Don visited the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute - guardian of Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve and the world famous Pohutu geyser.

Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve

This is Rotorua’s largest and best known thermal reserve and a major Maori cultural area. The full name of the reserve is Te Whakarewarewatanga o te Ope Taua a Wahiao, which means ‘The gathering together of the war party of Wahiao’ (Wahiao being a warrior chief of the Tuhourangi Tribe). However to most people, this area is simply known as Whaka or Whakarewarewa. Don found it a bizarre and mystical experience wandering through the beautiful thermal valley, past silica terraces, bubbling mud pools and geysers. The smell of rotten egg gas (hydrogen sulphide) is very strong, but after a while you don’t notice it so much.

Cooking pool

Waimaria Hemara cooked morning tea for Don in an ancient Maori cooking pool. The pool, which has long been used by the Maori people to cook meat and vegetables, has a surface temperature of around 98°C . Don was concerned that the morning tea of sweet corn would taste and smell of sulphur, but Wai assured him that was not the case. Don’s verdict after trying the corn - "very good, not like sulphur at all".

Pohutu geyser

‘Pohutu’ is a Maori word meaning ‘big splash’ or ‘explosion’ A tourist attraction since the early 1900s, the Pohutu geyser usually erupts between 10-20 times a day. It spurts hot water up to 30m into the air in an incredible display of power. The average eruption lasts from 5-10 minutes, with the longest reputed to have lasted for 15 hours! You always know when Pohutu is about to erupt, because the Prince of Wales Feathers geyser always erupts shortly before Pohutu.

Arts & Crafts Institute

The purpose of the Institute is to preserve the heritage of Maori people, encourage Maori culture and perpetuate the skills of Maori arts and crafts.Visitors can attend concerts featuring traditional Maori song and dance, weaponry, haka and poi. There are also guided tours including displays of traditional Maori arts and crafts, daily workshops by experienced sculptors and carvers, and demonstrations of weaving with flax fibre.

Further information

The New Zealand Maori Arts & Crafts Institute
PO Box 334, Hemo Road
Rotorua, New Zealand
Phone: 0011-64-7-348-9047
Email:reservations@maci.co.nz
Website: www.nzmaori.co.nz
Open 365 days of the year
Summer: 8am-6pm
Winter: 8.15am-5.15pm

Copyright CTC Productions 2003