Dinner on the Rocks

Dinner on the Rocks

Rotorua, the cultural home of the Maori, is the best place to experience a hangi, a traditional Maori feast for which the meal-to-be is cooked over steaming vents. Several local organizations offer the chance to try this slow-cooked treat, paired with a concert -- an evening that may remind you of a Hawaiian lu'au. Don't pass it up!

As a manuhiri (guest), you'll get the full picture, beginning with a powhiri, the awe-inspiring Maori welcome that generally includes the wero (challenge), the karanga (cries of welcome), and the hongi, or pressing together of noses, an age-old Maori gesture that shows friendship. If you're not comfortable bouncing your olfactory organ around on another, don't worry -- a simple handshake will suffice.

While the food cooks, a show begins with haunting harmonious singing, foot stamping, and poi twirling (rhythmic swinging of balls on strings). The performance might raise the hair on the back of your neck or bring a lump to your throat -- but this will be assuaged with food, glorious food. The lifting of the hangi will produce pork, sometimes lamb and chicken, and kumara (sweet potato), vegetables, and maybe fish and other seafood, followed by a delicious dessert.

The New Zealand Maori Arts & Crafts Institute (Hemo Rd. 07/348-9047 or 0800/494-252) hosts Mai Ora, a premier Maori cultural evening, hangi, and concert for $70, including pickup at area hotels. The Park Heritage Hotel (Froude and Tryon Sts. 07/348-1189) also has an excellent cultural show and hangi for $59.