The Blueys at Te Puia is near the base of the famous Pōhutu Geyser.
A rāhui has been placed on an area at Rotorua tourist attraction Te Puia after a man died there.
The man was pulled from geothermal waters unconscious about 9.40pm on Sunday and could not be revived.
He had been at an area nicknamed The Blueys, a small hot water lake near the base of the world-famous Pōhutu Geyser at Te Puia.
The area is on Te Puia land and is closed to the public but local iwi have historically swum there.
The man’s name has not been released and his death has been referred to the coroner.
Te Puia chief executive Tim Cossar said a rāhui over The Blueys was placed at 9am this morning by Te Paepae o Te Pākira until further notice.
Tūhourangi kaumātua Ngarepo Eparaima said he received a phone call on Sunday night in his capacity as an elder on the paepae at Te Pākira Marae at Whakarewarewa Village.
He knew the man who died and described it as a tragedy. Those who knew the man were “distraught”.
Eparaima performed karakia [prayers] over the man’s body before he was taken away in a hearse.
Eparaima said about 60 local iwi, kaumātua, kuia, Te Puia staff and members of the man’s whānau returned to the site at 9am today, where the rāhui was placed.
A rāhui is a customary practice that means the area can not be accessed until the rāhui is lifted by local iwi.
“The pool and the land are off limits and closed. There will be signage put there.”
Eparaima said it was not yet known how long the rāhui would be in place.
It would be lifted in conjunction with staff of Te Puia and the neighbouring Whakarewarewa - The Living Māori Village, as well as Whakarewarewa locals, to ensure “everyone is on the same page”.
Eparaima said while the man who died was known to the area, people swimming at The Blueys had been a concern for years.
“For our people in the village, it is a legacy. It [swimming] was done by our kuia and kaumātua well before … But some of our rangatahi [youth] bring their friends, who bring their friends and suddenly people start coming in on their own, they see photos of it on social media and they think it is a free-for-all.”
Tanya Robinson, Whakarewarewa - The Living Māori Village general manager, said: “All of our thoughts are with the whānau and the whole team at Te Puia”.
Te Puia came under fire in 2022 after allowing tourists to swim in The Blueys.
Local iwi said at the time the thermal water was regarded as a sacred taonga and off-limits to outsiders.
Te Puia acknowledged it had begun letting visitors swim in The Blueys as a special offering after the pandemic.
But it stopped the practice once international visitors returned.
On December 21, a local mother died after being pulled unresponsive from the water near the Waiotapu geothermal area, south of Rotorua.
Police later confirmed Rotorua woman Briar Stockley, 42, died near the Lady Knox Geyser in Waiotapu. Her death has been referred to the coroner.
In February 2024, Matthew Tuimaualuga slipped and fell into a fenced-off hot pool in Rotorua after smoking cannabis and drinking alcohol.
A coroner ruled his death an accident in January last year. The hot pool was off Froude St behind the Rydges Hotel in the Whakarewarewa area.
In May 2024, local rough sleeper Tui Siufanga was found dead in a hot pool near Rotorua’s Sulphur Point.
His death sparked concern among those who knew him about the potential dangers of people ignoring warnings and continuing to soak in natural hot pools at Sulphur Point.
It was the same area where Rotorua man James Taikato was found dead in November 2020.
A coroner ruled Taikato’s death was caused by accidental hydrogen sulphide poisoning.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.