Take a te reo Odyssey on in the Bay of Islands with Taiamai Tours. Photo / Supplied
Take a te reo Odyssey on in the Bay of Islands with Taiamai Tours. Photo / Supplied
As we celebrate Te Wiki o te reo Māori, Thomas Bywater tracks down five places in Aotearoa to hear, learn and share our nation's first language.
Language is a natural companion to travel. That's as true for a trip around Aotearoa as it is overseas.
Māori Language Week / Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori is a time to take on a journey to reflect on the first language of New Zealand.
Whether you rely on a phrase book to guide you or it is part of your everyday kōrero, the words we encounter on our travels help us navigate and better understand our place.
Today there are many places to hear, learn and share te reo Māori. Here is our pick of tourism operators whose tours have a focus on the Māori language, year-round. Whether visiting this September or any of the other 51 calendar weeks, you'll find them willing to engage with te reo learners or skilled wahapū orators alike.
Join Riwi Grace of Amiki cultural tours: Walking, talking - and eating - through the Garden city's best kai. Photo / Supplied
Āmiki cultural food tours
This cultural food tour is a chance to feast on some of Ōtautahi Christchurch's best kai and pick up some useful bites of te reo from the city's restaurateurs.
Walking, talking - and eating - through the Garden city's food and wine produce - Āmiki cultural food tours are your translators and guides. In a city that is changing quicker than guidebooks can keep up, the cultural tours open a window on the stories of Māori and more recent settlers.
Visiting whānau-owned restaurants and linking delicacies with Māori kupu (words and themes), it's a cultural tour anyone can enjoy no matter their proficiency in te reo. Private tours can also be arranged.
One of Āmiki's founders, Riwi Grace, says the group tour is perfect for te reo learners, with simple phrases allowing manuhiri to "arrive as strangers and leave as whānau."
amikitours.com
Air Ruatoria: Mahanga Maru launched a Maori-language airline for the East Cape. Photo / Supplied
Air Ruatoria
While most of us were grounded, Mahanga Maru launched a Māori-language airline in 2020.
The former Air Gisborne pilot launched the scenic airline to provide a bird's-eye view on the remote Ngāti Porou landscapes. It is an area that is hard to traverse and documented through the whakapapa (family history) of the local hapū.
Providing unique views of Mt Hikurangi and some of the best surf beaches on the East Cape, the flight paths are arranged with the local community to minimise aircraft noise. There are many to choose from. Some of the most popular routes are fly-bys of the sacred mountain and trips out to the space station on the Mahia Peninsula, for a unique view of the RocketLab launchpad.
Welcoming guests with karakia to respect the landscape, Maru hopes guests may learn a waiata or two by the end of their flight.
air-rua.com
Taiamai Tours
Taiamai Tours lead te reo odysseys paddling around the Bay of Islands.
Called after the area's Māori namesake, the Taiamai heritage journeys and Ngāpuhi run a waka experience around the bay's most culturally significant sites, rituals and traditions.
Join the guides on a 12m Waka Taua for a journey along the Waitangi river.
The Taiamai tours are open for seasonal tours, departing three times a week including Saturdays. Sadly these run during the summer months only, so won't be running this Māori Language week.
Still, the canoe trips are worth booking ahead for a chance to learn more about the region from Northland's largest Māori tribal group.
taiamaitours.co.nz
Whakarewarewa has been sharing te ao Maori with international visitors for more than 200 years. Photo / Supplied
Whakarewarewa – The Living Māori Village
The birthplace of New Zealand tourism, Whakarewarewa has been sharing te ao Māori with international visitors for more than 200 years. Locally owned, the Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao tribe still shares with tourists today the traditions and tours of the village in the geothermal basin.
Located to the south of Rotorua, on the edge of the Whakarewarewa forest, the area the village occupies is full of history and pūrākau. Most memorable among the episodes was the 1886 Mt Tarawera eruption. Join a tour to hear the story of that fateful June night.
Reconnect with te reo and mother earth at Ngawha springs. Photo / Supplied
Ngāwhā springs
Nestled in the heart of Te Tai Tokerau, Northland's Ngāwhā Springs have a special place in the whakapapa pūrākau (creation stories) of the region.
The heat that bubbles up to the surface is said to be from the unborn child of Papatūānuku, Ruaumoko, moving in the womb of the earth goddess. The spring's soothing properties have been a draw for centuries.
Located outside of Kaikohe, you will find 22 natural geothermal pools, each with their own unique character and mineral make-up. They range in temperature and colour, from lime green to eggshell blue.
For a truly relaxing experience and to reconnect with the warmth of Mother Earth, eight of the natural baths, the Ngā Puna, are available for private bookings.
