Te Puia Te Pō: Indigenous Evening Experience with Haka & Hāngī
About This Experience
Te Puia's Te Pō is the evening version of New Zealand's best-known geothermal reserve, and it pairs a hāngī buffet with the one thing no other Rotorua cultural evening can offer: Pōhutu, the largest active geyser in the southern hemisphere, erupting after dark.
The evening opens with a 30-minute performance in Te Aronui a Rua, Te Puia's carved meeting house — pōhiri, waiata, mōteatea, poi and haka. You then walk down to the geyser terrace for a hot chocolate while Pōhutu plays, which is the moment most reviews single out.
Dinner is served at the Pātaka Kai Restaurant & Bar overlooking the thermal valley: traditionally cooked meats and vegetables, kai moana (seafood) and desserts, laid out as a buffet. The whole evening runs about two and three-quarter hours, and admission to Te Puia is included.
Highlights
- Hāngī buffet dinner overlooking a live geothermal valley
- Hot chocolate at the terrace as Pōhutu Geyser erupts after dark
- 30-minute cultural welcome and performance in a carved meeting house
- Te Puia admission included in the ticket
What's Included
- ✓ Entrance ticket to Te Puia
- ✓ Hāngī buffet dinner at Pātaka Kai Restaurant & Bar
- ✓ 30-minute cultural welcome and performance in Te Aronui a Rua
- ✓ Hot chocolate beside Pōhutu Geyser
Not Included
- Alcoholic beverages and soft drinks — available to purchase
- Hotel transfers
What to Bring
- Comfortable walking shoes for the geyser terrace
- Weather-appropriate clothing — the geyser walk is outdoors
Good to Know & Caveats
- Runs approximately 2 hours 45 minutes and is suitable for all ages
- Wheelchair accessible — tell the operator at the time of booking if you need assistance
- Vegetarian and gluten-free options are available if requested when booking
- Infants under 4 enter free
- The legal drinking age in New Zealand is 18; wine, beer, juice, tea and coffee are sold on site
Not Suitable For
- Visitors who want hotel pickup included — Te Pō is a meet-on-site experience
Meeting Point
Te Puia, Hemo Road, Rotorua — check in at reception. Free on-site parking.
What Travelers Say
Rated 4.7/5 by 443 verified GetYourGuide travelers.
Experience was all-around wonderful. Incredibly helpful and friendly staff, excellent food, and very impressive show. We highly recommend this as it is well worth the cost.
— Kevin, July 23
The buffet provided at the start was excellent, the quality of food was of a very high standard and plenty of it.
— Matthew, July 21
Good dinner, friendly guides, very nice dance, nice geyser visit
— Alessandro, July 14
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Te Pō include entry to Te Puia?
Yes. The evening ticket covers admission to the reserve, so the geyser terrace, the performance and the hāngī buffet are all in the one price.
Will I see Pōhutu Geyser erupt?
Pōhutu is unusually reliable — it typically plays once or twice an hour — and the evening includes a stop at the terrace with a hot chocolate. It is a natural geyser, though, so no operator can guarantee a specific eruption.
Is the Te Pō dinner a real hāngī?
It is served as a hāngī buffet — traditionally cooked meats and vegetables plus kai moana and desserts — at the Pātaka Kai restaurant. Unlike Mitai, you do not watch the earth oven being lifted.
Is Te Pō wheelchair accessible?
Yes, and it is the most accessible of the Rotorua cultural evenings. Let the operator know when booking so assistance is arranged for the geyser walk.
How is Te Pō different from Te Rā?
Te Rā is the daytime guided tour of the geothermal valley. Te Pō is the evening experience, and it is the one that includes the cultural performance and the hāngī dinner.
