About
Location :
Added by Jopie, at 04 September 2016
Opening Hours
- Monday 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
- Tuesday 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
- Wednesday 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
- Thursday 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
- Friday 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
- Saturday 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
- Sunday 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Gallery
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11 Reviews
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06 November 2017
What a great way to spend a afternoon. The smell you get use to it. Good safe walking boards. Safety signs everywhere. Clean toilets. Good parking.
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13 August 2017
Nice waterfall and lots of interesting things from the past a lot to be learn about the new Zealand heritage and lovely people can go back in time with there free photo booth can even go as far as dressing up can get boring after awhile but takes about 2 hours to fully explore
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23 July 2017
We went to visit not really knowing what to expect. When my kids seen it was a walk they cringed. That soon became a distant memory when they were asked if they were interested in doing the treasure hunt😁.
The Buried Village really is a beautiful place to visit and the history learned along your travels is great.
The waterfall is absolutely beautiful, definitely worth taking that path as you have a choice to walk down to the waterfall or back to the cafe. We took many photos there, just gorgeous.
The staff are so welcoming and friendly I couldn't fault them for hospitality. Will definitely visit again and it wasn't expensive either $64.50 for 2 adults and 2 children. By far the cheapest adventure on our holiday 😁.response / report this review -
09 July 2017
What and unique and interesting place.. had such a wonderful time, worth doing the extra walk to see the waterfall.. seen trout swimming in the stream!! Absolutely magical.. take warm clothing!
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05 July 2017
Really well put together spot and seems to be improving all the time. And the waterfall at the end is a nice surprise
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11 June 2017
My mum used to take me here as a kid and I took my kids for the first time. It really is worth a visit to see just happened on the morning. Do not miss the waterfall walk
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07 April 2017
The best way I can describe this place is the “Pompeii of New Zealand”. I have to be honest to say I was not expecting more than another tourist trap, but it far exceeded my expectations!
Firstly, the gift shop you enter the ladies are dressed in era appropriate garb and you automatically feel like you have kinda gone back in time a bit. So that was comforting. One of the nice ladies behind the register even gave me a bit of a “rainy day discount” since it was raining pretty hard at that point and she took pity on me. She also provided an umbrella upon request, which was very nice.
You get an informative little laminated map card that tells you your route and all the things you are looking at. You start in the museum, which was one of my favorite parts!
The Maori art they had in the museum were just incredible! Seriously, some of the woodworks were jaw-dropping in the grandeur of the piece and the ornate details. There is a piece below the story of the day the volcano erupted about the ghost war canoe that had me mesmerized for what felt like hours! It was just so beautiful and intricate! They did an excellent job explaining what happened, why the village was such a tourist hotspot prior to the eruption, and the aftermath. They even had handwritten excerpts from a journal of a family member who lost his family in the eruption that day. It was extremely poignant and I highly recommend taking your time to really appreciate the museum portion. There were a group of people who came in after me that literally just walked through it w/o even stopping once before going outside.
The grounds are pretty spread out and you basically just see the excavation sites of the different features that existed in the village. Some have artifacts that were recovered on display, which are pretty neat, especially the bottles, tea cups, and welding tools. It is a bit somber.
As you come to one of the last excavation sites, you start to walk along a stream and it is simply gorgeous! Because of the rain, I basically had the place to myself as the group that ran through the museum was long gone, and it was just very tranquil standing by the little waterfalls of the babbling brook with the sound of the rain on my umbrella. It was a great experience to have in a place like this.
When you end the grounds tour you have a choice to hike down to a waterfall. This is a must! The waterfall is just wow and you can get right up to it! You hike down steps and dirt and then hike back up a different way, but the boardwalks by the waterfalls are just awesome! I had it to myself and it a pretty spiritual experience. I could have stood there in front of the initial thundering falls all day!
The hike back to the visitor center is about 5mins and they have some great Maori inspired pieces and art work to purchase for souvenirs. All in all a great experience for the price of admission (with my discount it was $22US) and I left with a little trinket that will have sentimental value tied to that experience here!response / report this review -
16 January 2017
This place is a nice walk and it explains some things of the vulcanic ash avalanche that occurred, but it is also rather expensive. They do have wifi, though, which can be useful.
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17 December 2016
Disaster. There is almost nothing to see - not much of an excavated village. Rip off at the best. Better to do Tarawera Falls track or just spend some time in a hot pool
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07 October 2016
A nice place to walk and know about the history. Worth come and see! And have a good cafe to have your lunch!
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11 September 2016
Had a great time today. Beautiful place. Yummy scones. Our son learnt a lot. One thing though.. We couldn't find the last clue!
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