Bringing back the intimacy of a real cultural exchange

Not many tourism businesses are conceived during a leisurely stroll amid nature.

But for Kaikoura’s Maurice and Heather Manawatu, that is what happened. And it’s an experience that will stay with them forever.

Their business, Maori Tours Ltd, is a manifestation of that seed of an idea, developed during a walk on the Abel Tasman Track, with the clear blue waters of Tasman Bay lapping at their feet.

For more than a decade, Maurice and Heather had both worked for Whale Watch Kaikoura, now one of the iconic tourism operations of the South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand.

It was during a short break away from their roles with that company that they went to the Abel Tasman National Park and while voyaging along the coastline they began to reminisce about the intimacy between clients and staff in the early days of the whale-watching venture.

“Walking back along the track after that boat ride, we began to feed off each other. Ideas came rushing out,” Maurice recalls. “By the time we came off the track we had a business concept all mapped out. Within six weeks we were operating.”

It was a hectic six weeks, with the need to create branding, source a suitable vehicle, obtain a Department of Conservation licence and then go to their whanau (extended family) and the kaumatua (elders) for their blessing and support.

And in a significant way, it is this family and wider iwi (tribal) support which has both steered and fostered the development of Maori Tours Ltd in the three years since it was established.

“Because of our direct link with this whenua (land) no-one can challenge our right to operate this business in this location,” he says. “All our frontline staff are Ngati Kuri, a hapu (sub-tribe) of the South Island’s main tribe, Ngai Tahu.”

Maori Tours Ltd is a land-based tourism business in a area which has been, and still is, dominated by marine activities - whale-watching and dolphin tours among them.

What has emerged is, to use their own words, tours for those wanting an authentic and personal Maori experience where warmth and hospitality prevails.

“We give our manuhiri (guests) the intimacy of a real cultural exchange. We offer a Maori cultural experience that is at a level rarely seen before.”

A key to providing that experience is the establishment of a set of traditional values which the management and staff of Maori Tours Ltd applies to all their decision-making.

“We believe that first and foremost, if we are to trade in Maori culture then we must behave Maori and remain true to the spirit of what it is to be Maori,” Maurice insists.

The tours offered by Maori Tours Ltd provide guests with the chance to learn, participate, and have fun when they journey deep into the natural, cultural and social world of Ngati Kuri.

“Visitors will leave with an understanding of Maori, their ways and their link to the environment and will gain a deep insight into what it is to be Maori today,” Maurice says.

MAORI TOURS LTD
10 Churchill Street, Kaikoura
Ph: +64 3 319 5567
Fax: +64 3 319 5573
E-mail: info@maoritours.co.nz
Website: www.maoritours.co.nz