He Ta¯ ngata: Karen Walmsley
As told to Elisabeth Easther
My tourism roots come through my mother who was connected to Whakarewarewa Village and Guide Sophia — or Te Paea as many people know her. Guide Te Paea was a charismatic, forward-thinking woman who came to this region with nine children in the mid-1800s. She went to the mission schools in the Far North and because she was fluent in English and Ma¯ ori, she was able to help manage the pink and white terraces. Because word had spread, particularly to Europe and America, that the waters possessed healing qualities visitors were eager to partake of the waters. As mana whenua, our people were kaitiaki or carers of the terraces and they worked to ensure the waters were used in an appropriate manner. Our people also believed visitors needed to pay for the privilege of experiencing what had become known as the Eighth Wonder of the World.
I grew up in Hamilton but it wasn’t until I was 22, when my mother fell ill, that things changed for me. I was 25 when my mother passed away and my aunties said I needed to come to Whakarewarewa to understand my roots. Until that time I knew very little about guiding or my connection to the land but here we are, more than 40 years later, and I’m involved not just with guiding and tourism, but also with my people.
You can imagine, historically, what an advantage it was for my family to live in a geothermal area. Having the ability to cook food without lighting fires, they had endless amounts of hot water but, after the eruption in 1886, everything changed. The land was devastated by ash, rock and mud and a huge cloud hung over the people. Today we are connected again to the land and, as iwi and hapu¯ , we are actively making decisions about legislation and resource management. We have an obligation to participate.
When negotiations started with council and the Crown about how to manage this land, we wanted to retain the right to create tourism activities. We didn’t want large activities or adventure tourism, we wanted something familyoriented, with minimal impact on the area. We wanted to focus on leisure and pleasure, and that is how the 15km Tarawera Trail was born. It starts at Te Wairoa carpark and goes to Te Rata Bay at Hot Water Beach. There’s a public campground there managed by the Department of Conservation and we also manage two beautiful glamping sites. There’s been public camping on Hot Water Beach for more than 30 years, but until the Tarawera Trail went in, you could only get there by boat.
The geothermal stream flows into the lake at about 86C so over the years campers have experimented with how to use it for cooking. You can do simple things like boiled eggs and I love corn on the cob. You can even do a slowcooked Mediterranean chicken casserole. Pack it tight, then either bury it in the sand or let the waters run over the top, then go off and have a good time and come back in about seven hours and dinner is cooked. It’s so simple. If you catch a trout, you can gut it, stuff it with onions and herbs, maybe lemons, wrap it in tinfoil and bury it in the hot sand, leave it for about 40 minutes then have a wonderful meal.
I went to Mexico following an invitation from the vice-chancellor of Guanajuato University. He had stayed with us as a guest at Pounamu Lodge, and he wanted me to talk to his students about tourism. The focus was on an area of Central Mexico where cactus is a very important resource, not just in tequila but also in ointments and medicine, but the people there didn’t think of it in terms of tourism. I introduced them to our story, how tourism was established in New Zealand by my tribal family. My presentation was called Culture v Commerce. Next year I will return to see what has evolved.
Totally Tarawera is our wha¯ nau-owned and operated business. We provide cultural and ecotours, water taxi services, as well as looking after the glamping sites. When you host people, they bring a lot of knowledge with them and there is an exchange of experience. That part has been amazing and I am grateful for it. In any other business, I wouldn’t have been able to make connections with so many different people and I love being able to share this place with them. Tarawera wants to be seen, it wants to be known. I appreciate too that not everyone can do this, but a huge part of me believes that if you want to work in tourism you can. I just happened to be here and put my hand up.