Who Are The Māori People Of New Zealand? Te Puia Rotorua New Zealand 🇳🇿 | 197 Countries, 3 Kids

Join us for a tour of Te Puia Springs and Kiwi Conservation Center in Rotorua, New Zealand. https://www.tepuia.com/

It was also our sweet Angelique’s special day, and we thought visiting this geothermal attraction would add to a birthday worth remembering.

We joined a guided tour that introduced us to Maori art, culture, and history. We also had the opportunity to see different traditional spaces such as the Marae and Pātaka, also known as a communal Maori “fridge” or storehouse.

Then, we visited the National Bone & Stone, Wood Carving, and Weaving Schools. They make up the Maori Culture Conservation Center, where students learn traditional Maori arts and crafts, Maori language and history, and much more.

We also had the chance to look at the artworks exhibited in the Āhua Gallery and learn about the traditional Maori war canoes that could fit up to 100 warriors!

On our way to the Kiwi Conservation Center, we stopped by to witness Pohutu - the largest active geyser in the Southern hemisphere that shoots water up to 30 meters in the air. Just wow!

The Kiwi bird is a national symbol of NZ and where New Zealanders get their nickname from. It stands for humility and sacrifice.

Kiwis are also nocturnal birds and very sensitive to light, so we couldn’t show you inside their habitat. Unfortunately, New Zealand loses about 2% of the Kiwi population every year, putting the bird on the list of endangered species.

The second part of the Te Puia experience included a tour of the volcanic plateau, geysers, bubbling mud, and geothermal formations. We enjoyed every minute of learning about the chemical processes, the natural history of the area, its formation, and its influence on the rich Maori culture.

We loved the spectacular views and appreciated the warmth but weren’t keen on the sulfur smell :-) At times it even felt like we were walking on the Moon!

Believe it or not, the steam was so hot that they even used it to cook fish, vegetables, meat, and seafood.

Our guide steamed some sweet pudding that doubled as a birthday cake for Angelique. She definitely didn’t expect such a big b-day party!

An interesting fact we learned was that there was only one native Maori language, spoken in different dialects. The Maori also worshiped the same deities, which helped avoid religious wars.

It seemed like everywhere we went in Rotorua, we experienced something extraordinary, and Te Puia just added an extra unique experience to the list.

We did a little more sightseeing around the volcanic area on our own, and we ran into a display with the recently launched Maori emojis.

Julia and Chantal also had fun pronouncing Te WhakarewarewatangaOTeOpeTauaAWahiao - one of the longest Maori words we have ever seen.

On our way out, we shopped for souvenirs to remind us of our visit to Te Puia and had the warmest farewell greeting in Maori.

Overall, it was a wonderful birthday experience for Angelique!

We can’t wait to show you more of our Rotorua adventures. Stay tuned for upcoming videos.

0:00 Visiting Te Puia for Angelique’s 15th Birthday
1:33 Learning About Maori Culture
1:49 Pātaka - Communal Maori “Fridge”
2:10 National Bone & Stone & Wood Carving School NZ
3:22 National Weaving School NZ
4:01 Āhua Gallery
4:13 Warrior Canoes in New Zealand
4:38 Pohutu - Largest Active Geyser in the Southern Hemisphere
5:02 Kiwi Conservation Center
5:55 Admiring Geothermal Activities
7:22 Are We Walking on the Moon?
7:44 Maori Hangi - Cooking With Volcanic Steam
7:56 Golden Syrup Steamed Pudding for Angelique's Birthday
9:40 Maori Language
10:19 Do You Like Maori Emojis?
10:55 Who’s Up for a Tongue Twister?
11:20 Wishing Us Farewell in Maori

Enjoy the video.

#Maori #Rotorua #NewZealand
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