Rotorua - Whakarewarewa

Whakarewarewa combines two kinds of attraction: a geothermal park and an attempt, at least, to illustrate a 'real Māori village'. Once upon a time these were available together in a simple form that could be taken in in an hour or so - but these days tourists want more so there are various other options nearby like Te Puia (which is really a Māori Cultural Centre) and Mitai Village (again, more culture) which offer whole-evening attractions like a hangi (feast) and a pōwhiri (welcome ceremony). Whakarewarewa as I feature it here is to my mind rather more manageable, being essentially still the geothermal park with a small self-guided bit of Māori - though even here they offer a 1 hour Māori experience at various times during the day. 

Firstly some photos from the Māori village. The tiny little house is mounted on a pole - it's a Māori food store, set up high to keep it safe from marauding animals like rats. The whole larger settlement is a Pā – a word which combines ideas such as village, settlement, fortress, market and general centre of things - and the big building at the centre is the Marae - the sacred community hub and meeting place. In between the two the medium-sized house on about seven poles is - well, I'm guessing it just has some other use: but the carving is beautiful.

And then the Whakarewarewa geothermal park. It’s a mix of Craters of the Moon and Hell’s Gate, and depending on your time constraints it might be better to do either or both of them instead; but the extra attraction here is the geysir...