New Zealand: Te Puia Maori center

We didn’t have far to go the next day, so we had an easy, 10AM start in Rotorua (see previous New Zealand posts).

Piling back into the bus, we rode the short distance to the Te Puia Maori complex, featuring a “living village;” an outstanding cultural center; traditional schools you can tour (e.g. watching master woodcarvers at work); and a small kiwi bird conservation center; all built on the site of a former village that used the abundant geothermal springs and geysers as natural defensive moats.

We spent the morning there.

I especially enjoyed seeing the schools, where master Maori craftspeople and their apprentices worked side by side.:

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Lots more pix: https://photos.app.goo.gl/aQco3vrzC7bv4Sft6

The geothermal pools and geysers were interesting, too: One there erupts for up to 45 min at a time — very, very long. (Most geysers erupt for seconds to a few tens of seconds.)

Brief video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/3zCbJcjtnse7BffR6

I asked the guide: He said the Earth’s crust is only around 65 meters/215 feet thick there.

More pix, videos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/WRqYj3BFNnJQW9p26

More info on the village and cultural center: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_M%C4%81ori_Arts_and_Crafts_Institute

Te Puia’s own site: https://tepuia.com/#

Next up: A night in a rural Maori family lodge

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