Jim Eagles: Ngati tourism benefits all

Maori culture is an increasingly important part of a visit to New Zealand and there is also growing Maori control of the tourist activities.

South Island iwi Ngai Tahu (www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz) is a major player with its investments in Whale Watch Kaikoura, Rainbow Springs, Kiwi Encounter, Shotover Jet, Dart River Safaris, Huka Jet, Aqua Taxi, Kaiteriteri Kayaks, Hollyford Track and Franz Joseph Glacier Guides.

In the long-time tourist hub of Rotorua many of the major tourist attractions - Te Puia, combining the Whakarewarewa geothermal area and the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute (www.nzmaori.co.nz), the Thermal Village at Whakarewarewa (www.whakarewarewa.com), Tamaki Maori Village (www.maoriculture.co.nz), winner of the country's Supreme Tourism Award, and Hell's Gate (www.hellsgate.co.nz) - are controlled by Maori.

But perhaps even more important has been the rise of dozens of small tourism ventures, some tribally based, others the result of initiatives by enterprising individuals or families.

As a result, in just about every part of the country tourists can experience marae visits, cultural experiences, indigenous food, arts and crafts, canoe trips, horse rides or concerts.

A classic example is Taiamai Tours, in the Bay of Islands. Former meatworker Hone Mihaka now provides jobs for several family members by giving tourists a vivid taste of Ngapuhi culture (www.taiamaitours.co.nz).

Mihaka says he had the idea for the venture many years ago when he watched busloads of tourists cross ancestral land and said to his father he'd like to keep them out.

But his father replied that a better idea would be to stop the buses and tell the visitors something about the land.

After leaving school with few qualifications, working at the meat works and having several periods of unemployment, Mihaka runs a successful business based on his father's suggestion.
But Taiamai Tours does more than just tell visitors about Maori culture, it helps them to experience it through its programmes, including tastes of traditional food, visits to places significant to Ngapuhi, and challenges so ferocious they had to be revised to meet Occupational Safety and Health concerns.

The company has been so successful it has expanded its programme to include waka rides into the Bay of Islands, visits to Kororipo Pa, base for the redoubtable Ngapuhi fighting chief Hongi Hika, and demonstrations of the healing powers of the Ngawha Springs.

Similar ventures have sprung up almost everywhere. Tourism Auckland, for instance, lists 14 Maori tourism activities on its website (www.aucklandnz.com). They include culture groups, art galleries, restaurants, adventure tours and guided walks.

Auckland even has a Maori taxi company, Korucabs (0800 5678 22), whose distinctive black cabs with a green koru design are used by several of the other Maori tourism ventures.

Zella Morrison-Briars has been involved in tourism since she was a girl in Rotorua.

She now chairs the Auckland Maori Tourism Association and says the past 10 years have seen extraordinary changes.

"Not so long ago, the Maori component of tourism was pretty much limited to concert parties at hotels and maybe a hangi afterwards," she said. "Now Maori are involved in all levels of the industry.

"There's been a huge growth in cultural tourism, like marae stays and guided walks, which allow overseas tourists - and New Zealanders - to experience our indigenous culture for themselves.

"But there's also a big Maori involvement in more mainstream tourist ventures, like restaurants and taxis and adventure tourism, which are given a Maori perspective that make them unique."

The appetite for tourism with that Maori overlay has been clearly illustrated by the huge success of The Rough Guide To Maori New Zealand (www.roughguides.com).

It was initially published for British distribution, and launched at last year's Chelsea Flower Show, where 250,000 copies were snapped up.

Then, says Roger Barnes, the Auckland-based director of custom publishing for Rough Guides, New Zealand booksellers started asking why it wasn't available here.

As a result 10,000 copies of a revised edition were printed and went on sale last month at $9.95.

It's a pocket book of 100 pages offering a summary of Maori history and culture, advice on how best to get a feel for the Aotearoa of the Maori, information on the main iwi, and listings for leading Maori tourism operators.

It's also a useful handbook for New Zealanders wanting to come to grips with Maori culture.

That has been followed up with a Maori travel guide, To The Tail of the Fish, which gives more detailed information on Maori and Maori-oriented tourism in the top of the North Island.
Author of both guides, Paul Whitfield, says in his introduction that Maori traditions of generosity and hospitality to visitors have infused the country but are a feature of Maori tourism.

More importantly, he says, Maori tourist ventures add a new perspective to visiting New Zealand. Many have "opened up previously neglected or under-visited parts of the country to international travellers".

Others offer a unique Maori cultural and historical perspective on aspects of the country.

"Whether it's the enchantment of gliding along the Whanganui River by kayak or witnessing the sun rise on sacred Mt Hikurangi on the east coast," Whitfield says, "you'll see another side to New Zealand."