Josie Scott (left) and Gay Kingi love being guides for Kia Ora Guided City Walks. Photo / Ben Fraser
Josie Scott (left) and Gay Kingi love being guides for Kia Ora Guided City Walks. Photo / Ben Fraser
Kia Ora guided walks continues long tradition
Sharing Rotorua stories and history is a passion for Gay Kingi and Josie Scott - guides on Kia Ora Guided City Walks.
The women have been at the helm of the two-hour tours since it began three years ago. It is a commercial venture provided by Maori in Tourism Rotorua,a collaboration of Maori businesses spread across a range of sectors and industries.
Visitors are met at Rotorua i-Site and taken through the Government Gardens, up over Pukeroa Hill overlooking Ohinemutu before heading into the lakeside village. Historic sites are explained along the way as guests complete their walk back at the tourist centre.
Mrs Kingi and Mrs Scott were able to enjoy hearing the local stories themselves by the late historian Don Stafford before they began as guides. Both women are retired and spend two days a week giving the tours.
St Faiths at Ohinemutu has sanctioned the tours in the area. Photo / File
"He did a two-day workshop with Maori in Tourism and we went on a trip around the lake and over to Maketu," Mrs Kingi said.
"He was so well researched but the stories he told were told to him by kaumatua. He must have had a fabulous memory. He told them with such passion and brought those stories to life," Mrs Scott said.
It's that passion that the women have brought to the tours they offer.
"It's fun meeting different people from different places, it's a privilege to be able to talk about history and I never get tired of hearing it," Mrs Kingi said.
"It's being able to tell the stories that you don't read about, get more in depth. With pride I can talk about Ngati Whakaue and the education endowment and what they've provided. Having been born in this pa [Ohinemutu], I can tell them of the old dining room and the kuia who lived here with her moko," Mrs Scott said.
"Visitors are surprised about the open ngawha [hot springs], I said don't worry we got burnt and ran to the kuia and they put butter on it."
The St Faiths Vestry and Ohinemutu Marae Trust has been consulted during the development of these walks. Both have sanctioned the guided tours and a koha is given to each organisation for every person who walks through Ohinemutu. The money helps maintain the buildings and village grounds.
"It needs to be known how important the people of this village is to the success of the city," Mrs Scott said.
Maori in Tourism Rotorua business development manager Debbie Guptill said the tours continued the strong legacy of guided walks that Te Arawa was historically known for. They were often personalised to suit those taking part.
"It's that manakitanga [hospitality], something very foreign to some tourists, for us it's natural. Providing manakitanga is not always seen, but can be felt," Mrs Guptill said.
