Maori - The Old and the New

Te Puia, Rotorua. 2007 Ajr

I was writing about Te Puia's weavers yesterday but it's also worth mentioning the stunning examples of traditional Maori buildings you'll find at Te Puia - one of Rotorua's major attractions. The whole place received a gorgeous NZ$20-million facelift in 2006-2007 and I happily spent about two hours walking around checking out the old (a replica of a traditional Maori village as shown above) and the new (modern in interactive touch-screen galleries that outline histores and legends). Te Puia is also home to the dramatic hissing and gushing of Pohutu Geyser, which erupts 10-25 times a day to up to 20-metres. www.tepuia.com