It's not often that you get a glimpse into the history of an amazing culture such as Maori, but at Mitai Maori Village in Rotorua, you get to do just that. Think carved wooden canoes, tattooed faces, wooden huts and lots of singing and dancing.
We were picked up from our Rotorua accommodation at 4.45pm and ten minutes later, arrived at Mitai. We were shown into a marquee, where we paid and were given our table number for the banquet. Shortly after, our guide for the night introduced himself and talked about the night. Usually, this type of guide can either be painfully boring, ultra cringe-y or you can't really understand what their saying - luckily, our guide was none of these and had most of us laughing. What was really impressive was that he was able to greet all eleven nations that were there in their language - something few of us will ever be able to do.
After that, we were shown the 'hangi' (the tradition Maori meal that is cooked underground) which proved to be very delicious later in the evening. We then grabbed a fleecy blanket and headed down to the stream to watch men dressed in traditional Maori clothing canoe past us chanting and rather scarily stick their tongues out and bulge their eyes - something their ancestors did to warn off unwelcome guests.
We then headed to the seated area to watch a cultural performance, where Maori men and women showed us the instruments, tools and weapons that their ancestors used, sang their traditional songs, performed the famous Haka and taught us Maori words and told us about their history.
They saved for the best for last however, as after the performance it was time for the feast, where the guide was keen to remind us " Make sure you go up twice as we have LOTS of food. Backpackers, five times for you!" - which really tickled us. There was food to suit everyone; salad, cauliflower rice, seafood chowder, kumaras, potatoes, chicken, lamb and stuffing...and if that wasn't enough, for desert there was chocolate log, custard and pavlova along with teas and coffees.
After a bush stroll accompanied with torches down to Mitai's famous 'Fairy Spring' that releases twenty four million litres of pure spring water everyday ( we even spotted an eel in there!), it was time to head back to the buses and home.
Website : www.mitai.co.nz
Location : 196 Fairy Springs Rd, Rotorua. ( 5 minutes from town)
Cost : $79pp ( Winter special) Normal rates $111pp
Verdict! T : I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and the food was a-m-a-z-i-n-g. Well worth a visit.
S: Great and interesting experience, although maybe the price is a bit high for what it is.
T2S
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