Travel Ed | Mana Māori Experiences

Education programmes and cultural journeys across Te Moana-a-Toi

Travel Ed | Mana Māori Experiences offers kaupapa-driven education programmes and guided cultural experiences led by highly experienced Māori educators and local knowledge holders. Operating across Tauranga Moana, the Bay of Plenty coastline, and Rotorua, their programmes connect place, people, and learning in ways that are deeply grounded in te ao Māori and local histories.

This article provides information about science-related experiences to support school planning. You can view more experiences across Aotearoa here.

For schools, kura, tertiary providers, and professional learning groups, Travel Ed provides experiences that centre wellbeing, identity, leadership, and environmental responsibility. Mana Māori Experiences extends this kaupapa to small-group cultural journeys designed for whānau, visitors, and corporate groups seeking meaningful engagement with people and place. Customised programmes are also available.

     Education Programmes – Travel Ed

Travel Ed specialises in customised education programmes and day trips, designed in collaboration with educators to align with learning outcomes across a range of contexts and age groups.

Who they work with

• ECE, primary, and secondary schools

• Tertiary students and staff

• International education groups

• School and organisational staff (professional development)
  

Guiding pou (pillars)

All programmes draw on eight foundational pou that shape both learning design and experience:

• Manaakitanga – care for others

• Hauora – personal wellbeing

• Hinengaro – mental wellbeing

• Tiakitanga – care for the environment

• Rangatiratanga – leadership

• Whakawhānaungatanga – working together

• Tūrangawaewae – place and belonging

• Wairuatanga – spiritual wellbeing
  

Programme components may include

• Marae noho (marae stays)

• Māori community engagement

• Local culture and history

• Taiao (environmental learning)

• Service learning projects

• Staff and professional development
  

These programmes are particularly well suited to place-based learning, local curriculum design, wellbeing programmes, leadership development, and culturally sustaining pedagogy.

     Mana Māori Experiences – Cultural Day Experiences

Mana Māori Experiences provides small-group, guided cultural journeys that share ancestral stories and connect manuhiri to whenua, history, and living communities across the rohe.

Popular experiences

• Tauranga ki Rotorua Experience (6 hrs) A guided journey from Tauranga to Rotorua, tracing ancestral pathways from Mauao through forests, orchards, and geothermal landscapes. Includes visits to significant historic sites, a marae, and a cultural performance at Whakarewarewa.
  

• Hīkoi te Maunga – Mauao (3 hrs) A guided walk exploring the cultural history and stories of Mauao, led by a local Māori guide. Suitable for small groups and those wanting a focused, place-based experience.
  

• Tauranga Moana Experience (5.5 hrs) An in-depth exploration of Tauranga’s layered histories, including pā sites, missionary impacts, ancestral navigation, and a visit to a local marae overlooking the harbour.
  

• Pāpāmoa Hills Experience (3.5 hrs) A cultural and historical walk through the hills above Pāpāmoa, offering sweeping views across Tauranga Moana and the Bay of Plenty coastline, with stories of early settlement and fortified villages.
  

Each experience is led by local Māori guides, with group sizes kept intentionally small to support kōrero, connection, and care for place.

     Customised programmes

Travel Ed also designs bespoke programmes for schools, kura, and organisations.

To enquire, email with:

• The experience you’re seeking

• Number of participants

• Preferred dates and duration
  

     Contact  – Travel Ed | Mana Māori Experiences

Contact Travel Ed to discuss how they can provide curriculum-linked experiences that enhance classroom learning. They offer expertise in service projects that are meaningful and authentic for students and the community.

• email:

  • les@traveled.co.nz

  • info@traveled.co.nz
    

• phone: +64 (0) 22 049 4465

  
  

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For kaiako, Travel Ed | Mana Māori Experiences offers more than a trip; it provides learning grounded in whenua, whakapapa, and lived knowledge. These experiences support curriculum aspirations around identity, wellbeing, local histories, sustainability, and student agency, while modelling respectful engagement with tangata whenua and taiao.

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