4 | REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Pukeroa Oruawhata Trust: Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa “....Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa will firmly position Rotorua and Aotearoa New Zealand in the global wellness and spa market.” A unique offering... T T from page 3 info@winetiformwork.co.nz 022 685 6312 FOR ALL YOUR REINFORCING NEEDS Supply, Cut, Bend & Install Ph 06 758 6297 Residential • Commercial • Industrial 14B Constance St, Waiwhakaiho N.P. www.taranakireinforcing.co.nz Contact us: 09 303 1501 johnl@rcg.co.nz www.rcg.co.nz RCG is proud to have worked alongside The Pukeroa Oruawhata Group to achieve outstanding property and architectural results for 25 years. Through our special business partnership we continue to support the management and enhancement of their land and assets in Rotorua. Wai Whakaora is a carefully planned, multi-sensory, restorative journey made up of a series of hot and cold experiences designed to maximise therapeutic benefit. In addition to a range of geothermal freshwater and cold plunge pools the restorative journey includes unique features such as a herbal pool, which combines mineral water with the aromatherapy properties of native plants kawakawa (pepper tree) and koromiko (Hebe Elliptica) to support calmness and relaxation, a mud experience and a cold frigidarium. David says that Pukeroa Oruawhata Group has a proven history of developing projects for the economic and social wellbeing of Ngāti Whakaue whānau and the wider Rotorua community. Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa is Aotearoa New Zealand’s only spa and bathing facility developed and owned by mana whenua. “As the country’s most significant investment in new luxury spa infrastructure for more than 100 years, Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa will firmly position Rotorua and Aotearoa New Zealand in the global wellness and spa market.” The Story of Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa Wai Ariki means ‘chiefly waters’, and directly connects to the origin of Rotorua’s thermal waters, which were called to Aotearoa New Zealand by Ngātoroirangi – the great ariki (chief) and tohunga (priest) of the Arawa waka, the canoe or vessel that brought the tribe of Te Arawa to Aotearoa New Zealand from Hawaiki. Ngātoroirangi became overcome by snow, ice and wind on the peaks of Mt Tongariro, and prayed to his sisters in Hawaiki to send fire to revive him. Te Pupu and Te Hoata, the subterranean goddesses of fire, made their mark on the land as they desperately searched for their brother. Finally, they reached Ngātoroirangi, bringing heat and fire, saving him from certain death, and leaving behind the geothermal resource. It is said that the sisters of Ngātoroirangi rested longer in Ōhinemutu, the ancestral home of Ngāti Whakaue and the whenua on which Wai Ariki has been developed. This imbued the area with a special potency, which provides its unique healing powers. David says that the elders of Ngāti Whakaue have always known and used the innate healing properties of the waters in their whenua. They would visit the waiariki (hot springs), in conjunction with immersion in the contrasting waipuna (cold springs), for therapy and healing. Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa is Aotearoa New Zealand’s only spa and bathing facility developed and owned by mana whenua.
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