Geothermal Valley Te Puia — Attraction in North Island

Nice place to watch some geysers, and to learn more about kiwi birds. You’re required to have a guided tour when visiting this place so we booked a 9am tour the night before ($75/adult).

The tour itself was informative. The sights were great. But just a few things that can be improved on.

1. There was a heavy drizzle during the tour. We had jackets with hoods but it would be more pleasant if the place provided umbrellas (like during our Hobbiton Tour) as some parts required us walking outdoors.

2. The guide was speaking softly at the start so we struggled to hear her above the rain.

3. We visited an area that displayed clothing and fibres. Again, the guide spoke softly so only those directly in front would have heard her. The people who were working there spoke louder than her and that drowned out her words at times.

4. We were not told at the start of the tour that we would be allowed to walk around after (or maybe the guide mentioned it and we just couldn’t hear her) so we felt rushed to read and look at the displays. We even lingered a little to see as much as possible before we were rushed to the next location. We felt reassured at the end when the guide ended the tour by telling us we could now walk around freely. Would have been nice to be told this at the start so we’d relax.

5. The kiwi bird viewing was amazing. Crowd control could have been managed better. We were told to go in single file, which is what we did, but a few of is were left outside the display area and could barely hear her. So while others stood and watched the kiwi birds and listened to the guide, we were left standing, staring at people’s backs, and struggling to hear some words. We resorted to breaking that single file and standing behind others to look through the glass.

Good thing we did because the moment the guide ended her dialogue, she brought everyone to the exit without time for the people at the back to linger and watch the kiwi birds.

6. Lastly, the guide spoke some farewell phrases rapidly in Māori that sounded more like a recital. Speaking slower with more gravity might have made a better impression.

Still left a 4-star review as the place itself is amazing. Just a better organised tour...

I'm Maori born and raised on the east coast. My wife and our two girls are Canadian born and raised. We flew home from Canada to visit Whanau over the Christmas/New Year period. Wife and kids wanted to experience Rotorua's cultural and scenic wonderland. Wife booked Te Pō (Hāngī Dinner Buffet + Haka) package online. You get to see, hear and taste Māori culture with a hāngī buffet dinner and cultural performance. A delicious hāngī buffet at the Pātaka Kai Restaurant & Bar, which overlooks a geothermal wonderland. We enjoyed freshly sourced produce, traditionally cooked meats and vegetables, kai moana (seafood), and a selection of sweet desserts. My wife and girls were captivated by the cultural performance in the beautifully carved meeting house, Te Aronui a Rua. The performance includes a pōhiri (traditional Māori welcome), waiata (song), mōteatea (chant), poi, and haka. We didn't attend the evening stroll down to Pōhutu Geyser and sip on hot chocolate as my oldest girl felt tired. The staff said we could come back the next night free of charge to visit the geyser and sip on hot chocolate. Empowering night and cultural experience for the family. Mauri...

Giving one star so that other people see this and don't fall for it. Bought a guided tour because this place has almost no negative reviews and thought it was a good deal to see geysars, learn about Maori culture and see kiwis for $90.

Guide was nice and gave lots of information about the Maori school, to which 50% of all income is donated to. Saw wood carving/weaving and saw a main geysar.

Unfortunately, no kiwi animal information at all. We also walked around after the tour and saw it was only 2 kiwis in a small enclosure (which we weren't allowed to enter). Maybe because we went at 5pm, so one of the last tours of the day.

On the next day we decided to go to the Whakarewarewa thermal village next door for the Cultural performance ($30), after which we walked through the full village & geothermal park (self guided) and that had the view to the same geysar we saw the day before! Although there's some parts that were only open for guided tours, there's still a lot to see, like a lot of big and coloured pools & mud pools.

So my advice would be to either go early to Te Puia or go to Whakarewarewa thermal...