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snodge
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South Island ▷ Kaikoura Region ▷ Kaikoura ▷
Maori Tours Kaikoura
This was a brilliant personalised tour.
We learnt a lot about Maori protocols and then applied them in a visit to our guide's home for morning tea. We learnt a lot about uses of native plants, got to try some native tea, learn some flax weaving, and learn a song to sing to the great trees of the forest. This tour is a must do in Kaikoura and a great way to be welcomed to the area.
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North Island ▷ Rotorua Region ▷ Rotorua ▷
Mitai Maori Village
This was generally an excellent experience, however when we went there were 300 people that night and this lessened some aspects.
Our chairs for the performance had our view partially obstructed by a pole, and the waka coming down the river element felt a little like a circus due to the crowds of people. However, the content of the show and the interaction with the chief, the skill of the performers were all first class. This was a really excellent experience despite a few downsides. I did think that Mitai are going to need to set limits on expansion or they will be a victim of their own success.
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North Island ▷ Rotorua Region ▷ Rotorua ▷
Wingspan National Bird of Prey Centre
Fantastic experience and fantastic value at only $20 for adult entry.
You get to see NZ falcons, owls and harriers in their large enclosures and a flight show where you can see and learn a lot about the falcons and how they are trained and exercised. The facility captive breeds endangered birds. The information provided is great and we also got the opportunity to have the falcon land on our gloved hand. It was a fantastic experience all round.
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North Island ▷ Ruapehu ▷ Waiouru ▷
National Army Museum
this is a small museum.
They have provided is a good though high level overview of the various eras of army deployment. The Tears on Greenstone memorial is very moving.
There is quite a good cafe on site also which is helpful and the gift shop has some great military books available. Staff at gift shop were very friendly.
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North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷ Auckland ▷
Auckland Museum Maori Cultural Show
For $25 we got a very good show by some highly skilled performers.
The information provided was extremely good value for money compared to several other shows we did while in Northland and Taupo/Rotorua.
An additional $10 entitled you to a brief guided tour in the Maori Gallery where quite a lot of information was packed into the time available. As far as I could see it was information that was not provided in the displays themselves.
We were very glad we did the Maori Experience at the Museum. It was excellent value.
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Dargaville ▷
The Kauri Museum
they were having power difficulties the day we went so some galleries weren't really too visible including the kauri gum collection.
the museum has extensive information about kauri and kauri gum digging. Machinery and a section from a large felled tree which can be compared with the other large kauri that have been known. This side of things was very sad I thought. A bit like a war memorial as so many of these great and ancient giants have been obliterated.
I was surprised to find that there is also a fairly extensive general museum with mock up shops and scenes, and a celebration of boarding houses from days gone by with photos and information about examples from across the region and a huge mock up of a multistoried boardign house in the museum itself.
and some information about the Waipoua Forest Trust and what they are doing to support the forest and replant more and how you can help with that effort - easiest is to give money.
Definitely worth a visit.
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Paihia ▷
Waitangi Treaty Grounds
The site is quite small.
The main features are the Treaty House, which is just an historic house, as the treaty was signed out in the grounds not in the house. Also a very nicely carved Maori meeting house, a large waka (canoe) a forest board walk.
We did two additional tours on top of the entry fee. $15 each tour. The performers in the Moari hapa haka were mostly very young. It gave you a little bit of a taste of things, but the other tours we did provided better information and also the performers were more skilled.
If you are looking for an inexpensive way to get a feel for Maori performance/culture I would say that the Maori Experience at the Auckland Museum and War Memorial is much better value for money and provides both better information and more highly skilled performers.
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North Island ▷ Waikato ▷ Waitomo ▷
Aranui Cave
We found the guide quite rude at the beginning though she did improve in the course of the tour.
You meet the guide at the reserve near the entrance to the cave. The guide collected our tickets then took off up the path at a very fast pace. The path is steep and then you reach some flights of stairs. The guide waited inside the cave and when the first of the tour group arrived said in a very smug gloating sort of way.. "noone told you about the stairs did they." ..and no they didn't. But they really should. There are well over two hundred stairs in the tour of this cave, which in caving terms is not bad, but people should be aware when they pay their money, and the guides should say something about it when the group meets up. If there's nowhere suitable to stop on the way up so people can catch up, then they could at least say they'll be waiting up inside the cave where there will be time to catch your breath.
The Aranui cave has the most crystal formations of the display caves at Waitomo. Unfortunatley quite a lot of the stalactites have been broken in earlier times when people would take them as souvenirs. There are no shawls to speak of in the Aranui Cave. Ruakuri cave has some nice shawls if you want to see that. We enjoyed the Aranui cave but we do enjoy visiting caves generally.
The big hit for us in this cave was the colony of cave weta. Now that was cool!
If you have been to Jenolan Caves near Sydney Australia, or are moving on to Sydney and the Blue Mountains as part of your trip, then you might find it useful to know that the Aranui Cave is nowhere near as spectacular as the better caves at Jenolan if you are looking for crystal formations.
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North Island ▷ Waikato ▷ Waitomo ▷
Spellbound Ltd
Both caves visited on the tour are easily accessible with few stairs.
Easier than the other Glow worm cave at the moment while redevelopment is going on for the visitor centre.
The chamber with the glow worms is longer and lower in height than the other Glow worm cave, however the boat is not as comfortable while you're in it being an inflatable rather than a level seated aluminium.
at one point the group walks out of the cave in the dark,just the glow worms for light, hanging on to the person in front. This is easy and interesting to do.
The second cave is very interesting and different to the Aranui or Ruakuri caves in that it has a number of tomos to see and some skeletal remains.
The whole tour was well done and interesting and Norm was interested in the group and very willing to talk and answer questions.. this was a big point of difference to the other cave tours we did.
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North Island ▷ Waikato ▷ Waitomo ▷
Waitomo Glowworm Caves
We went on one of the last tours of the day when there was a group of less than twenty people.
Our guide had a well rehearsed patter which he performed well, but it was a performance. It was very conveyor belt like and questions asked were simply ignored.
Personally I didn't find the anecdote about the cave guide who made up a lie when asked a question they couldn't answer, very funny. Especially when we've noticed a guide do this on another tour we did elsewhere in New Zealand.
The cave itself was better than I expected. We had read that the cave that Spellbound go to is much better for glow worms. I would say they are just different. Spellbound's cave is longer. and noisier with the roar of a waterfall the dominant sound. The Glowworm cave is higher, more quiet, more like a cathedral. I enjoyed it very much.
The boats for the glowworm cave are more comfortable than the boat that Spellbound use also.
We found both tours very worthwhile, but were lucky with the size of our group on the glowworm cave tour. We did a couple of circuits of the cave before exiting and it didn't feel particularly rushed at all.
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We did the half day fly/drive tour from Pahia to Cape Reinga.
the conditions on the day were a bit bumpy and passengers where given the option to change their minds, which a couple did.
The tour was brilliant. Our pilot was knowledgeable and friendly and provided an interesting commentary throughout the flights. Coach driver also was friendly, knowledgeable and entertaining.
the whole operations seemed slick and professional and the plane and bus were quite new.
Cape Reinga itself was brilliant. A fascinating place both in terms of the physical environment and in terms of the spiritual maori culture side of things. We had a brief explanation from our guide to make sure we didn't miss the critical points, and then had half an hour to wander down to the lighthouse. I bit longer there would have been good. Morning tea was at a nearby beach which was natural and beautiful. Morning tea was fairly frugal so make sure you have a good breakfast or lunch before the trip.
The cape is also quite windy, so you will need a jacket and maybe something to keep the wind out of your ears for best comfort.
We also had an opportunity for a taste of sand boarding on the te paki sand dunes which was fun.
We thought the tour was excellent value. I tended to agree with their motto.. Northland.. best seen from above. Great trip.
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Dargaville ▷
Tokatoka Scenic Reserve Track
Hard to rate this walk.
It is a very rough track. Dry when we went up but it would be extremely difficult in wetter conditions. There are no safety hand rails anywhere on the way up or at the top. I note the warning re supervision of children in the description for this place, but i would say just don't do this walk with kids. Also don't do it if you're not especially good with heights. That includes me. I'm usually fine and can do most things but this one was just scary as you approached the summit. I had to go back down slowly backwards.. My husband is not bothered by heights at all and enjoyed it, but said it was a bit of a worry getting back off the top.
The first part of the walk is uphill through some bush, there are three styles along the way where you have to climb over fences. No interpretive signs along the track, so not much point going other than for the views.
The ascent is steep. The path is just grooves in the earth as though they have been formed by people's feet over over time.
There are some reasonably good views at places as you start the more serious part of the ascent, but for the really great views you need to go right up to the top. Don't bother with this walk if you are not reasonably fit and agile and have a head for heights...and really want to see the views.
The access road is dirt for part of the way also.
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Hokianga ▷
Footprints Waipoua
We found Footprints evening experience an excellent way to see the Waipoua forest, and the great trees.
The tour was interactive, our guide very friendly, and the singing of the maori songs for the trees and when speaking about important things was excellent.
We went back to see Tane Mahuta in daylight next day and had to jostle with lots of people. We were very glad that we got to see the trees of Waipoua in a more reverential manner on the footprints tour.
A lot of effort was taken to help all the people along on the night get to know eachother and make us a temporary whanau... we got some insights into Maori culture on this tour that we got on no other tour we have taken.
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Bay of Islands ▷
Culture North
The Culture North show was an excellent evening's entertainment and education.
The performers were all very skilled and the explanations provided by Kena in respect to how the appointed chiefs should respond to the challenge were outstanding. We have attended other shows where the challenge was performed. At Mitai it was obvious that the chiefs were briefed, but the rest of the audience would not have realised the detail of what was going on. We understood what was happening much better because of the information provided on the Culture North show. The numbers on the night were manageable also. No dinner provided, so with that in consideration it's similar value to other shows that provide dinner and considerably cheaper as you just have your own dinner however you prefer. We were glad to have done this tour.
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Dargaville ▷
Kauri Coast Holiday Park Guided Kiwi Walk
This has to be the best value tour in New Zealand!!
The walk was led by Herb the night we went and we learnt all sorts of things along the way. I helped find a kiwi, so my husband and I were lucky enough to see it, but others in the group weren't so lucky as the bird moved away quite quickly.
My only criticism would be that there was little emphasis on the group being quiet, so that lessened the chances of seeing the kiwi, but in any case they do apparently have pretty good success seeing them.
We had a brilliant time on this tour.
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Dargaville ▷
Dargaville Museum
This is an outstanding small museum.
They have a wide ranging collection sensibly organised along a number of themes. In what seems to be the kiwi style items are presented in scenes depicting a type of room or shop etc and these are very well done. We enjoyed our visit very much indeed and though it good value for the entrance fee.
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North Island ▷ Waikato ▷ Waitomo ▷
Ruakuri Cave
The great thing about the Ruakuri cave is it's accessibility.
The cave is wheelchair accessible... not so sure about the bus that takes you there though. Maybe ask the operator about that if you are in need of wheelchair access.
It's not a particularly fabulous cave for crystal formations. There are a couple of sections with "pretties" some nice shawls, stalactites and stalagmites, flowstone and so on, but they are not on the scale of places like Jenolan Caves in Australia. We still enjoyed this cave though. It does have some glow worms as well and for those tall enough to look over the railing, views of the river below and on the first tour of the day we watched the black water rafters pass by below.
If you are looking for "pretties" in Waitomo the Aranui Cave is the best you will do.. ruarkuri was fun though.. but we do enjoy walking around caves. Each has their own personality.
In the Ruakuri cave there were interesting stories about the construction work for redevelopement of the cave. the giant spiral ramp into the cave and teh tunnel from there were fun we thought. Very James Bond. It is expensive for what you get, which reflects the cost of development.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Okarito ▷
Okarito Kiwi Tours
I'm a bit tardy in posting my review.
We went out with Okarito Kiwi tours in a party that included my elderly mobility impaired mother. Ian organised a specially tailored trip to enable mum to participate. We did see the kiwi and it was wonderful.
You do need to be prepared to be patient and be prepared for your sightings to be fairly brief,
My other recommendation is to wear very quiet clothing or take up the offer of the polar fleece jumpers when they are offered at the beginning of the tour. It will make your waiting more comfortable.