Te Puia Maori Cultural Experience, Rotorua, New Zealand

After an afternoon at the Polynesian Spa, our night's festivities were an indigenous evening experience at Te Puia. We started in the gift shop, browsing around and waiting for the evening to start. Then our guide met us at the gate and led us back into the grounds.

First came a greeting ceremony. The group gathered, and our guide chose a chief -- Grandad Wayne! Our chief was to represent all of us and the lands we came from (the U.S., Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Canada, Australia) in a welcome called a traditional powhiri. A warrior came out of the meeting house -- his tribe behind him -- and offered sort of a greeting/challenge dance and chant. Grandad (our chief) stood before us and watched. Then the warrior put down a peace offering (branch) and waited for our chief to come forward, pick it up, then come back with it -- without turning his back on the warrior. This was a sign we had come in peace (phew!), so the warrior came forward and welcomed him with a gesture of pressing noses together.

Once the greetings were exchanged, the group was welcomed into the marae. The chief sat in the front row, his family just behind him on the left side of the house, and the rest of the group sat on the right.

We watched a full kapa haka (performing arts) concert, filled with interesting traditional music and stories of the Maori culture. At one point all of the women were invited on stage to learn a poi dance. Even Bria did it! The guys were invited up a bit later to learn a haka, which was really fun to watch. Chief Wayne, Justin, and Cameron got pretty into learning.

They closed the concert with a song telling the story of Hinemoa and Tutanekai, sort of a Romeo and Juliet story of their tradition (with a happier ending). it was really beautiful, and we all saw a great piece of history and culture.

We then moved into a really first-class meal, with cuisine that incorporated indigenous ingredients, traditional hangi cooked food, and contemporary Maori dishes. There was pork, lamb, chicken, seafood, kumera, potatoes, salad, and lots more, plus gorgeous mussels as an entree (what we would call an appetizer in the U.S.) and breads. The dessert spread was just as impressive -- and we were encouraged to come back for seconds and thirds (and to use a plate if the bowls were too small). There was a lovely chocolate mousse, eclairs, fruit salad, pavlova, cream, and chocolate cake with hot custard. We could have stayed there all night, and we were all stuffed to the brim!

After we had all gotten our fill of the delicious food and lovely hospitality, we met up with our guide again for the closing entertainment -- a starlight visit to Pohutu, the famous geyser located on the grounds.

Every detail was thought of. We were met with tubs of soft, warm blankets, and told to grab one and get into a car, which was one of a row of cars attached to an electric engine. Each car was encased with plastic with zippers to help keep us warm as we headed down to view the geyser.

They drove us down a path and paused on a bridge to view the pools and geyser, telling us some history of the area, then drove down the a bit so we could get out and check it out. When we got out of the cars, there was hot chocolate to warm us. We walked back down to the bridge and watched Pohutu spit and sputter and shoot water 20 feet or so into the air, then we walked back up and sat on thermal-heated rocks while our guide held a closing ceremony. As it turns out, our host had a beautiful singing voice! We then got back into the cars and rode back to the gate where we each splashed water on the green stone for luck and headed out.

We all agreed it had been a delightful evening, and Jenny felt she had found a wonderful local secret right in her own back yard.

Finally it was a drive back around Lake Rotorua to get back to our lake house and call it a night. (The only disappointment was that we didn't get any photos! I suppose that means we have to do it again next time we are in the country.)

Rotorua Vacations