Auckland to Kinloch journey: meeting the Māori culture

Based in Auckland for a little while, catching up with old friends and trying to heal our wallets, we decided to leave the city at the end of January, anxious to see more of the beauty of New Zealand and discover the real identity of the country. I wanted to meet Māori culture face to face since before I arrived in here.

After choosing for not camping -we wanted it so bad, trying to reminisce our happy hippie times in Australia-, due no having a car or enough time to enjoy it properly, we decided to cross the country in 8 days: we would make it all the way to Queenstown and start working at a remote lodge at the top end of the lake Wakatipu.

On a Sunday AM, we left our flat in the middle of Auckland, the friends, the bar and the booze, and walked to the Sky Tower carrying our everything to catch our first bus, to Rotorua. There, and after a four hour drive, we explored the natural thermal pools and walked in the heights across the Redwood forest. Not being an adrenaline junkie myself, this was the perfect evening activity.

The day after, we finally tasted a bit of the Maori culture through their food, music and arts. I have been looking forward to presence a trully Haka dance for a long long time.

I found out that Maori people -one of the friendliest I've ever met-, have had to sell themselves in a way to afford their existance and make prevail their territory. The Whakarewarewa living village is one of the most affordable ones. Would be the price aboout what is included? Would it go further? To visit any other village would've cost us over NZ$100 each.

As soon as we walked inside Whakarewarewa, we saw a group of kids between 7 and 10 years old swimming at the cold river next to one of the boiling thermal pools in the area. They told us about an ancient tradition consisting on throwing coins in the water and then they would swim or dive until finding it. They insisted a lot, until we probably threw and aussie coin or a 50c to the river. One of the boys swam vigorously until he found it.

After that little performance, we were called to the main entrance, to start the tour, and try to pronounce the full name of the village: "Tewhakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao". A cheerful local girl conducted us along the narrow dusty streets of the place, showing us the géisers activity, the local way to cook in a hole, and some knowledge about the flora. In paralel, several jewelry shops selling "original Jade" were on the roads, cautivating wealthier tourists.

Finished the tour, my favorite and most expected moment arrived: the Haka dance. Sitted at the fourth row, behind the huge hat of an asian woman, I witnessed the closest I've ever been to Maori dancers, whom performed a short version of the Haka danced in a tiny stage. Although, it was cool and I was so happy to be there.

Rotorua seemed like an empty touristic place, ready to receive heaps of tourists, backpackers and fill their bellies with alcohol and fast food. The sunny streets on a Sunday afternoon would only expose closed shops and a few emaciated locals yelling to each other.

Our next big stop would be Wellington: "the coolest little capital in the world". Find out about it and our stunning interislander cross on the next post!