I think when I booked the experience I may have underestimated how touristy it was going to be. It's great to have a sense of what the Maori culture used to be like but honestly, the group sizes were just too big.
The package we booked was the Beauty by Night combo which included the night time nature walk. We were given a talk by a young lady who described the canoe (Waka) to us and also the facial tattoos. However, every step of the way she liked to point out how fake it was and it wasn't really necessary. Did I need to know that the tattoos on her face were drawn with eyeliner? Or that the canoe was a prop and couldn't actually float? No, not really. It wouldn't hurt them to keep some of the illusion alive rather than point out it was all fake. We saw a gorgeous clear blue natural springs pool which was amazing. And a re-enactment up the river of the men all dressed up in a Waka, that was cool. But just too crowded. Before our meal, we had a great cultural singing and dancing performance which was the highlight for me. Especially the Poi dance done by the ladies.
The Hangi meal was really good and the commentator was awesome. He could say welcome in many languages and was really very funny.
The night time walk was OK, we saw some glow worms which was cool. I'm not sure if I'd say it was worth it or not. It was hard to see the Kiwi in the walkthrough so that was a little disappointing.
Overall, it was a really nice evening just a shame that they've just tried to cram in as many people as possible.