Te Wharewaka o Poneke
Te Wharewaka o Poneke
5
City ToursCultural ToursHistorical & Heritage ToursBoat ToursWalking Tours
Monday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
About
Wellington’s best Māori experience on land and water Wellington’s rich and diverse Māori history is uncovered with Te Wharewaka o Pōneke Waka (Canoe) and Cultural Walking Tours. An indigenous Māori cultural experience provides visitors to Wellington and New Zealand with an authentic and unique opportunity to share our stories of Te Whanganui-ā-Tara (Wellington) from a Te Ātiawa/Taranaki Whānui (tribe) perspective.
Wellington, New Zealand

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5.0
43 reviews
Excellent
37
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Jocelyn
Wellington, New Zealand9 contributions
Nov 2023 • Friends
A real privilege to hear our confident, knowledgeable taiohi share their passion and knowledge of the local area and the Wharewaka. Tēnā koutou
Written 28 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Living T
1 contribution
Sep 2023 • Couples
We spent a fantastic morning learning more about Maori culture, history and legends from our engaging and very knowledgeable guides.
The guides themselves were a highlight of our trip, we were very touched by their willingness to share their culture and their patience as we tried to pronounce words we were learning! They went as far as to write down phrases phonetically for us and to recommend further viewing. Their passion was infectious and we’re very grateful for the opportunity to have joined with them for the morning.
I would highly recommend this experience to anyone visiting Wellington to give a deeper appreciation of the beautiful surroundings.
Written 24 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ruth H
Wellington, New Zealand3 contributions
Sep 2023 • Business
Our company team building exercise was to learn about the Māori history of Wellington / Te Whanganui-a -Tara. Our guides were very knowledgeable, and made us feel very valued right from the start to the finish. Highly recommend this tour to other businesses looking to improve your mātauranga Māori with the mana whenua perspective.

He mihi miharo ki a kōrua mō te manaaki mai i a mātou.

Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
Written 18 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Craig S
3 contributions
Sep 2023 • Family
We did the Māori Treasure tour. It was very informative and our friendly, culturally knowledgeable guides welcomed us into the whare and explained significant features of the waka housed in the whare. We learnt about the city to sea bridge sculptures, Kupe and the story of Te Aro pa site. A great tour to bolster one's cultural knowledge of the area.
Written 4 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Tess D-E
1 contribution
Jun 2023
He kaupapa mīharo rawa atu tēnei! We loved our time with our tour guides and kamahi of Te Wharewaka. We all really valued the opportunity to deepen our understanding of Kupe, Te Whanganui-ā-Tara, hītori of Te Ātiawa, Te Aro and pūrākau of the takiwā. A real highlight was the mihi whakatau at the beginning where we could connect to one another through mihi, waiata and karakia and also learning about the different types of waka like waka taua, waka tētē etc.

We came as staff from the National Library and highly recommend this kaupapa to all! Ka nui te mihi maioha.
Written 27 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ymt888
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia1,891 contributions
Nov 2019
We were taught how to introduce ourselves the Maori way. Great way to know each other in our group. We were also given safety briefing and tips on how to manage the canoe paddling. It was fun and the 15 minutes canoe ride around the lake was a great experience. Highly recommended.
Written 11 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia ora Thank you for spending some time with us here at Te Raukura-Te Wharewaka o Poneke-it was a pleasure. Nga mihi Chris
Written 14 March 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Mark
1 contribution
Mar 2020
Wasn't sure about the tour, but I'm glad I was able to experience the history and culture of the Maori Waka tour. What an experience. I will not ever forget what I have learned and experienced. We had a small group and everyone had a great time. The instructors were professional and very dedicated. MUCH RESPECT.
Written 11 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia ora ano Thank you for your honest feedback which is much appreciated. So pleased your group enjoyed their experience. Nga mihi Chris
Written 12 March 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Sharon Green
Adelaide, Australia1 contribution
Jan 2020
What a perfect introduction to Wellington and Maori culture. Great experience out on the Waka and fortunately for us the weather was awesome which enhanced our experience. We joined another small group of 4 people to complete the 8 required. Staff were very welcoming and made the trip informative and fun (cute staff member called Lincoln-appreciated by my Daughter ha ha). Would highly reccommend to other visitors, I appreciate that bad weather may dapen your experience but still well worth the trip, thanks again to staff members for a great tour.
Written 26 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia ora Nga mihi - we appreciate your honest feedback and pleased you enjoyed your experience with us here at Te Wharewaka o Poneke. Until you return and on behalf of the team - ka kite ano! Chris
Written 30 January 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

oldermomma
San Francisco, CA112 contributions
Dec 2019
This was our first foray into learning about Maori culture. Staff is excellent. Got to learn about wakas and haka. A lovely way to start one's trip in New Zealand.
Written 21 December 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia ora Thank you for spending time with our team here at Te Wharewaka o Poneke. We are pleased you enjoyed your experience and wish you safe travels throughout Aotearoa. nga mihi Chris
Written 22 December 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Manny B
New York425 contributions
Nov 2019
This was a good Maori welcoming and an introduction to Maori customs, I was looking forward to going on the Waka (long canoe), however I was disappointed because it was too windy that day. So we simulated putting the oars in and out of the water on various Maori commands. This was not particularly interesting. So, if you don't have the opportunity to get into the water, I would not recommend. We enjoyed a light lunch next door.
Written 2 December 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia ora Thank you for being part of our tour and responding with honest feedback. Wellington is known as the ''Coolest Little Capital in the World' and extremely unfortunate that we have experienced very windy conditions over the last two weeks. High wind prevents our waka from going out on the water but our team is pleased you felt welcome and experienced the manaakitanga offered here at Te Raukura-Te Wharewaka o Poneke. Nga mihi Chris
Written 3 December 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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TE WHAREWAKA O PONEKE (Wellington) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go