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Reviews

• Do this tour if you are from Wellington and want a greater understanding of the history of your home town

  151kathrineb,May 30, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  This tour was quite something. I read about it and realised as a born Wellingtonian I really knew nothing about the Māori settlements in Te Whanganui a Tara and I should do something about that. Cam, Eru and Paris have got me off to an excellent start. Their combination of manaakitanga, knowledge, and passion for their subject was inspiring. I particularly loved how older and more contemporary history were woven together to tell stories. The introduction to the two large waka and their significance for Māori life led to a discussion about Hec Busby and the rediscovery of traditional waka building techniques and ocean voyaging across the Pacific using celestial navigation. Sitting in the sun on the City to Sea Bridge surrounded by Paratene Matchitt's much-loved sculptures while Paris explained the iconography of the art, and told us tales of Ngake and Whātaitai, the taniwha of Wellington harbour and how they explain the geology of Wellington and the Hutt Valley, was magical. Visiting the archaeological remains of whare ponga from Te Aro Pā brought up sadness about how the people were displaced and the kāinga built over, but also optimism as a result of how determined Māori and Pākehā characters ensured that the remains were preserved when they were rediscovered. They are hiding in plain sight in the bottom of an apartment building, and once you know they are there, you will look at Taranaki Street quite differently. Everyone who calls Wellington home should do this tour. Make sure you have a song to sing for the mihi whakatau (it can be anything and is not at all scary) and get some friends together. The food at the Whairepo Cafe is top class, so have a meal there too, if you can. Ngā mihi nui to the team.

• Interesting and informative tour

  Camper10131664894,May 29, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  I was lucky to be in a small group, so it was almost a one-on-one experience with the tour guides. The guides were fantastic - enthusiastic and knowledgeable. I loved the formal but friendly welcome. We learned some legends about the formation of the islands and the harbor, and then walked to the archaeological site where the only known remains of 19th-century Maori sleeping huts have been preserved in situ on the ground floor of an apartment building. This was a fascinating and at times emotional experience.

• A must for any trip to Wellington

  324stevem,May 29, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  This was an amazing in depth and informative tour about the original peoples of Wellington. The guides take you through the Maori tikanga that's very inclusive. The three young people led the tour are so engaging and enthusiastic. I'll recommend to all of my Wellington friends.

• Walk the walk, the once over twice it was really excellent

  Samuel B,May 27, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  Address could have shown a photo to make it easier to find and it was a walking tour,next door to an excellent coffee shop But really it was really excellent, teaching Maori culture and history, I would like to go back again it was really good