St Faith's Church, Ohinemutu

Ohinemutu is an old settlement on the shore of Lake Rotorua, built over ground that steams: vents smoke between the houses, pools sit in front gardens, and the smell of sulphur is constant. St Faith's stands in the middle of it, a Tudor-styled timber church from early last century whose plain exterior gives no hint of the inside. Within, the walls carry carved figures, woven tukutuku panels and painted rafter patterns, worked into an Anglican church without either tradition being made to give way. A window of etched glass on the lake side shows Christ wearing a Maori cloak, positioned so that from the right pew he appears to be standing on the water of the lake behind.

What you actually see

• The etched window - the figure in a Maori cloak that reads as standing on Lake Rotorua behind.
• The carved interior - figures, tukutuku panels and painted rafters lining the nave.
• The village setting - steam vents, cooking pools and houses built on geothermal ground.
• Tamatekapua meeting house - the carved meeting house facing the church across the marae.

When to go

Mornings are best, before Rotorua's tour groups reach the lakefront and while the steam still hangs in the cold air. The church is open to visitors outside services, but times vary and it closes without notice for funerals, which are frequent and private. Grey, still days show the geothermal steam far better than hot sunshine. The whole visit takes under an hour.

Honest expectations

This is a residential village and a working marae, not an attraction, and visitors who wander into gardens or onto the marae itself cause real offence. The church can be locked when you arrive and there is no schedule you can rely on. Photography inside is restricted or asked to be avoided. The sulphur smell bothers some people, and the ground around the vents is genuinely hot.

Nearby

The Government Gardens, the museum building and the lakefront jetties are all within a short walk.