Take an Āmiki Tour through central Ōtautahi Christchurch on a voyage of discovery with a master storyteller.
Riwai Grace loves to tell a story – about history, culture and kai (food) – and he’s really good at it too.
Āmiki Tours(opens in new window) was founded by Riwai and his wife Cate, who recognised her husband’s love of telling a yarn. The pair are natural hosts. During Riwai’s more than 20 years in New Zealand’s fire and emergency services, he would often guide lost travellers around the city. A life of storytelling and good food sounded pretty good so the pair built a business around doing what they love.
Ōtautahi Christchurch is known as The Garden City for good reason – its beautiful botanic gardens, Hagley Park, and Ōtākaro Avon River make it one of the most scenic cities in Aotearoa New Zealand.
However, beyond its picturesque parks and impressive colonial architecture there are very special treasures hidden in plain sight that Riwai and his guides love to reveal. From stories about the first Māori that settled on the shores of the river, the whalers, missionaries and settlers who came later, to the artists that have created incredible monuments to the area’s unique history, there isn’t an inch of Riwai’s beloved town that he doesn’t know intimately.
For instance, even inhabitants of the city might not have taken the time to look down at the amazing Whāriki under their feet – a series of 13 weaving patterns made up of paving stones that can be found around the Avon River Precinct that tell the story of a welcome ceremony on a marae, a traditional meeting house.
