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 Rotorua
Rotorua
If you want to get out of town and get the adrenaline pumping then the central North Island is the place to go. As the main tourist hotspot in the North Island "Roto-Vegas" has something for everyone - from wild white water rafting to beautiful serene lakes, from bubbling mud craters to relaxing natural hot pools. Rotorua is a happening destination, save some cash for this one and get into it.
Highlights
- Explore crazy thermal areas such as Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland
- Relax in natural hotpools
- Raft off a 7m high waterfall
- Climb Mt Tarawera
- Try Zorbing
- Race your mates on the Luge
Get out of town! - To really see the best of Rotorua you need a couple of days. If you have longer you can easily combine Rotorua with Taupo or Tauranga which are both only one hour away.
- As you get close to the town you will begin to sense a strange odour - somewhat similar to rotten eggs! Don't be alarmed this is natural and the stench is something that Rotorua has become famous for. You will get used to it.
Travel times
It is approximately 3 hours to Rotorua from Auckland. Don’t forget - To take your togs (swimming gear) - you are going to get wet on this trip.
- To book activities like rafting (these can be real busy during peak periods and it would be a pity to miss out).
- To take your togs (swimming gear) - you are going to get wet on this trip.
 The Luge We love the Blue Lake Top 10 Holiday Park. 15 minutes drive out of Rotorua township and situated on the edges of a beautiful lake it is the perfect place to stay. They have a variety of accommodation options: units, cabins and campsites. The facilities are excellent, even heated floors in the toilets, and a good bbq area. We would recommend either camping or staying in one of the cabins - they are convenient and good value. Blue Lake is a great place to chill out - there is a really nice 5 km walk/run which goes right the way around the lake. Remember that if you stay here and want to go out you will need to have a sober driver - it is much too far to walk and would be a very expensive taxi ride. To get to Blue Lake drive south down Fenton Street (that's the main one leading into town) and turn right at the major intersection onto Te Ngae Road (if you need a supermarket go straight at this intersection and you will find a couple on your left). Continue along Te Ngae Road before turning right at the roundabout onto Tarawera Road and follow the signs to Blue Lake. You can't miss it - it's the big blue wet thing. Other options Alternatively if you want to stay right in the heart of the action then a backpacker hostel in the middle of town would be the best bet - there are plenty to choose from (we like Treks). There are also a lot of other commercial camp grounds in the area and a few cheaper DOC camping options as well. Food and drink
Rotorua has a wide range of supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. In terms of drinking establishments most of the young crowd head to Lava bar. Be careful Rotorua at night is not the safest place to be - so look out for each other and don't go wandering around on your own). There is no shortage of things to do in Rotorua. There are a number of unique adventures sports (zorbing and the luge) and a host of more traditional options (white water rafting and mountain biking). Rotorua also has a large Maori population so has become a popular place to experience Maori culture. The areas location in the Taupo Volcaniz Zone also means that Rotorua experiences lots of thermal activity including geysers, bubbling mud and of course hot pools. The history of the area is also of interest with a blend of Maori and European influences mixed in with one very big volcanic eruption in 1886. If you stay at Blue Lake make sure you have a go at one of the associated GOOT Challenges. Known as the Adventure Capital of the North Island there is alot to keep you busy in Rotorua. - 6 kilometres before Rotorua you will see the signs for Zorb Rotorua. After a few hours in the car what better way to wake up. Zorbing involves rolling down a hill in a giant inflated sphere. An absolutely crazy idea but lots of fun nonetheless. You can do it wet or dry and even with a group of you in the same zorb.
- Just before Rotorua (driving South) of the right you will see a Gondola heading up a large hill. Snaking back down the hill are three custom built luge tracks. Although reasonably pricey the views from the top of the Gondola are awesome and racing each other down the luge track is even better. You can even get air if you go fast enough on the advanced track.
- There are a number of white water rafting options in Rotorua but the one that most people do - because it is short, convenient, cheap and absolutely frightening is the Kaituna Cascades. The highlight of this trip is the 7 metre Okere falls - yup that's right the raft, with you in it (hopefully), races down a very fast river and launches itself off a 7 metre waterfall (that's high, really high). This is a seriously fun grade 5 trip. The whole thing takes about 2 hours round trip from Rotorua. Even better for GOOT Passport holders, Kaituna Cascades are one of our select Partners so you can get $10 off!
- Take a tour up Mt Tarawera with Mt Tarawera Volcanic Tours! This is a truly amazing experience with spectacular views. The few times we have been lucky enough to go up there we have been blown away by the place (thankfully not literally as Tarawera last erupted in 1886). Tours run twice daily at 8am or 1pm so you could do this in the morning or after lunch.
- There are some world class mountain biking tracks in the Whakarewarewa forest (just south of Rotorua). You can get an excellent trail map from the Rotorua Information Centre ($5) and hire bikes from Planet Bike who operate from the park entrance (off highway 5 just South of Rotorua).
Other adventure options include:
- Lake Tarawera kayaking
- River Sledging
- The Agrodome with its range of weird and wonderful activities
- Check out the Rotorua Museum, located in the old Bath House, it is quirky and interesting. Make sure you watch the Mt Tarawera eruption video. Admission is $11.
- Rotorua has a number of excellent thermal areas - Hells Gate, Te Puia, Waimaungu etc.
- One of the best ones is Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland. Follow highway 5 south and out of town. After about 20 minutes turn left at the Waiotapu Tavern (that's the pub) and follow the signs to Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland.. Check out the bubbling mud pools (sign posted on loop road on the way in). There are a number of thermal areas in the Rotorua area but with the Champagne pool, crazy craters, big blowholes and so many colourful rock formations we rate Waiotapu as one of the best. Check their website for admission prices. The Lady Knox Geyser is nearby and this spouts off at 10:15 am everyday so if you want to see this you will need to come to Waiotapu in the morning. There is a café here if you get hungry.
Other options: - Go to the Polynesian Spa
- Check out the Buried village
- Experience a Maori cultural show and feast - there are a number of options here: Tamaki, Mitai and Te Puia.
Being an adventure capital there are obviously a lot of paying activities in Rotorua - but the area is still great places to visit if you don't want to pay to do anything. Rotorua has 12 beautiful lake, many good bush walks and some fantastic free hotpools.
- Probably the best of these hot pools is just before or just after the Waiotapu thermal area (depending on which direction you came) there is a small bridge. Beside the bridge a short track leads to one of the best free hot pools in the country. A boiling hot stream flows into a cold stream creating a perfect natural bath. Depending on your preference (hot, warm, cold) you can find the perfect spot by simply swimming around. This is a great place to relax after a full on day and it is easy to lose a couple of hours here. This place is pretty cool at night time too. Note: make sure you keep you head above the water. You don't really want to know why so just do it!
- There is another hot pool called Kerosene creek (signposted) on the right (off highway 5) just north of Waiotapu. It is not quite as nice but still worth a look if you are a hot pool fanatic.
- Walk or run around Blue Lake. Do it at night time (with a torch) for a little more excitement.
- Hangout in the Landing café (obviously if you eat or drink anything then this is no longer free) on the edge of Lake Tarawera - check out the Maori rock art along a short track to the left around the lake. There is another track to the right - where you might be able to see trout.
- Do the walks around Okere Falls (16 km from Rotorua on highway 33). You will see the same 7 metre waterfall that people raft - it's a cool spot.
- Drive out to Lake Okataina and do part of the Okataina Walkway.
- Walk Hongis Track in the Hinehope Scenic Reserve (between Lake Rotoiti and Lake Rotoehu) then soak in some excellent free natural hotpools (well they were free - unfortunately they have developed this area and there is now a changing shed and an associated $8 entrance fee). To find the hotpools drive east on highway 30 and look out for the signs for Rotorua Holiday Park (38 km from Rotorua). Turn left onto Manawahe Road and drive until you see a high fence on your left. Pull into the car park and explore.
- To see free thermal activity for free check out Kuirau Park in the town centre or head down to the lake front (War Memorial Park) and then follow the track (to the right) along the lake edge.
We hope you had a great trip - what did you think of the Rotorua? Did you go off the 7m waterfall?
Head back to www.goot.co.nz and tell us all about it.
Rotorua is centrally located - Rotorua is a great destination on it's own, but if you have time consider going there as part of a longer trip, including either; Taupo, Tauranga or Waitomo. We often stop off in Rotorua on our way back from somewhere else, just to relax in the hotpools.
- Close by is Matamata (which is where Hobitton was created for the Lord of the Rings Trilogy) and Tirau (which has some giant toilets and a good choice of food and drink).
The following appear in this GOOT Route offering great deals to GOOT Passport holders. Open links to view details.
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We are adding new GOOT Partners all the time so check back for more. Readers have left 6 comments. 6. Zorbing. Not just once.
Cait Brinkerhoff (BU), Unregistered Zorbing was really great. It thought it was going to be scary, but it wasn’t at all. Everyone should do it. This would never get old for me. Most people just do it once, but I think an amusement park of just zorbing would be hysterical. There could be all these crazy routes and unlimited runs. It would be awesome. 5. Luging was so fun and goofy
Allison Young (UNC Chapel Hill), Unregistered Luging was really fun and really goofy. Everyone looks like a college student on a tricycle. Sitting in those little carts, it’s just so funny. I thought it was really cool how they have the different levels of tracks. If you’re really daring you can get some air on the advanced track, but I was not so brave. I thought it was pretty good value for your money too. 4. White water rafting camaraderie
Liana Chen (Brandeis University), Unregistered I had a lot of fun white water rafting. I’ve never been. I wish it was a little longer. I usually don’t like getting in water because I get scared, but it was really fun because we pushed the guide off the raft because he pushed Raquel off. It was a good feeling getting pulled up after I flew out of the boat because of the camaraderie. 3. White water rafting Kaituna river was the shit!
Katherine King (BU), Unregistered White water rafting on the Kaituna was the shit. The tour guides were really good. They provided everything we needed for us which was good. And they made us feel really safe even though I thought we were going to die after we flipped. I just remembered the guide said hold on! And there was air under the raft. Flipping over was SO much fun! 2. Untitled
Mike Younis (BU), Unregistered Zorbing:
You can't leave New Zealand without stepping foot in a Zorb. I took a ride in the wet Zorb with my mate Matt and a hitchhiker we picked up. If you want to get to know someone better in less than a minute a Zorb is perfect. The wet Zorb feels like there is no friction on the inside and once it's moving, you'll be sliding under, over, and crashing into your mates. For an added bonus ask one of the staff members if you can lie under the Zorb as your friends roll over you. You'll know first hand what it feels like to be a grape.
Rotorua Luge:
This was by far my favorite activity in Rotorua. You can choose between three different levels of difficulty and race against your friends if you'd like. Some friendly competition definitely enhances the experience and made flying down the tracks a little more interesting. I can say from experience that if the brake is neglected and you catch an edge of the track with the luge cart, a wipeout is imminent. I still have the road rash on the back of my trousers to prove it.
Thermal Pools:
One of the most relaxing activities that Rotorua has to offer. The closer you go to the bridge to the right of the hot pool, the higher the temperature of the water. If the water is too hot you can swim to the cool water stream that runs directly past the hot water. If you head a little ways down the left of the cool water stream you can also reach underwater by the side of the bank and cover your body in completely black thermal mud. Good for exfoliation of your skin and scaring your mates as well.
Blue Lake Top 10 Holiday Park:
The comfortable little houses built near the lake are a great place to stay when you're in Rotorua. It's much more relaxing than staying in the city center and is a great place to wind down after a full day of activities. The kayaks are really fun and it's a great paddle to the other side of the lake. Throw some food into your kayak and have a picnic on the beach opposite the lodge! The track around the lake is a great run as well. It's very beautiful and not difficult. A plus is that when you complete the run you can dive into the pristine lake to cool off. 1. Rotorua by GOOT
Kathy Lee, Unregistered Staying at the Blue Lake Holiday Park was great. Beds were comfy and the facilities were fantastic. Take advantage of the trampoline, and you can't miss kayaking on the beautiful lake. Also: head to the nearby playground for a good time on the ROKTOPUS!
Do not miss out on Zorbing. It's a pretty indescribable experience. Don't worry about elbowing each other in the face -- it's part of the fun.
Rafting at Kaituna was awesome; there are some nice waterfalls there. Most people I went with preferred this location to the other places they went rafting. I regret not flipping over. The water's great.
For the adventurous or those aspiring to be adventurous, Mt. Tarawera is a sweet climb with some breath-taking views. Go for the longer track. The best part is coming down, and take my advice -- leave your nice shoes at home.
The Waiotapu hot springs are the best way to end a long day. Slather on some mud and spend the evening soaking and skipping stones.
Mad props to GOOT for a fantastic weekend! If left to our own devices, I'd imagine our Rotorua trip would involve little more than chasing swans by the lake and Pac 'n Save. |
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