Tourists are being offered a more hands-on experience when visiting Whakarewarewa Thermal Village.
Mad at Whaka is a joint programme between the village, Nomads backpackers in Auckland and Rotorua's backpackers hostel, Kiwi Paka.
The village business and development manager Renee Nathan said tourists purchased the four-day package which included accommodation and the
cultural experience of interacting and working among the Whakarewarewa village community.
"What we've been working on is how we can get people to stay here in Rotorua. We found that after they've come to us, they go to Tamaki's tour at night or do rafting with Kaitiaki," she said.
"They're not just coming in to do conservation work but they meet the people and interact on a deeper level then a normal visitor would.
"It's a rewarding experience for both parties."
Whakarewarewa Village maintenance manager James Kiel said tourists from Auckland, Bulgaria, Germany and the Netherlands were the first to take part.
"We spent four days opening up an old track that had been let go and overgrown. They helped with re-fencing and we took out a mountain of dead scrub."
"You can now see some pools that haven't been seen for over 20 years."
The programme aimed to provide visitors with a more in-depth insight of the day-to-day life of the village as well as teach the importance of their cultural and natural attractions.
"They loved it, they were really rapt with the work they achieved and said they'd be back again if they could," Mr Kiel said.
"They did really well and we held a big dinner for them."
Another group are set to arrive later this month.
"There's a lot of planting of native scrubs to be done and we have to get rid of noxious weeds in the area as well as clear way for new tracks."
