 2.30pm, 3.00pm, 4.00pm
Hangi meal (if option selected. Café open from 11:00-14:00)
Entry/Admission - Whakarewarewa, The Living Maori Village

Exclusions

Hotel pickup and drop-off

Departure Time

10/1/2019 - 9/30/2020

Monday - Sunday:

08:30 AM - 05:00 PM

Departure Point

Whakarewarewa, Rotorua

Returns To

Returns to original departure point

Additional Information

Confirmation will be received at time of booking

Booking Information

You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.

Cancellation Terms

This trip is fully refundable up to 96 hours prior to the commencement of your trip.

Booking Terms and Conditions

When you book this trip, you need to read and accept the terms and conditions for booking our day trips in excursions.

Scoring an average traveller rating of 4.88 out of 5 based on the last 24 recent reviews

“

It was a well organised tour that gave us a perfect Maori experience. The tour guide was very friendly and told us about Maori culture in detail”

Ameya A • Submitted 21 Nov 2019

“

Loved it all.The Cultural show was fantastic, the tour was great and interesting,. Loved the geyser and mud pools , Over all was worth doing when in Rotorua.”

Colin B • Submitted 25 Oct 2019

“

It's been a wonderful and informative tour. And we had an opportunity to see the village and a very entertaining show put up by the Maoris staying there. Thank you very much for the experience...”

SHAMSIAH M • Submitted 12 Aug 2019

“

This was one of the best tours I have ever been on, our tour guide Chief was informative, funny and kept us all entertained!”

Brendan M • Submitted 06 Apr 2018

“

Wonderful opportunity to learn of the history of the Maori people and see how they still live in the village. Definitely recommend doing the Hangi meal with the tour!! If time allows also go on the Buried Village tour which is only a 15 minute drive from the village. This is where the ancestors of the Maori Village originally lived. Chief was an AWESOME tour guide.”

mjrou • Submitted 04 Apr 2018

“

Wonderful tour guide Atutahi. She was friendly, enthusiastic and informative with a radiant personality. Learned a lot about Maori history and culture. The men and women performing traditional Maori songs and poi were professional and outstanding!”

John K • Submitted 24 Mar 2018

“

It was great. We loved The Living Maroi Village. Our guide was very nice and provided lot of information. It is something you should not miss on your NZ trip.”

shweta j • Submitted 21 Jan 2018

“

Liked that this was a living village, our tour guide part of the Maori tribe.”

Myra C • Submitted 02 May 2017

“

Eye interesting. The guide was knowledgeable and explained the living experience well. You get to see the geyser without paying a separate entry fee. The Hangi meal was tender and tasty and fun to know how it was cooked in the village.”

Linda A • Submitted 24 Mar 2017

“

Very interesting tour - great informative guide. Fascinating to see culinary use of geothermal resources”

Pen G • Submitted 17 Mar 2017

“

Loved the authenticity of the village. It wasn't commercial at all which I appreciated it.”

Derek S • Submitted 14 Mar 2017

“

Excellent interesting tour ,hangi pie meal was very nice. Good value tour”

Michael G • Submitted 07 Mar 2017

“

We were delighted with the Maori experience that we had. Lovely pleasant and helpful people. Not so some of the tourists visiting! We were very disappointed that our experience of the cultural show was spoiled by selfish people standing up to take photographs... blocking our view of the stage. Some of them even talked during the performance. The meal was good.”

Lesley B • Submitted 04 Mar 2017

“

A very worthwhile cultural experience, with many interesting facts and sights. We really enjoyed the tour, the performance and the Hangi meal.”

Sandy K • Submitted 04 Mar 2017

“

The tour was amazing! From the active geysers and the community bathing pools, to the steam vents in the earth used to cook meals. The ground was alive! The stage production was also great, sharing local culture and colourful customs. A truly unique and enjoyable day.”

Tracy R • Submitted 04 Jan 2017

“

LOVE IT! The guides take us around their village and made us feel like home, even showed us her house from outside. You can tell they are passionate about their culture and their history. Loved the performances, very moving and entertaining. Initially wanted to go there to see the geysers but ended up fascinated buy the village itself.Wished I had more time to go on longer walks to the thermal lakes.”

Aida H • Submitted 21 Aug 2016

“

This tour gave me much insight into the Maori lifestyle. Loved it..loved the people!”

Marina A • Submitted 03 Jul 2016

“

We really enjoyed this tour, as it showed us fantastic geologic sites, and a real village where Maori people still live today. It is authentic, and the guides are very entertaining and helpful. Their pride in and knowledge of their heritage is evident.”

pfmjpr • Submitted 16 Jun 2016

“

Very informative tour. That said, tour probably doesn't do justice to the experience. Very friendly and knowledgable guide, exceedingly friendly villagers, the Maori dance performance well presented with enthusiastic performers who didn't give the impression of going through the motions, rather that they too were enjoying themselves. Plenty of time to walk around and soak up the atmosphere. Very enjoyable day. Would highly recommend......”

cjgallacher • Submitted 06 Apr 2016

“

Jason Phillips, tattoo artist and flutist extraordinaire. The highlight of our time in the village. Great conversationalist and historian and very gracious and hospitable. It was like spending time with an old friend.”

John W • Submitted 22 Mar 2016

“

Great deal from Viator!!! Excellent, excellent - worth the visit when touring New Zealand. Very professional, great hangi lunch dessert, plus show beautiful voices and dance and guided tour.”

Narelle B • Submitted 14 Dec 2015

“

We enjoyed the time. Worth the modest cost.”

John W • Submitted 07 Sep 2018

“

This was a great tour with a very knowledgeable tour guide. Unfortunately the wether for us was not kind and restricted the enjoyment of the day. We did see the geyser and thoroughly enjoyed to cultural show.. To be able to roam around the village at leisure is a credit to the local people. Thanks.”

Neil R • Submitted 05 Nov 2017

“

Not really my sort of thing, but very interesting. Enjoyed it.”

Graham H • Submitted 04 Apr 2017