Pōwhiri
The welcome
The evening opens with a welcome drink and time to settle in at the Whare Waka Café, then a ceremonial challenge sets the tone before the group moves toward the meeting house.
Waitangi Treaty Grounds · Bay of Islands
A pōwhiri welcome and kapa haka in the carved Te Whare Rūnanga end with a hāngī buffet.
US$114 Per person, including day admission — the final price in your currency is shown before you pay.
The Hāngī and Concert only runs on set nights through the Bay of Islands season, and the whare seats a fixed number each time it's held. Miss a night and the next one on the calendar might be two or three days away, not tomorrow.
This is the combined pass: day admission to the Treaty House, both museums and the waka, plus the evening's pōwhiri, concert and hāngī dinner. Arriving in the afternoon rather than at 5:30pm is the difference between using the whole ticket and only half of it.
Te Whare Rūnanga was carved by hand and opened on 6 February 1940, exactly a century after the Treaty was first signed. It's not a replica built for tourists — it's the same carved house used for cultural performances at the Grounds every day.
The dinner is lifted from the ground in front of the group at around 7pm rather than arriving pre-plated from a kitchen. Watching the hāngī chef unveil it is as much a part of the evening as eating the buffet that follows.
The Hāngī and Concert runs October to April on selected nights, tracking the Bay of Islands' warmer, longer evenings. Outside that window the day admission still stands, but the evening itself doesn't run.
Live availability and pricing from GetYourGuide, shown in your own currency.
Check dates & prices ↗Day admission comes with this ticket and covers the Treaty House, both museums, the carved meeting house and the ceremonial waka — worth using before the evening begins.
The Hāngī and Concert keeps close to the same shape most nights it runs, from the welcome drink to the last plate of pudding.
Three carved posts, one evening — Te Whare Rūnanga's carved posts line the meeting house where the evening's kapa haka takes place. Most nights the Hāngī and Concert keeps the same three-part shape: a welcome, a performance, then dinner from the ground.
The evening opens with a welcome drink and time to settle in at the Whare Waka Café, then a ceremonial challenge sets the tone before the group moves toward the meeting house.
Inside Te Whare Rūnanga, the carved meeting house opened for the Treaty's 1940 centenary, a high-energy concert of song, haka and storytelling carries the evening.
At around 7pm the hāngī chef lifts the evening's dinner from the ground, and a buffet of meats, vegetables, bread, salad and steamed pudding follows.
Day admission is part of this ticket and is worth using — arrive in the mid-afternoon for the Treaty House, the museums and the waka, well before the pōwhiri begins at 5:30pm.
Dinner is served buffet-style once the hāngī chef lifts it from the ground, timed for around 7pm on the nights the evening runs.
Waitangi sits just across the river from Paihia, a few minutes by road or a short passenger-ferry crossing from the Paihia wharf.
Kerikeri is about 20 minutes' drive north. Public transport around Northland is limited, so most visitors staying there drive in.
A transfer is available from selected Paihia hotels between about 4:30pm and 4:55pm for guests who book it — confirm your exact pickup point when you book.
Because day admission is part of this ticket, arriving in the early-to-mid afternoon leaves time for the Treaty House, the museums and the waka before the evening gathers at 5:30pm.
| Period | Nights it runs | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| October | Tuesdays and Thursdays | The season's opening month, ahead of the busier summer schedule |
| Late October – February | Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays | The busiest stretch of the season, with a third night added each week |
| March – April | Tuesdays and Thursdays | The season's closing stretch, back to a two-night week |
| May – September | Not running | A seasonal evening only — day admission to the Grounds still runs year-round |
Day admission, a pōwhiri welcome, a kapa haka concert and a hāngī buffet — the order it actually runs in, and what each stage involves.
Read more → The meeting house, explainedWhat the carved meeting house is, when it was built, and what happens inside it during the evening's concert.
Read more → The dinner, explainedWhat a hāngī actually is, when it's unveiled during the evening, and what's on the buffet afterwards.
Read more → Using the day ticketThe Treaty House, the museums, the carved waka and the grounds themselves — what's worth seeing before the evening begins.
Read more → Practical questionsDriving, the passenger ferry from Paihia, hotel pickup, and why arriving in the afternoon gets you more out of the ticket.
Read more → Around the Bay of IslandsThe Hāngī and Concert takes one day and evening. Here's how it sits alongside the rest of a Bay of Islands trip.
Read more →Gates for the evening open at the Whare Waka Café around 5:15pm for a welcome drink, followed by a ceremonial challenge, a concert of song, haka and storytelling inside Te Whare Rūnanga, and a buffet hāngī dinner unveiled at around 7pm. The evening ends at 8pm.
Yes — this ticket pairs the evening with day admission, covering the Treaty House, Te Kōngahu Museum, Te Rau Aroha Museum, Te Whare Rūnanga and the ceremonial waka. Arrive in the afternoon to use it before the evening begins.
A carved Māori meeting house on the Treaty Grounds, carved from 1934 and opened on 6 February 1940 — a century after the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed. It stands opposite the Treaty House and hosts the evening's concert.
A traditional Māori method of cooking food in an earth oven. At this evening, the hāngī chef unveils the dinner from the ground at around 7pm, followed by a buffet of meats, vegetables, bread, salad and steamed pudding.
The season runs October to April, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with Saturdays added from late October to February. Check the exact date on the GetYourGuide listing before planning the rest of your evening around it.
A transfer from selected Paihia hotels is available, picking up roughly between 4:30pm and 4:55pm. Confirm your specific pickup point and time when you book.
Comfortable clothing. The evening moves between indoor and outdoor settings, and it can turn cool after sunset, so a light jacket is worth having.
Vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy-free options are available if you flag them at least 48 hours in advance. It's a shared buffet, so guests with severe allergies should note the cross-contamination risk.