Te Puia

Te Puia – known as The New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute is New Zealand’s premier Maori Cultural and Geothermal Centre. The area has long been an important part of Rotorua's heritage and a visit will provide you with a unique insight to the art,craft, music, food and ways of the local Maori people. New Zealands best known thermal area with more than 500 springs in the thermal reserve which vary from cold to boiling cauldrons. Possibly most famous of all is the Pohutu Geyser which bursts into life up to 20 times each day, shooting boiling water up to 30 meters (90 feet) skyward. Also on display throughout the valley are steaming cauldrons of mud – varying in temperature, purpose, size and colour, these pools each hold significance and place in the day to day lives of local Maori.

• Maori guides share their heritage, pride and values that have been handed down through the generations.  They re-tell stories that, in many instances, have been told for generations, and handed down through their individual families.  Visitors will also be transported back to pre-European times as they walk through our recreation of a typical Maori village.  Sleeping houses, food storage houses, weapons and implements necessary to pre-European life are displayed within the forest setting.
• The Kiwi House The Kiwi bird has been at home in New Zealand for over 70 million years.  Te Puia is fortunate to have these native New Zealand icons available for visitors to view in the specially designed Kiwi house.  Te Puia also partakes in a national breeding programme.
• Skilful artisans continue to train in the traditional arts and crafts of carving and weaving.  Visitors to Te Puia will see carvers at work (both students and masters) and also the weavers expertly transforming simple strands of flax into intricate pieces of art. Performances of traditional and contemporary dancing are also a daily feature.

• The New Zealand Maori Arts & Crafts Institute » Visit carving and weaving schools where masters and students share their art and their stories. 

• Kiwi House » Discover the fascinating traits of New Zealand’s national icon and listen to the songs of other birds in our beautiful valley. 

• Guided Tours » As direct descendants, guides offer an insight into their lives, activities and their land that no other tour in New Zealand can match. 

• Maori Culture Performances » Experience the thrill of Maori songs, dances and performers who enthral and entertain every day and every night. As the birthplace of tourism in New Zealand, the Rotorua region and its peoples are known as the tribe of hospitality. It is their trademark and the performing arts are their speciality. The spirit of Te Puia’s daily Maori Cultural Performances, Kapa Haka, is to learn, to enjoy and also to be uplifted.  Choose from the midday concerts at Te Puia are an easy and exciting introduction to the culture. Visitors simply gather outside the main entrance to the Marae and a traditional welcome marks the start of 45 minutes of song and dance inside the sacred meeting house. The evening concert,  Mai Ora, is the best of Maori Culture and hospitality.A banquet is provided from the traditional Hangi, where food is steam cooked by hot rocks in the earth, to contemporary cuisine. Guests are invited to see and photograph the Hangi being lifted before sitting to dine.It is part of the experience of both learning and participating in traditions still followed by tribes throughout New Zealand today. Feeding the people, for example, is regarded an honour and a sign of a tribe’s hospitality and standing. Young and old will work voluntarily and around the clock to ensure guests are cared for. Mai Ora is a relaxed evening and begins at the Marae with the sound of the war trumpet, blown to alert the host tribe that visitors are approaching. From the traditional welcome, with a challenge by fierce warriors, guests begin to appreciate this is not a standard show. Inside the sacred meeting house, guests are treated to a polished performance of song and dance and are invited to learn and join in alongside performers. Their efforts are rewarded by the best of New Zealand’s food fare before the evening concludes with the spectacular lighting of the Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley. Mai Ora is a feast for the mental, spiritual and physical. But it is also a warming and unforgettable bonding of friendships

“I didn’t think it would affect me like this, that I would love the people. It’s the one thing I’m taking home with me.”  Moira Jackson, U.S.A.