Sibelius

There is Maori culture throughout New Zealand, but we only read about hangi feasts in the Rotorua area. Are there others open to the public and why don't we hear or read about them?

Barbara_in_CT

I went to one on the South Island in Queenstown. The Maori are not native to that area and the group we visited have re-created a typical Maoi village and sing typical songs, talk about their culture and finish with a dinner or hangi.

http://www.tourism.net.nz/region/que...e/jumpto/26653

Kay2

Can anyone compare the experiences in Rotorua and Queenstown? I do enjoy seeing native music, dance, crafts, etc. but my short visit makes me want to concentrate on South Island. Is this hangi a good alternative to Rotorua or should I wait until I can go to Rotorua?

vbca

IMO Hangi's rank right at the bottom of the cullinary ladder, along with poached Sea Slug, and Mountain Oysters (grilled lamb testicals).

Unless prepared and laid down by a master the food tastes like mud, and the meat is either undercooked, or reduced to a pulp..

Most of the "Hangi Feasts" now use an insulated box for the cooking, to save digging the hole, and the food also tastes marginally better.

If you want a real cullinary experience, and a taste of the "real" New Zealand, go to "The Road Kill Cafe" on the West Coast, and try a Possum Pie, or Spit Roasted Possum. All the ingredients are guarrenteed fresh. They drive up the road each morning and collect them, before too many cars have squished them out of shape.

Bon Appetite.

Kay2

Good point, vcba.
Of course, I can get roadkill opossum or armadillo at home.

I'm not really inerested in the dinner--my expectations for the food would be low. I am interested in where I should go to learn and experience some of the natives' history, music, crafts, etc. I will be sure to get to the Auckland museum for its displays and try to see their show/demonstration. Then I read about going to Rotorua, but the choices there seem overwhelming. Te Puia? Somewhere else? Go to just the village/centers, but skip the hangi?

For reference, I've been to various museums, cultural centers, and shows/demonstrations that I enjoyed and learned from in Alaska and Thailand and I enjoy the villages that bring in traditional architecure and explain how people lived in various times in a country's history.

vbca

If you are in Rotorua you should go to the Tamaki Brothers cultural centre. It's won the NZ Tourism Award for excellence, and it's a first class exhibit.

It's rather like a theme park of Maori life; sort of the way we like to think Maori's lived before they were "invaded" by the Pakeha. It's fairly close to reality but more polished.

You might also like the Maori Cultural centre where they teach traditional crafts like wood carving, flax weaving etc.

The Queenstown experience is good. In fact I think it might also be owned by the Tamaki Brothers, so it you are not going to be in Rotorua this would be a good choice.

Contrary to what Barbara said, the Maori settled throughout NZ, including in the Whakatupu, but is far lesser numbers than in the North Island. Probably this is due in no small part the the harsher climate in the South, but none the less there were many settlements. Major ones were at Pounawea, in the Catlins, and at Riverton near Invercargill, but there were many others.
The extent of Maori settlement is now well documented due to the process which had to be gone through to establish their historic rights to land under the Waitangi settlement. many millions of dollars has been paid to Maori tribes as compensation for past injustices, both real and imagined. As a result the Ngai Tahu tribe is now the largest land owner in the South Island, and also has extensive fishing interests. It is very much involved in tourism in Queenstown, and most of the activities you are likely to do, such as the Jet Boat ride, and Bungy Jumping are likely to have a large Ngai Tahu shareholding.

You can take comfort that the dollars you spend in NZ is supposedly going to the benefit of the indiginous people. Many Maori would dispute this, but that was the intention when the money was given. Suffice to say that some Maori have become very rich, but there is very little trickle down effect.