Vi's Teahouse

I did the guided tour, booked the Haka and lunch at the restaurant. What a fabulous experience! I enjoyed and loved everything about Te Puia. Our guide told the facts about this stunning geothermal region, the Kiwi birds and about the Maori traditions, way of living, producing pieces of art, a.m.m. in an interesting and easily understandable way for me as European tourist. I also liked his sense of humor and that he answered all our questions. The electric shuttle back to the entrance was a comfortable and easy return, thank you so much! The entry explanation for the Haka was due to the crowd of people fully unclear for me. The complete performance of the Maori women and men in their gathering house though was gorgeous and stays in my memory for ever! The Grande Finale of my day in Te Puia was the absolutely delicious buffet in the restaurant, me sitting at the big windows watching Pohutu Geyser erupt while eating excellent meals with lamb, chicken, potatoes, rice, chocolate mousse and vanilla ice cream. What an extraordinary experience in Te Puia in Rotorua! DANKESCHÖN!

Our experience started with a cultural experience that gave me goosebumps. The Māori performers are talented, energetic and passionate. Then we did a tour with the guide Paul. He was knowledgeable, funny, and patient with questions and insights. Worth the trip, great time overall. *we did not get to see the geyser erupt but it was still really cool Reserve in advance! Cultural performances are in the morning/afternoon, or you can do an evening/dinner.

Loved it. It was such a good experience. This is a must visit for New Zealand. Interesting to learn about Mauri culture. The guides were very good. Although our tour was around 2 hours it felt a bit rushed. We probably could have spent more time. We saw Geysers, Kiwi, hot stones, stone work, wood work and weaving. We had the hangi included in our ticket which was surprisingly good. We are vegetarians and had low expectations but that was not warranted. There was loads of choice and it was too much to eat. I wish I had a smaller lunch! After dinner we had a Maori cultural show which was very good. Again I would advise you go for this in your ticket. A large proportion of the ticket goes to support the community so I felt it was great value for money.

Excellent buffet dinner with MANY gluten free items and absolutely everything is labeled. The show after was a real treat and we enjoyed learning more about Māori culture. I brought kids ages 11, 12, 14 and 15 and everyone had a great time. Most of us skipped the hyper afterwards due to heavy rains. We hope to come back tomorrow for a full tour with history lesson.

The guided tour started with seeing Maori students learning to carve wood, stone and bone. Also, we saw examples of weaving before going to the kiwi conservation house. A male and female kiwi are kept in separate living areas and they were both out foraging when we were there. Next was the thermal area, including the Pohutu Geyser. The guide was knowledgeable and funny but unfortunately, if you stopped to take a photo or couldn't keep up with the front of the tour, you missed out on the commentary of the quietly spoken guide. The tour was over in 1hr 15min, but you are welcome to stay in the grounds or visit the cafe and restaurant.

Excellent buffet dinner with MANY gluten free items and absolutely everything is labeled. I wouldn’t normally eat Oysters on the half shell at a buffet but these were fresh and tasty. The show after was a real treat and we enjoyed learning more about Māori culture. I brought kids ages 11, 12, 14 and 15 and everyone had a great time. Most of us skipped the hyper afterwards due to heavy rains. We hope to come back tomorrow for a full tour with history lesson.

We went around with a guide which adds value to the experience. There are opportunities to see, hear, smell and feel the thermal park. You can feel the heat in the ground and on some of the 'hot seats' they have. Also worth a mention is the Kiwis you can see in their dedicated nocturnal enclosure; you have to be patient and ideally quiet and give time for your eyes to adjust to the dark, but it's worth it if you are fortunate enough to see them

A must-do when visiting New Zealand. My third time at Te Puia and I’ll still come back for a fourth visit. A 70ha geothermal valley, Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, and kiwi conservation centre. They don’t run self-guided tours anymore but you do get to freely explore the park after the guided tour to take photos at your leisure. After seeing the main attraction of Pohutu geyser, there’s a nice circular trail around the park seeing the more dormant geysers and springs, mud pools, and river. The Māori artwork is amazing, and the tour through the institute gives you a fantastic insight into the culture and knowledge of the Māori. Being able to speak to the students and see what brought them to the school was a real bonus. And to top it off, we saw both kiwi in their enclosure! (You’ll be impressed at how big they are)