Plan An Unforgettable Rotorua Experience
Rotorua has long been a hub for ingenuity, with a well-earned reputation for inventing unique products such as the ZORB, Shweeb Racer and the Luge.
When you marry this creative energy with the manaakitanga that comes as second nature to the people of Rotorua, you get an array of activities guided by passionate people who simply want you to enjoy an unforgettable experience! This makes Rotorua an easy win when planning a spot to meet up with friends or family, to reconnect and create memories you’ll talk about for years to come.
Adventure awaits
Take Redwoods Altitude and Rotorua Canopy Tours, for example. Both are designed to get the adrenalin flowing and showcase Rotorua’s spectacular forests. One (Altitude) has you traversing 25 Indiana Jones style jungle bridges, 25 metres off the ground, while Rotorua Canopy Tours sends you zooming along six ziplines, a cliff-top walkway (see photo on the left), spiral and suspended staircases, and more, through ancient virgin forest.
Relax the geothermal way
Visitors and locals know that a soak in the many and varied hot pools is a must, and a new option includes getting there by air. Volcanic Air offers a tour via floatplane from Lake Rotorua to the secluded hot pools in Manupirua Bay on Lake Rotoiti. These pools are only accessible by floatplane, boat, or four-hour hike, but we definitely recommend the first option, splashing down in style.
Rotorua is also home to a plethora of geothermal parks, each one quite different to the rest. There’s even a freebie in the middle of town, Kuirau Park, whose steam billows and blows across the city streets on windy days.
Dining options galore on Eat Streat
Now, when all this fun has worked up an appetite, it’s a safe bet that Eat Streat will satisfy hungry tummies. This all-weather alfresco dining area with geothermal heating underfoot is home to about a dozen eateries (and one boutique nightclub) to choose from. Of course, there are also more great cafés and restaurants scattered throughout the city.
Be sure to finish dinner with a treat from Rotorua’s iconic Lady Janes Ice Cream Parlour at the lake end of Eat Streat. Lady Janes has been serving up sumptuous treats for more than 30 years. The only problem here is deciding between cookies and cream, white chocolate and raspberry, Black Doris plum, ANZAC coconut cookie, Hokey Pokey and about 40 other flavours. Calories don’t count on holiday!
Discover more at RotoruaNZ.com