Recap of Day 6, part 2

So we arrived in Rotorua (aka 'RotoVegas', 'Rottenrua', 'RotoRooter', 'Ratatouille') Thursday afternoon, and checked into our hotel. One of the beauties of travelling on the off-season is that there's tons of available accommodation in even the most toursity areas. Unfortunately there was a mountain biking competition (or something) in Rotorua that weekend, so all of the hostels were booked up. We had to fork out more dough than planned, but got what we paid for: a HUGE suite with 4 beds and a kitchen right down the road from the Bed and Breakfast at which my mother was staying.
Based on the suggestion of our waitress at Kai in the City (the incredible Maori restaurant in Wellington where I took my mom), the three of us were booked to take the Tamaki Maori Village tour that evening. Normally I wouldn't do this kind of thing because a)it seemed too touristy and commercial (like Disneyland with Maoris) and b) how authentic can that be?
I said as much to our waitress at K.I.T.C. to which she replied that even as a Maori she learned a lot about her culture from it.

A bus picked us up at our accommodation, and my mom was picked up next. We were then taken to the main office of Tamaki Tours and given a debrief of what would be happening that evening: a powhiri (traditional Maori challenge and welcome) as well as a hangi (traditional Maori meal consisting of different kinds of meat, vegetables and stuffing cooked in the ground). We were also taught the Maori creation myth, as well as how their ancestors arrived in Aotearoa (New Zealand) from their ancestral land, Hawaiki. Above all the information we were given was a request to take the tradition and the culture seriously.
Our driver, Wiremu, took us out to Tamaki Maori Village. We could see why these tours were restricted to nights, as in the dark you really felt like you were being taken to a different place and time.
I won't go into detail about the ceremonies and all in this, as I don't think I can do it justice, and it's something people should really experience for themselves.

entrance to Tamaki Maori Village

yours truly

Warrior challenging the visitors (us) before welcoming them onto their territory (see also video below)

Teaching us one of many Maori games

storage house

video of the group welcoming us to the meeting house, where there would be entertainment, followed by dinner:

All in all, it was a really fun, exciting, educational experience Everyone was incredible friendly and full of life, and we learned so much about Maori culture there. I highly recommend this if you ever make it to Rotorua.