Ohinemutu is a lakeside Māori village at the northern edge of central Rotorua, one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the Bay of Plenty. Unlike the cultural shows and reconstructed villages available elsewhere in the city, Ohinemutu is an actual community — people live in the houses between the steam vents, and have done so for centuries.
The village is open to respectful visitors. Walk past the meeting house (Tama-te-Kapua), which is one of the finest carved wharenui (meeting houses) in New Zealand, and visit St Faith's Anglican Church, where Māori carving and Christian iconography exist in unusual harmony. The geothermal vents throughout the village are active — some areas are fenced for safety, but you can still feel the heat and smell the sulphur rising from the ground beside houses that people come home to every evening.