Ohinemutu is a living Māori village set on the shores of Lake Rotorua. Just 10 minutes’ walk from downtown Rotorua, Ohinemutu was the main centre of rotorua from the 1870s. It is home to the Ngāti Whakaue tribe, a sub-tribe of the Te Arawa waka (canoe) that arrived in Aotearoa from the Pacific homeland of Hawaiiki in around 1350.

Early tourists, including royalty, visited this bustling settlement from the 1870s. They then went on to visit the Pink and White terraces at Lake Tarawera, or experience the healing waters of Rotorua.

The location was chosen for its lakeside setting and abundant geothermal energy. Energ, used for cooking, bathing and heating. Today, you can walk around this living village, to view the cooking arrangements over the boiling hot water vents and to see the outdoor bathing sheds.