Cultural performances and history of the land and awa will be on offer as part of a Maori tourism pilot involving a Whangarei marae.
The idea to have a tourism project linked in with Glenbervie's Pehiaweri Marae and the Whangarei Falls has been discussed by Joby Hopa, who is leading the pilot, and whanau of the marae for the past eight years.
But after a chance meeting with Whangarei MP Shane Reti, more local agencies have jumped on board, including Northland Inc, Creative Northland, Whangarei District Council and NorthTec.
Mr Hopa will be sharing the history of the whenua (land) and the awa (Hatea River) during a guided tour and evening cultural performance at the Whangarei Falls.
Paul Davis, Northland Inc regional promotions and tourism manager, said there was nothing like this in Whangarei.
"It's [the marae's] area, so having something which is truly authentic and telling stories of the hapu, it's the kind of experience that will encourage visitors to come to Whangarei and it creates further rationale for them to spend more time here," he said.
The pilot will help gather data to support and develop the refinement of the Maori tourism project.
Cultural performances will be held in the reserve adjacent to Whangarei Falls starting at 5.30pm.
- For more information about the pilot, email kristi@creativenorthland.com.