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New Zealand
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Rotorua
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Tours & Activities
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Te Puia Maori Arts and Crafts Institute with Optional Cultural Performance
1 day
Instant confirmation
About this activity
Your Te Puia experience begins at the main entrance, where twelve monumental carvings reach skywards, representing twelve celestial guardians. Discover stories of our ancestors' arrival and settlement in Rotorua, and learn about our Māori culture.
The cultural tours are led by knowledgeable Maori guides. You'll hear the stories and legends that have been handed down over the generations and your guide will provide fascinating insights into New Zealand’s Maori culture.
See a kiwi bird, New Zealand's emblem, in a specially lit kiwi house staffed by animal experts who can tell you more about this unusual flightless bird.
Explore the Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley and witness the Rotorua region’s astounding thermal activity, including the eruption of the 100-foot (30-meter) Pohutu Geyser, which bursts into life up to 20 times a day.
Your guided tour also reveals the history and practice of traditional Maori crafts on a visit to the New Zealand National Carving and Weaving schools. Watch as master carvers share the prestigious art of woodcarving and students are trained in the intricate skills of weaving flax.
To enhance your Maori experience, upgrade to include a 45-minute cultural performance at Te Puia and witness the Maori traditions of hospitality and dance first-hand.
Your cultural performance begins with the ceremonial welcome performed for visitors to the Maori meeting place (marae), including the nose-to-nose greeting known as the hongi. Learn the stories behind this famous ceremony, representing the joining of two life forces to create an atmosphere of unity.
Watch the spectacle of the warlike haka dance, with weaponry displays, action songs and ritual movements including the dancers’ bulging eyes and pointed tongues. See how the more feminine poi dance contrasts with the haka, featuring the twirling of tethered balls and graceful dance movements.
Warrior skills of agility and hand-eye coordination are displayed during the titi torea stick game, as performers pass batons to the rhythm of traditional songs.
More stories and legends are told in dance during the graceful waiata-a-ringa action song, accompanied by the signature Maori hand and body movements. It's easy to see how songs and games such as these were used as a way of training future warriors in agility and coordination.
To complete your visit to Te Puia, browse woodcarvings, New Zealand jade (greenstone), weavings and other signature Maori crafts in the gallery and gift shop for the ultimate New Zealand souvenir.
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The cultural tours are led by knowledgeable Maori guides. You'll hear the stories and legends that have been handed down over the generations and your guide will provide fascinating insights into New Zealand’s Maori culture.
See a kiwi bird, New Zealand's emblem, in a specially lit kiwi house staffed by animal experts who can tell you more about this unusual flightless bird.
Explore the Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley and witness the Rotorua region’s astounding thermal activity, including the eruption of the 100-foot (30-meter) Pohutu Geyser, which bursts into life up to 20 times a day.
Your guided tour also reveals the history and practice of traditional Maori crafts on a visit to the New Zealand National Carving and Weaving schools. Watch as master carvers share the prestigious art of woodcarving and students are trained in the intricate skills of weaving flax.
To enhance your Maori experience, upgrade to include a 45-minute cultural performance at Te Puia and witness the Maori traditions of hospitality and dance first-hand.
Your cultural performance begins with the ceremonial welcome performed for visitors to the Maori meeting place (marae), including the nose-to-nose greeting known as the hongi. Learn the stories behind this famous ceremony, representing the joining of two life forces to create an atmosphere of unity.
Watch the spectacle of the warlike haka dance, with weaponry displays, action songs and ritual movements including the dancers’ bulging eyes and pointed tongues. See how the more feminine poi dance contrasts with the haka, featuring the twirling of tethered balls and graceful dance movements.
Warrior skills of agility and hand-eye coordination are displayed during the titi torea stick game, as performers pass batons to the rhythm of traditional songs.
More stories and legends are told in dance during the graceful waiata-a-ringa action song, accompanied by the signature Maori hand and body movements. It's easy to see how songs and games such as these were used as a way of training future warriors in agility and coordination.
To complete your visit to Te Puia, browse woodcarvings, New Zealand jade (greenstone), weavings and other signature Maori crafts in the gallery and gift shop for the ultimate New Zealand souvenir.
Included
- Professional guide
- Cultural performance (if option selected)
- Entry/Admission - New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute
- Entry/Admission - Te Puia
Not included
- Food and drinks
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Gratuities
Additional
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Features
Tourism
80%
Cultural
65%
Original
45%
Reviews
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Tour guide Louise was awesome. The van ride was bit of a challenge due to it being 4 hours going and returning. The in-between was an experience everyone should do. I enjoyed hearing about the Maori culture and seeing the haka dance. The hot springs were wonderful and seeing an actual geyser erupt. The hot mud pools were a sight to see. I will never forget the smell of sulfur everywhere. I enjoyed visiting the Maori craft institute and shopping at the Te Puia store.
My worst day in New Zealand. I felt as the place was a rip-off. I went to a cultural performance before and here in Te Puia I didn't feel the energy. The whole place was overcrowded. Te Puia isn't authentic and the history was missing. Interesting were the woodcarving and weaving demonstration, the guided walk and the geothermal valley. I am sure there are better Maori cultural experiences around Rotorua.
Thoroughly enjoyed this very professional show and the Geyser performed for us so a great day was hadby us and our overseas visitors.
We enjoyed walking around and seeing the thermal pools and watching the geyser. We didn't do the Cultural Performance because we were going to another one that evening. What wasn't clear from the booking information was that this is a voucher which you can use at any point during the day while Te Puia is open for general admittance. Without the performance, it was a couple of hours walking around and a gift shop.