Geothermal and Maori Experiences at Te Puia

Bush walks and bubbling mud

Eventually, we manage to pull ourselves away from the Pohutu Geyser to start exploring the rest of the geothermal park. A loop track divides geothermal features with native bush which attract native birds for us to watch along the way. We walk to various bubbling mud pools. Information panels along the way describe the geology behind the features, as well as how they got their Maori names. With all the heavy rainfall we have had recently, the bubbling mud has mostly turned to bubbling ponds, but we do manage to find patches of bubbling mud with a satisfying viscosity for the ultimate “glooping” sounds at the bubbles pop!

Now Robin has to drag Laura away from these bubbling mud pools which she finds way too entertaining. Once she has captured about a hundred photos of the same popping bubbles, we move on around the park.

Bizarre landscapes, geysers and cooking pools

Along the way, we capture some stunning views of the forested geothermal valley with patches of steam rising between trees. It makes for a bizarre and beautiful sight.

We catch up with a guide who shows us the Papakura Geyser, a geyser that has recently come back to life after about three decades without an eruption. He also points out the Te Horu Geyser and shows us The Cooking Pool, a.k.a. Ngararatuatara! This perfectly round pool of bubbling water named after the eye of the native lizard, the tuatara, has been used for centuries to cook food. There are still demonstrations of this cooking experience put on today where the woven flax baskets full of fresh food are lowered into the cooking pool.

Our guide shows us the steaming earth surrounding the Papakura Geyser

The traditional Pikirangi Village

After seeing some weird and wonderful geothermal features, we loop around on the track to Pikirangi village, a Maori pa site (village) that has be built in the traditional style of wooden huts made with thatched roofs. Here, we can get an example of how the early Polynesian settlers used to live hundreds of years ago. We see sleeping house, a hangi which is an earth oven used for cooking food underground, among other buildings.

A powerful Powhiri at the Rotowhio Marae

Our geothermal and Maori history loop has finally brought us to the Rotowhio Marae, a huge meeting ground made up of several buildings. Each building is beautifully carved into red-painted wood. The largest building of which is where we will be going to watch the Maori cultural show. Before we can enter the marae, we must do the powhiri, which is a traditional Maori introduction to see if the people entering the property are friend or foe. A host on the microphone explains to the procedure, picking a guy from the crowd to represent us as the tribe’s leader. From there, the powhiri begins with singing and chanting coming from the large building, or whare. Maori warriors and women come out onto the grounds before us, one warrior in particular making sudden movements towards our tribe leader. It’s a terrifying yet compelling sight. The warrior places a fern at our tribe leader’s feet. If our leader picks it up, it shows that we come in peace. If not, well… We don’t want to find out.