Professional and extremely informative experience. The mana of this house and it's whanau really... read more
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19
3
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Mataatua: The House That Came Home
Mataatua, Te Manuka Tutahi, 105 Muriwai Drive, Whakatane 3120, New Zealand
Review Highlights
“Amazing experience.”
A wonderful experience that broadens and deepens your knowledge of Maori and local culture. Highly... read more
Carryonupthekhyber
Martinborough, New Zealand
299
Take the time to visit
Review of Mataatua: The House That Came Home
via mobile Date of experience: November 2019
Thank Carryonupthekhyber
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All reviews light show brownie local culture visiting whakatane wharenui history tino pai kumara knowledge whanau
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kswindail
Mirrabooka, Australia
11
We loved our morning here. Felt so welcomed and learnt a great deal. The experience was very personal. l
Date of experience: October 2019
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Mataatua, Guest Relations Manager at Mataatua: The House That Came Home, responded to this reviewResponded 10 March 2020
Tēnā koe kswindail,
Sorry it has taken so long to get back to you, but we just wanted to say thank you very much for, first of all, taking the time out to visit us here at Mataatua and then posting such kind feedback. We're very grateful.
Ngā mihi mahana
Te Whānau @ Mataatua
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
wetraveln0w
Montpellier, France
8340
I wasn't really excited about this activity, but we had a couple of free hours before our next scheduled activity and a lady at the tourist office highly recommended it. So glad we went. Usually, I don't enjoy "cultural" activities - they feel forced and fake. This one didn't. And the story of the meeting house is interesting, plus, you get the opportunity to observe the carvings and weavings up close. The snacks afterward and the conversation with our guide Tam were also great. Overall, a worthwhile experience. Would highly recommend it.
Date of experience: July 2019
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Mataatua, Guest Relations Manager at Mataatua: The House That Came Home, responded to this reviewResponded 10 March 2020
Kia ora wetraveln0w,
Sorry it has taken so long to get back to you but we just wanted to say thanks so much for the awesome feedback and that we're glad you had such a great time spending time with us! We feel very privileged to be able to share our unique culture, history and traditions with visitors from all over the world and it's nice to know our commitment to being sincere and genuine in the way we host our visitors is recognised and valued.
Thanks again e hoa, and we'll be sure to pass on your compliments to Tame!
Ngā mihi mahana
Te Whānau @ Mataatua
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Darcie704
Auckland, New Zealand
191
via mobile
From the formal welcome onto the Marae to the Maori fried bread and Kawakawa tea after the light show this was a wonderful experience. The story of the meeting house removal for overseas exhibitions exposes our early colonial thinking. The story of the settlement of Whakatane told in a light show on the meeting house walls was very clever highlighting various aspects of the carvings to tell the story. Our guide was very informative and approachable. Highly recommended to fellow Kiwis. It’s not just for the tourists.
Date of experience: June 2019
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Mataatua, Guest Relations Manager at Mataatua: The House That Came Home, responded to this reviewResponded 10 March 2020
Kia ora Darcie704,
Sorry it has taken so long to respond to your comment and thanks so much for your kind words, especially for highlighting that Mataatua is an experience relevant to all New Zealanders. As you would have learned when you visited, Mataatua Wharenui was showcased at the most significant international exhibitions of the late 1800s and early 1900s, making it one of our country's earliest representatives!
Thanks again for helping us get the word out to our fellow Kiwis!
Ngā mihi mahana
Te Whānau @ Mataatua
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
MollyD1953
Busselton, Australia
7130
via mobile 
What a passionate and experienced crew. The young people knew their stuff and were obviously very passionate about their culture. Beautifully restored Maori meeting house. Great ‘show’ all round. Really worth the visit.
Date of experience: May 2019
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Mataatua, Guest Relations Manager at Mataatua: The House That Came Home, responded to this reviewResponded 10 March 2020
Kia ora MollyD1953,
Sorry it has taken so long to get back to you, but we just wanted to say thanks for your very kind feedback. We love what we do, and it makes it all the more enjoyable when our visitors take time out to let us know what a good time they had sharing in our sacred house and culture, so thanks heaps for that!
Ngā mihi mahana
Te Whānau @ Mataatua
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
ColinAndChristina
Auckland Central, New Zealand
6733
We just called in one day to have a look inside and found that entry to the wharenui was at set times and as we had other commitments that day we decided to come back the following day and booked a time. Certainly very pleaseed that we did decide to return as we were very warmly welcomed by the two young adults who were to conduct the powhiri. There was one other couple who had booked for that same slot as us. Firstly we were shown a video which explained something of the history and then had the powhiri process explained. Although only for the four of us the formal welcome on to the marae and into and inside the wharenui was beautifully conducted and did not feel as just 'lip service' was being given to it. For us it was very gratifying to hear the couple visiting from the UK say how moving it was for them and how much more 'real' it felt than their other experiences of Maori culture so far in their time in NZ.
Date of experience: February 2019
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.