Highlights of Tauranga & Maori Culture

OVERVIEW

Take an intimate cultural journey into Maori heritage at a local indigenous village and catch stunning views of the Bay of Plenty from Minden Lookout. From the pier, you’ll travel through modern, booming Tauranga and the Bethlehem suburbs on your way to Ngati Ranginui Marae. Arriving at this Maori village, you’ll be greeted by a gracious indigenous guide and escorted on a fascinating tour of this village well known for its hospitality. The tangata whenua, the local people, will help you feel at home as you explore their working settlement, where the ways of the Maori and early New Zealand settlers remain deeply tied to contemporary life. During your visit, you’ll have an opportunity to view craft-making and cooking underway and to experience the Maoris’ famous oral storytelling. Your hosts will also treat you to a refreshing tea before you depart for the wider world. Arriving up at Minden Lookout, you’ll find the perspective has gotten wide indeed. Expect to see across Tauranga, out into the Bay of Plenty, and, if conditions are favorable, even plumes of wispy smoke and steam rising from volcanic Whakaari, the White Island, offshore to the east.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Travel out into the countryside surrounding Tauranga to visit a local Maori village, known as a marae.
• Be welcomed by an indigenous guide as you begin an intimate tour of the village, meeting its hospitable residents and learning about their lives.
• Witness traditional craft-making and cooking underway, experience Maori’s tradition of storytelling, and share tea with your hosts.
• Driven up to Minden Lookout, be swept away by exceptional views out across the Bay of Plenty – and perhaps out to Whakaari volcano, puffing away some 30 miles offshore.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Wear casual, weather-appropriate clothing.
• Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
• Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen as needed.