About Us
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Dinosaur Darren
Legend Hunter Storyteller Inspired by Dinosaur Darren's Tupuna (ancestors) Māori Legends of the mighty Taniwha and ferocious Ngarara! recited to him by his Grandmother, Dinosaur Darren & Rista has put together an awesome program which takes Tamariki (children) on a educational and entertaining journey back in time not only to the time of the Dinosaurs but also to the days when Darren's Tupuna's (ancestors) encountered the mighty Taniwha and ferocious god like creeping Ngarara's from a Te Ao Māori worldview. Darren has a passion for reciting ancient Pūrākau-Māori-Legends and Stories and sharing the Matauranga Māori (Māori Knowledge) within them. |
Dinosaur Darren also spent time at sea with P&O Cruises and when his ship returned to sail around Aotearoa he would recite his Māori legends & stories to passengers and crew from all around the world. Passengers & crew loved hearing the ancient Māori legends especially those from his own indigenous Te Ao Māori worldview.
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Rista the Raptor Handler!
Rista is Aotearoa's official Raptor Trainer and she is currently busy training two Velociraptors for human interaction - LOL. Rista is very creative and brings our life like baby Velociraptor to life, with a character that keeps the kids guessing is it alive? Rista loves all the Jurassic Park movies and she knows how to make sure our Velociraptor behaves himself when we are visiting Schools and Kindergartens.
Rista has a passion for working with animals and in her home country she worked in the field of animal quarantine and transport industry, which transport animals throughout South Africa as well as internationally. Rista has walked with Lions, ridden on massive African Bull Elephants backs, interacted with cheetah's and handled snakes |
Rista grew up in a small mining community in South Africa. She learnt from her dad what lays deep under ground and has been several kilometers under ground in working mines. Rista also lived for long periods of time in surrounding African Countries such as Lesotho, Botswanan and Swaziland. In Swaziland she was given the name "Mapule" which means to mother of rain in Swahili. During her time in the African countries she lived in she also help many people start up small businesses which resulted in her being known and much loved by the people in the small villages where she stayed in.
Rista's genuine love and passion is to work with children teaching them to appreciate the wide world around them and it was a no brainer for her to help Dinosaur Darren bring Legends Unleashed to our Children here in Aotearoa. Rista is also a very good artist and loves drawing and painting.
Rista's genuine love and passion is to work with children teaching them to appreciate the wide world around them and it was a no brainer for her to help Dinosaur Darren bring Legends Unleashed to our Children here in Aotearoa. Rista is also a very good artist and loves drawing and painting.
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Rista also looks after our museum quality collection and she makes sure everting is always polished and ready to go. She also sources the gemstones, minerals from around the world for our Kiwi Kids to discover and keep during each visit to the schools and loves teaching the Tamariki (children) the art of hydrologic sorting aka gold panning to find their gemstones.
Rista often says she is constantly amazed at the children's smiles and laughter as we create a memorable fun learning day for them. We look forward to inspiring Kiwi Kids in their education to learn about the wide world around them. Check out our Photos of us celebrating Children's Day 2023 at the Waikato Museum |
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