Flash mob haka hit Rotorua (+video)

If you want to see a "flash mob" haka done properly - come to Rotorua.

Between 50 and 60 locals turned out on Saturday, at three different locations around the city, to perform in the flash mob that saw hundreds of people stop what they were doing to watch and record the haka on cameras and cellphones.

The group performed two haka - Te Arawa's traditional haka Te Arawa E! and the All Blacks' famous haka Ka Mate.

A flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place to perform an unusual act for a brief time, then disperse. They are usually organised through social media such as Twitter or Facebook.

Flash mob organiser Ricky Bishop, an intermediate school teacher at Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Hurunagterangi, said he was amazed by the turnout.

"I think we have at least matched the other ones."

Mr Bishop said he saw other flash mob haka on YouTube and thought Rotorua could do better.

"After all we are the home of Maori culture and kapa haka in New Zealand, but I didn't think we'd get that much support," he said.

He said people heard the haka and came running to see what was going on.

The first haka was performed in Rotorua Central Mall and was started by two men pretending to get into a fight.

"Then everyone else jumped in. It was choice to see all sorts of people come and watch, Maori, non-Maori, everyone."

Other haka were performed later at the City Focus and on the Village Green at the Rotorua Lakefront.

Mr Bishop said his mates had put videos of the haka on YouTube and Facebook.

"It was awesome to see a lot of young ones there too, it was a great mix of people," he said.

Recent flash mobs have popped up in Wellington, where a group of Samoan rugby supporters sang traditional songs to people in Lambton Quay, and in Auckland two weeks ago when another haka flash mob was performed in Sylvia Park.