Te Pō at Te Puia: Hāngī Lifted from the Pit, then Pōhutu Under Lights

Te Pō is Te Puia after dark, which is a different place from Te Puia during the day: the thermal valley is lit, and the steam takes the light. The evening runs about two hours and forty-five minutes and works for any age. It opens with the hāngī being lifted, the moment the food comes out of the earth oven where it has been cooking. The buffet that follows is served at the Pātaka Kai Restaurant and Bar, which looks out over the geothermal ground: meats and vegetables cooked the traditional way, kai moana, fresh produce and desserts. The performance happens inside Te Aronui a Rua, the carved meeting house. It includes the pōhiri, the formal welcome that opens any proper gathering, then waiata, mōteatea, poi and haka. The evening finishes with a walk down to Pōhutu, the largest active geyser in the southern hemisphere, in the dark, with a hot chocolate. In summer the order of the events changes, so what comes first may not be the hāngī. Cancel at least 24 hours before the booked time for a full refund.