Rotorua is the geothermal wonderland of New Zealand, with easily experienced Māori culture, family activities and a range of outdoor adventure activities such as white-water rafting and mountain biking. The hot springs and geysers of the city and region have attracted tourists for over a hundred years. Today, many visitors are also attracted by the Māori culture that is more dominant here than in many other parts of the country.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
The name Rotorua comes from the Māori language and means "two lakes" or "second lake" (roto = lake, rua = two). Its full name is Te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe, meaning "the second great lake of Kahumatamomoe". The city sits on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, and there are several other lakes nearby. So along with the geothermal wonders, many water-based activities such as fishing, boating and white water rafting are available. Rotorua is built over a geothermal hot spot. There are numerous natural vents, hot pools and other geothermal features in and around the city. Many of these are in parks and reserves.
Cityride, operated by Baybus. Phone number: 0800 4 229 28. There is a limited bus service. The buses are lime green in colour and branded "CityRide". The main terminus is at the corner of Fenton Street/Arawa Street (near the isite). These buses operate several routes from one side of the city to the other, including Ngongotahā (handy for accessing the Skyline, National Kiwi Hatchery and Agrodome attractions) and the airport.
As one of New Zealand's busiest tourist centres there are a variety of attractions ranging from free to more expensive. 1 Kuirau Park Thermal Pools (corner of Pukuatua and Ranolf streets). This city park in the heart of Rotorua is riddled with boiling-hot natural water and mud pools, all of them safely cordoned off with low fences for safe viewing (except for the large duck pond, which still bubbles a bit but isn't very inviting for swimmers in any case). Probably not as impressive as the two paid geothermal parks at the edge of town, but definitely worth a visit if you're not going to either of those.
Your best bet is to expend some energy taking in some of the many day-time activities such as land-sledding down Mt Ngongotahā at Skyline Skyrides Luge Ride, heli-touring or hiking through the abundance of parks often alongside thermal vents. Nearby is the curious forest of California Redwoods that was planted last century and has thrived in the ideal climate so that it appears to have been there for many centuries. The forest in this area has been developed to provide world-class mountain biking tracks, some of which were used for the 2006 World Championships. Rotorua hosts several other adventure activities such as ZORB, indoor rock-climbing and whitewater rafting or sledging.
There are numerous places to try the traditional Māori feast, the hangi. This "earthen oven" technique is similar to the Hawaiian umu and results in a very distinctive smoky, earthy flavour - well worth trying. Due to Rotorua's geothermally active ground, the local Maori tribes often make use of the geothermal heat for their hangi, instead of burying the food with heated rocks as is the standard practice elsewhere. Rotorua has some nice cafes - good options include: Woollen Mill Cafe at Agrodome, Capers, Zippy's or Fat Dog.
Rotorua is sometimes referred to as Roto-Vegas because of the many neon-lit hotels along the main street, the numerous venues for gambling and the few brothels. Strangely though, there isn't much nightlife to speak of. Try the historic Pig & Whistle pub, which stays open until 01:00 on Saturday nights.
This geothermal wonderland has some hazards. Respect safety signs and barriers around active geothermal locations - they are there for good reasons. The hot water and mud from geothermal springs can be boiling hot. Superheated steam may cause eruptions - after all it is steam that makes the geysers spout. The sulphurous smell (that rotten eggs smell) in the air means that some toxic gases may also be present. Take care in confined and unventilated spaces, particularly those below ground level or around geothermal pools. Toxic geothermal gases have been known to asphyxiate people. Avoid bathing in geothermal pools where the water has been in contact with the ground.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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