Whakarewarewa Village

We had a great tour through the Whakarewarewa Village area of the city. This “living” Maori Village is set in a vast sea of erupting geysers, hot thermal springs and bubbling mud pools. The hot pools are an integral part of their lives, used for cooking, cleaning and ceremonies – and are still used today. While we were given tours of the area, after 5 pm, the gates were closed and the Maori people used their village. Pools were reserved for different things, one to scald feathers off, one for cooking only veggies, ones for bathing people, ones for steaming the food. Every pool was selected on the basis of where it sat in the chain and what the use in the next pool would be. The picture shows one of the steaming boxes on the ground – it is used communally, you just return and pick your stuff up when it’s done.