Explore our jade carving studio, meet local artists and choose a piece of pounamu to take home!
In the heart of Rotorua's city centre, just steps away from the iconic Government Gardens, our skilled artists dedicate themselves to the intricate craft of hand-carving New Zealand pounamu (jade). With passion and care, they invite you to explore the unique stories behind each carving and offer an exclusive behind-the-scenes look into their creative process.
Step inside our studio for an unforgettable experience, where you can observe live demonstrations and spend quality one-on-one time with our talented artists. You’ll learn about the detailed jade carving process and dive into the rich cultural heritage and significance of New Zealand pounamu.
For a hands-on experience, you can even try your hand at traditional Māori carving techniques using sandstone to shape pounamu. To make your visit truly memorable, you’ll select your own piece of pounamu and string it into a necklace to take home as a treasured keepsake. Perfect for all ages, our 40-minute tour offers a fun and engaging activity, especially on rainy days!
All prices are shown in NZD ($)
So happy you enjoyed the tour! Thanks for visiting :)
Wow, I was the only person on the tour so was really able to ask lots of questions. Staff were really attentive and knowledgeable. I really appreciated the experience.
Thank you for the review Donna, so happy you enjoyed the tour!
Great little tour about where the jade comes from. Procedure of carving and polishing was shown. The lovely piece of jade was given to each of us in the end of the tour. Well worth if you are in Rotorua.
Thanks for visiting!
This is a great activity if your interested in how paunamu is formed and carved.
One of the best gift from Aoetearoa with all the blessing and stories behind told and showed by real Tangata whenua
Thanks for your review!
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Florian from Germany wrote on 09 May 2023
Great tour and definitely worth it!
The tour was great! Nice insights into the process of carving Pounamu. The guide was really kind and passionate about the whole topic. In the end you could even select one small piece of pounamu to keep from a range of different smaller pieces, neat!