Rotorua lies right in the heart of New Zealand’s Northern Island in an idyllic landscape filled with sweeping green valleys, natural geothermal hot springs, steaming geysers, ancient volcanos and 16 picturesque lakes. Besides these precious landmarks, Rotorua also offers interesting places showcasing the Maori cultural traditions and New Zealand’s farming features. Moreover, it is home to New Zealand’s largest Kiwi Conservation centre and the world’s largest Skyline Luge.
As a first time traveller to New Zealand, I was lucky to spend 2 days in Rotorua and get an in-depth insight into New Zealand’s history and cultural treasures. Here below a recap of things to do in Rotorua.
Te-Puia – New Zealand’s best Maori Cultural Centre
This is no. 1 highlight of Rotorua and one of the most impressive arts and craft centre I have been to in Oceania. In a 90 minutes guided tour we could learn so much about the Maori Culture. From customs, beliefs and traditional ceremonies to how people use the geothermal water for cooking, to the natural beauty of Pohute Geyser and mud pools. We could also witness practical training in the workshops area of the national Carving School (Whakairo) and the Weaving School (Raranga) as well as the Taonga Gallery where you can see the authentic works created by the artists. Absolutely a great place where to buy something special and unique in New Zealand.
For more information about Te Puia, Cultural Centre visit their website: www.tepuia.com
Scenic Air Tour – View Rotorua volcanic area from above
Viewing the picturesque landscape from above is my opinion another big attraction among the things to do and see in Rotorua. There are several types of Rotorua Air Tours you can do there. The basic flight experience by viewing Rotorua with 5 crater lakes and steaming cliffs from geothermal geysers. Or the combination of air tour + guided walk tour by exploring White Island, the active volcano and its fascinating sulphur deposits and remains of the mine. Or the unique experience by discovering the hidden wonderland of Mt. Tarawera. While we were there we got invited to a scenic air tour of Rotorua & surrounds. The view was simply stunning. It really conveys at a glance the scale of Rotorua Region’s spectacular scenery.
This is a must-do thing. If you want to learn about Maori culture in a relaxed and entertaining way. The highlights of the evening are the Unveiling and Uplifting of the Hangi Meal, while they explained how food is cooked in the ground and how Hangi feast is celebrated. The cultural performance is very educational “Kapa Haka” with its powerful, cheerful dances and talks about the significance of customs, face tattooing “ta Moko” and Maori language.
For more information of their Mitai Maori Cultural Experience visit www.mitai.co.nz
Rainbow Springs – Get close with New Zealand’s wildlife
When thinking of New Zealand the first thing that comes to mind is its iconic native animal, the Kiwi. But you should know that by 99% of cases you will not be able to see the kiwi in the wild when in New Zealand. This is why the Rainbow Spring Kiwi Conservation Centre is famous. The Kiwi Conservation Centre is the largest in NZ, created in 1995 that could breed over 1000 kiwi and release them into kiwi conservation areas to protect them from extinction. As a matter of fact, kiwi is an endangered species. Rainbow Springs offers a fabulous night tour where you will be able to see the kiwi live and listen about the kiwi conservation program. On that evening we were lucky to see 4 kiwis in the darkness wobbling around. Next to the Kiwi Encounter experience bird feeding and bird shows are also offered during the day. Check their website for more info:www.rainbowsprings.co.nz
The Rotorua Luge – a fun-filled gravity ride not to miss out
Rotorua is not only about cultural performances and viewing beautiful scenery by air, land and sea.
You can take a ride at the Rotorua Luge too Never heard about it? This is something truly unique of Rotorua and New Zealand. For the first time, I tried out the luge. Onboard of a 3 wheel cart slide down the track towered with tall trees. Once you get down, hop on the chairlift and have another go. There are 2 more tracks for seasoned lugers or adventurers. Next to the Rotorua luge fun, there are traditional ways of enjoying the scenery on the Gondola Ride, or by taking in the panoramic vista from the skyline cafe. Moreover, there are nature walking tracks starting from the Gondola Top Terminal.
For more information about activities check out their website: www.skyline.co.nz
There are many more things to do in Rotorua that will keep you busy for days in this little town of Northern New Zealand. Another interesting way of exploring the area is taking a cruise to enjoy a beautiful 360° panoramic vistas of Lake Rotorua and Lakeland Queen Cruises, a paddle-wheel driven boat, offer a variety of cruises from early morning to sunset cruises.
For us, it was a great way of having a lunch break and a perfect spot for taking photos of lake Rotorua.
To take in the picturesque landscape and see much of the colourful lakes and Rotorua attractions you can check out Rotorua Duck Tours and get on an old WWII amphibious to float on the water’s lake. It’s a different and fun way of exploring the area. We did experience this on to the Blue Lake and Lake Okareka. Very peaceful and secluded lakes filled with unique birdlife and an uninterrupted solitude, dotted with million dollars villas overlooking the lake.
Did you know how many sheep breeds are there? I did not. This is another interesting thing to do in Rotorua if you want to get a deeper insight into the agricultural scenery of the region. On a Farm Tour at the Agrodome you can see 19 sheep breeds together on stage and witness a live sheering demo along with learning how wool garments are made.
Although Rotorua is regarded as a touristy destination I think it should be on the bucket list of everyone who wants to learn about New Zealand’s culture and witness its geothermal wonderland.
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A scenic flight over Rotorua
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Michela is a passionate traveller and outdoor enthusiast, who has been travelling solo for +30 years between Australia, Italy, Europe and more countries. She is keen to share her knowledge and best tips to help solo travellers travel more and plan their adventures in a simpler and smarter way. Michela is the founder and editor in chief of Rocky Travel.
I love Rotorua! I lived in NZ for 10 yrs and went a few times. Love the sulphur pools, especially the bubbling mud! So cool! Crazy smell too- you always know when you’ve arrived in Rotorua!
Some great suggestions here! We loved the luge but also visited the Wai-O-Tapu geothermal reserve. It’s one of the less ‘touristy’ places to see examples of thermal activity and we were mesmerised by their giant colourful hot springs. The waters were azure blue, insipid yellows and vivid oranges. Definitely worth checking out if you visit Rotorua!
I wish I could have more time to visit Rotorua and its surrounds better. I had heard of the giant colourful hot springs, must have been a gorgeous scenery. Thanks for sharing this tip and for stopping by! 🙂
Reading this post brought back lots of memories of my trip to Rotorua many years ago, nice to see a lot of the places I visited and to learn about new activities there…it makes want to travel to NZ again! Thank you for sharing.
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Spencer
June 29, 2013 @ 9:52 am
I love Rotorua. I have been there several times and think it is a wonderful place. That cruise is pretty spectacular too!
Amber
July 23, 2013 @ 2:57 am
I love Rotorua! I lived in NZ for 10 yrs and went a few times. Love the sulphur pools, especially the bubbling mud! So cool! Crazy smell too- you always know when you’ve arrived in Rotorua!
Charli | Wanderlusters
July 25, 2013 @ 9:07 pm
Some great suggestions here! We loved the luge but also visited the Wai-O-Tapu geothermal reserve. It’s one of the less ‘touristy’ places to see examples of thermal activity and we were mesmerised by their giant colourful hot springs. The waters were azure blue, insipid yellows and vivid oranges. Definitely worth checking out if you visit Rotorua!
rockytravel
July 26, 2013 @ 3:52 pm
I wish I could have more time to visit Rotorua and its surrounds better. I had heard of the giant colourful hot springs, must have been a gorgeous scenery. Thanks for sharing this tip and for stopping by! 🙂
Davide
August 9, 2013 @ 9:26 pm
Reading this post brought back lots of memories of my trip to Rotorua many years ago, nice to see a lot of the places I visited and to learn about new activities there…it makes want to travel to NZ again! Thank you for sharing.
rockytravel
August 10, 2013 @ 4:33 pm
You are welcome! In Rotorua there are plenty of activities to keep you busy for days. Definitely worth re-visiting 🙂