TE PUIA

Home to the famous geysers.

Te Puia is the other, more traditional, tourist option for visiting the geysers and mud pools at Rotorua. To be honest though, I visited for one reason: the Kiwi bird. They have a couple living there and work on the conservation of the birds. My first visit to New Zealand, we didn't get to see any, and I wasn't letting another trip go by without seeing one. They were worth the special visit. The Kiwi was gorgeous and I spent around half an hour hanging out in the dark (they're nocturnal) watching the birds ferret about in the enclosure. Once I could tear myself away I visited the other parts of the centre. One thing I wasn't pleased with, was that you had to pay extra to watch the traditional Maori dances. At Waitangi and Whakarewarewa, there was no extra cost. Apart from that aspect, I actually preferred this centre to Whakarewarewa. You could get right up close to the geysers and the walks around the mud pools were more interesting because of this.