Te Whakarewarewatanga O Te Ope Taua A Wahiao

In Rotorua, a couple hours from Waitomo, we visited a Maori village built on geothermal pools. The Maori were the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. Their village, called Te Whakarewarewatanga O Te Ope Taua A Wahiao or "The Gathering Place of the Army of Wahiao" or just Whaka for short, was an interesting mix of past and present. While a few replicas of old stick huts that the natives used to inhabit remained, much of the site contained more modern homes with electricity and glass windows. The tourist destination was still inhabited by the Maori and the geothermal pools on which the town was built were still in use. We took the tour.

Emily standing next to a normal sized sleeping hut of the Maori.

The village was situated on a hill, and you could see steam all around and many hot pools. The smell of sulfur filled the air and heat emanated from the ground. If that wasn't enough to convince a you that you were on a hotbed of geothermal activity, you could see two geysers spewing a few hundred yards away.

Steam was everywhere between the houses!

Prince of Wales Geyser, one of two visible from the village.

The most amazing thing to me was the fact that the natives still used the pools to cook and bathe. While we did not witness anybody bathing in the tubs they fill once a day with mineral-laden water from the pools, we did get to see some cooking. There were two methods used for preparing food. The first method was steaming, which the residents accomplished in a wooden box with a lid that was placed over a steam vent. As we were walking, a person actually set her dinner in the box to cook or reheat it. The second method was boiling. Locals would take some cheesecloth, put some frozen corn or chicken in it, tie the top to form a bag, and then suspend the package in the hot pools for some time. Frozen corn took four minutes and a frozen chicken an hour and a half. Not bad at all.

Spring water would flood this area en route to the bathtubs located to the left of this picture. Colorful mineral deposits were left behind after evaporation of the water.

A steam box for cooking.

Our guide demonstrating the rig for cooking directly in the hot springs. You could even vary your temperature a little based on the depth at which you cooked. The person who put this bag together came to retrieve it while we were standing there.

We also saw a traditional show where the villagers demonstrated some Maori dances and vocal talents. Four men and four women sang in their native tongue and quite impressed me. They also demonstrated some stick skills that have been passed through the generations and originated as demonstrations of warrior prowess. The show also contained the Haka dance, which is a warrior dance that you may have seen in "Invictus." They pulled some guys onto stage and we got to laugh while they tried it. Throughout the dance and the entire show, the guys from the village made their popular traditional faces with bulging eyes and tongue stuck out. When I try making the face, it looks more stupid than scary. The performance is maintained through the generations by kids learning the moves and then replacing the elders as they retire. It may have been aimed at tourists, but it did not feel overly produced like some shows.

One of Maori women demonstrated dancing with a "poi," which is a ball on a string. With it, she made cool percussion sounds during her song by hitting her hands as she swung it through the air.

After the show, we took a walk around the area to see the other hot springs and the mud pools that bubbled up at various places in the village. If memory serves, our guide said there were around 25 hot pools, which were all very clear. Once we had our fill of the village and its geothermal activity, we headed off for a day of swimming with the dolphins--or at least our attempt.

A view from our hot springs walk.

Us on our hot springs walk. Look at that hot stuff behind us!