Travelsmartplanet

At the Tanihanga, the Maori passing ceremony, the chief’s canoe would be stood up and semi-buried in the ground. This would be the gratitude and homage paid to the great man, warrior and chief. More designs and carvings (kowhaiwhai) would be added to the already decorated canoe to show tribal connections. In this Pouwairua they honor chief Tuhourangi who once occupied the surrounding lands.

Tags: buried, bury, canoe, carvings, ceremony, chief, Chief Tuhourangi, connection, decorated, designs, gratitude, ground, homage, honor, kowhaiwhai, land, Maori, memorial, New Zealand, North Island, passing, passing ceremony, Pouwairua, semi-buried, sights, sightseeing, stood up, surrounding, surrounding land, Tanihanga, tour, tourist, travelblogger, Tribal, Tuhourangi, warrior

New Zealand has lots of trees to walk around in, and on top of. If you climb up here you can get a bird’s eye view of the lush landscape. 

Tags: Adventure, bird’s eye view, climb, Coast, earth, earth focus, explore, Kiwi, landscape, lush, Mother Nature, nature trail, nature walk, New Zealand, North Island, perspective, scenery, sights, sightseeing, tour, tourist, travelblogger, Tree Top, Tree Top Walk, trees, treetop, treetops, view, view from the top, views, West Coast, wetlands, wilderness, wilderness trail trail

It almost seems like every turn you take in New Zealand you see another green and lush vista.

Tags: distant view, elevated, green, landscape, lush, mountain, New Zealand, North Island, panorama, panoramic, Passage, perspective, scene, scenery, seascape, sights, sightseeing, tour, tourist, travelblogger, trees, view, view from the top, vista, vista view

Our guide threw some sweet corn on the cob into Parekohuru, their largest mineral pool. Mother Nature then took care of the cooking. In 8 minutes, lunch is ready. How smart those Maori people were, to find such a terrific place to live.

Tags: cob, cooking, corn, corn on the cob, culture, earth, Earth's surface, geothermal, geyser, guide, hot, hot spring, hydrogeological, Indigenous, life, lunch, Maori, Maori village, mineral, mineral pool, Mother Nature, Nature, New Zealand, Parekohuru, people, pool, Rotorua, sights, sightseeing, Smart, steam, Steam Ven, sweet corn, thermal, thermal pit, tour, tourist, travelblogger, Ven, village

Thermal pits are common in the central area of the North Island of New Zealand. The Maori used them for cooking and bathing. How clever. 

Tags: bath, bathing, cooking, culture, earth, Earth's surface, entry, eruption, erupts, exit, faithful, faithful geyser, geothermal, geyser, hot, hot spring, hydrogeological, life, lifestyle, Maori, Maori life, Maori village, mineral, Mineral Bath, Mother Nature, national, natural, natural wonder, Nature, New Zealand, North Island, Old Faithful, park, phenomenon, pit, sights, sightseeing, soak, thermal, thermal bath, thermal pit, thermal pool, tour, tourist, travelblogger, water

On the North Island of NZ, In Rotorua, there are a few communities which re-create living historic village life of the Maori people. This cultural show highlights dancing, singing, and facial expressions.

Tags: community, cultural, Cultural Show, dance, dancing, expression, facial, facial expression, generation, highlight, historic, historic past, life, living, living village, Maori, Maori Cultural Show, Maori living village, Maori people, music, New Zealand, North Island, past, people, perform, re-create, Rotorua, show, sights, sightseeing, singing, tour, tourist, traditional, travelblogger, village, village life, Whakarewarewa, Whakarewarewa Maori Village

Hot thermal mineral baths and hot thermal mineral geysers are found all over Maori land in Whakarewarewa, New Zealand. This one shoots up on a regular schedule every day.

Tags: earth, Earth's surface, eruption, erupts, faithful, faithful geyser, geothermal, geyser, hot, hot spring, hydrogeological, Korotiotio, land, Maori, Maori Land, mineral, Mineral Bath, mineral geyser, Mother Nature, national, natural, natural wonder, Nature, New Zealand, Old Faithful, park, phenomenon, regular, regular schedule, Rotorua, schedule, sights, sightseeing, steam, surface, thermal, tour, tourist, travelblogger, USA, water, Whakarewarewa, Whakarewarewa Maori Village, Whakerewarewa, Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park

The Yellowstone National Park in the US is not the only place on earth that has very faithful geysers. This one, called Korotiotio, is found on Maori land in Whakarewarewa, New Zealand.

Tags: earth, Earth's surface, eruption, faithful, faithful geyser, geothermal, geyser, hot spring, hydrogeological, Korotiotio, land, Maori, Maori Land, Mother Nature, national, natural, natural wonder, Nature, New Zealand, Old Faithful, park, phenomenon, Rotorua, sights, sightseeing, steam, surface, tour, tourist, travelblogger, USA, water, Whakarewarewa, Whakarewarewa Maori Village, Whakerewarewa, Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park

In Whakerewarewa, New Zealand, the Maori way of life is preserved. The hot thermal mineral baths were an important part of their life. Here these hot thermal pools are designed for easy sitting, entry and exit. You can see the younger generation enjoys them too. This was the young lad who earlier jumped into the freezing water for visitors (see earlier Instagram) so it must have been especially yummy for him to soak in the warm water.

Tags: bath, culture, designed, entry, exit, freezing, freezing water, generation, hot, Instagram, life, lifestyle, Maori, Maori life, Maori village, mineral, Mineral Bath, New Zealand, pool, preserved, sights, sightseeing, sitting, soak, thermal, thermal pool, tour, tourist, travelblogger, village, visitor, warm water, water, Whakerewarewa, younger

Tupuna Whare, the Meeting House, is the center of the Maori community. Gatherings of all kinds including entertainment, teaching, meetings, and funerals all took place (and still take place) here. 

Tags: community, community center, entertainment, funeral, gathering, house, Indigenous, Maori, Maori culture, Maori village, meeting, Meeting House, meetings, New Zealand, sights, sightseeing, teaching, tour, tourist, travelblogger, Tupuna, Tupuna Whare, village, Whakerewarewa, Whare