Te Puia

Heart of tourist foolishness. Evening event like a glorified luau. Maori land and thermal bonanza. First geysers after yet another bit of education about the Maori. They were quite war like which seems to be glorified and glossed over at the same time. Like many cultures it is being resurrected and modernized to suit current tastes.  After an introduction we were given 10 minutes to walk through some fairly spectacular geysers bubbling mud pots. Then came the reconstructed Maori huts using no modern nails etc (except we found some...maybe that was for one of them.) The dark kiwi house was the usual: no kiwi. They knew that would happen as the kiwi is only awake for about 4 hours. An odd bird with nostrils almost at the tip of the long bill. Nocturnal in habit, it eats worms and is being decimated by dogs. A stuffed kiwi is brought forth. The Maori used to eat them and use the feathers for cloaks. But that wasn't mentioned at this venue. Hundreds of us watched the dancing and singing which once again was warlike.  Audience participated just like luaus. The best part was singing. One woman had a great voice. There were guitars  which seemed inauthentic as well as female participation in what feels like a patriarchal culture. We were disgorged into the gift shop and then the restaurant for a hangi. Buried (in cement) pit steamed meats and vegs. This was a buffet and you can imagine the lines hundreds of tourists (mostly Asians).