New Zealand: From Maori Culture to Zorbing

This photo taken May 27, 2009 shows Maori women performing a traditional dance at the cultural center Te Po in Rotorua, New Zealand. Guests are also called up on stage to learn and perform a dance.

(Kathy Matheson/AP Photo)

As I tumbled down the mountainside in a gigantic beach ball filled with water, feeling somewhat like I was in a washing machine, it occurred to me that there had to be a better way to experience New Zealand.

Actually, that didn't occur to me until after the Zorb stopped rolling and my screams had subsided into laughter.

But I have since concluded that while Kiwis may be best known for adventure tourism — including skydiving, bungee jumping, gliding and Zorbing — perhaps the most enriching part of my trip was the cultural tourism that taught me about the Maori.

Don't be fooled: "Meeting" a Maori tribe at a heritage center can be just as intimidating as thrill-jumping off Auckland's Skytower. What's the proper reaction when a tattooed, spear-carrying warrior bounds out of a house, shouts something in Maori at you, makes menacing faces and throws a leaf at your feet? Think fast, because that spear is pretty sharp.

Related

Exploring the Famous Cook's Bay Off Tahiti

Dream Time: Sailing and Surfing in Tahiti

Why is River Cruising the Hottest Trend?

Centuries before white settlers came and called the country New Zealand, the Maori arrived in canoes at Aotearoa (Ay-oh-teh-RO'-ah, meaning "Land of the Long White Cloud"), most likely from Polynesia.

Flipping through TV channels today, you might come across the Maori-language news station, but you can hear the native greeting "Kia ora!" (kee-ah-OR-ah) pretty much anywhere you go.

And rugby fans may know of the haka, the Maori dance practiced by the All Blacks, the national rugby team, to rattle their opponents before each game. The players chant in unison while rolling their eyes, slapping their arms and thighs, and thrusting their tongues — it's quite a sight.

My fiance and I saw the haka performed on a stage at Te Puia, a Maori heritage center in Rotorua, after which tattooed warriors taught the dance to men in the audience. It was hardly frightening when the tourists tried to do it; then again, I wasn't exactly the picture of grace when female visitors were taught happy, hip-swaying dances by Maori women in grass skirts.