D - Rotorua Lakes District

Our experience started with a cultural experience that gave me goosebumps. The Māori performers are talented, energetic and passionate. Then we did a tour with the guide Paul. He was knowledgeable, funny, and patient with questions and insights. Worth the trip, great time overall. *we did not get to see the geyser erupt but it was still really cool Reserve in advance! Cultural performances are in the morning/afternoon, or you can do an evening/dinner.

We went around with a guide which adds value to the experience. There are opportunities to see, hear, smell and feel the thermal park. You can feel the heat in the ground and on some of the 'hot seats ' they have. Also worth a mention is the Kiwis you can see in their dedicated nocturnal enclosure; you have to be patient and ideally quiet and give time for your eyes to adjust to the dark, but it 's worth it if you are fortunate enough to see them

Did the Te Po experience which includes a geyser tour, buffet dinner and Maori cultural experience. The geyser walk is nice, guide was funny and the geyser going off was nice to see. The buffet was good, great selection of local cuisine, unfortunately we had very little time at the buffet. Our tour was meant to be 4-5 and Maori experience at 6:45 which would have given us enough time to eat and enjoy the buffet however our guide was a bit late and then the transport to collect us from the geyser ran really late which meant we only got to thw buffet at 6 and had 45 minutes to scramble and eat before the show. The show itself was phenomenal, truly the best part of the experience. The performers emotion and spirit could really be felt. Definitely the best was kept for last.

The guided tour started with seeing Maori students learning to carve wood, stone and bone. Also, we saw examples of weaving before going to the kiwi conservation house. A male and female kiwi are kept in separate living areas and they were both out foraging when we were there. Next was the thermal area, including the Pohutu Geyser. The guide was knowledgeable and funny but unfortunately, if you stopped to take a photo or couldn't keep up with the front of the tour, you missed out on the commentary of the quietly spoken guide. The tour was over in 1hr 15min, but you are welcome to stay in the grounds or visit the cafe and restaurant.

Excellent buffet dinner with MANY gluten free items and absolutely everything is labeled. The show after was a real treat and we enjoyed learning more about Māori culture. I brought kids ages 11, 12, 14 and 15 and everyone had a great time. Most of us skipped the hyper afterwards due to heavy rains. We hope to come back tomorrow for a full tour with history lesson.