Rotorua

Introduction

Rotorua

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Rotorua is also nicknamed Roto Vegas by Kiwis for the mass of tourist attractions. Rotorua is a small city of about 64,000 people on the southern shore of Lake Rotorua in the Bay of Plenty Region, on the North Island of New Zealand. The main attractions in Rotorua are Maori culture and amazing geothermal activity. The most popular geysers are located in the town and the surrounding country side. And the famous mud pools are located in the city center itself. Some local Maoris used to, and still do, cook their meal in the hot geysers behind their homes.

The tourist appeal of Rotorua started in the 1860s and only grew mainly due to large thermal waterfalls made of lime located on Mount Tarawera. These falls were very high and bubbling with hot energy and attracted tourists from around the world. Local Maori tribes started to appeal to the tourists and began to exploit lots of money from tourists. Some tribal members claimed that they were offending the gods by doing things like replacing the shell eyes traditional statues with silver and gold coins. Either by random volcanic event, or the anger of gods, Mount Tarawera erupted in 1886 destroying the falls, locals and tourists. The only people that were spare were the few that hid out with a Maori chief that refused to offend the gods.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

• Kuirau Park - West of the city centre and has several hot bubbling mud pools that visitors can soak their feet in.
• Whakarewarewa (Thermal Village) - This town incorporated thermal energy into its system long before Iceland had even thought about it. For over 200 years the Ngati Wahiao tribe has lived in this location and incorporated the thermal springs into their daily lives for bathing, cooking, heating and spiritual needs. Opened as a tourist sight in 1998 travellers can see how a unique people have adapted an environment to fit their needs. Open 7 days a week, 8:30am to 5:00pm and is 5 minutes south of Rotorua.
• Rotorua Museum was the original bath house and is not a great museum on the history of Rotorua featuring some great videos and exhibits.
• Shopping - This is a great town to shop for traditional Maori art and crafts.
• Buried Village (Te Wairoa) was a village that was buried in the 1886 Mt Tarawera eruption which destroyed some amazing natural formations.
• Lakes - There are several lakes around the area that can offer great boating and swimming. Some lakes are considered holy and therefore off limits to non-Maoris.
• Mountain Biking - Some of the best mountain biking is to be found amongst the redwoods of Whakarewarewa forest. Rental bikes are offerend by Planet Bike at the Waipa State Mill Road park entrance. And also by The Outdoorsman on Tarawera Road just before the turn onto Long Mile Road to the visitors center. There are also many bike shops intown that rent bike too.
• Blue Lake on Tarawera road is a great place to hike and take a swim in the crystal clear waters.
• Skyline Sky Rides skylineskyrides - A day of fun with a gondola and great view over Rotorua and then take the luge down, Zorb Zorbing was invented here in Rotorua too.
• Skydiving - Not the great views like Taupo and Queenstown, and for that reason the best deals on skydiving can be had at Rotorua. If you just want the thrill and save yourself a bundle.
• Agrodome - Your chance to see a New Zealand farm in action. Lots to do an see and with the star of the show being the sheep sheering demonstrations.

Events and Festivals

Weather

Getting There

By Plane

Rotorua Regional Airport (ROT) provides daily flights to Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown by turbo-prop planes and daily jet services. There are plans to extend the runway making it possible for larger planes to land therefore providing direct flights to Australia. Some water planes still land on Rotorua lake.

By Train

Currently it is not possible to get to Rotorua by train.

By Car

By Bus

Buses connect Roturua with most major towns and cities on the North Island, including Wellington and Auckland.

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

• Whakarewarewa (Thermal Village) - it is possible here to eat in the traditional style of this village while visiting. This means eating all your food boiled or steamed with the power of the hot springs and thermal energy from underground. It is best to make reservation is advance.

Drink

Sleep

Camping

Work

Learn

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Most payphones in New Zealand require the use of phone cards for payment and it is getting harder to find payphones that accept coins. As phone cards are available at a lot of outlets, they are easy to purchase and very handy as a backup in case of emergencies.

Dial 111 for emergency police, fire or ambulance services. The worldwide emergency number for GSM mobile phones, 112, can also be used.

Local calls are free from residential phones and charges for calling outside that area can be found at the front of the regional phone books, amongst many other services.

Post

Most areas have dedicated PostShops, however stamps can also be bought at grocery shops, supermarkets and book stores. There are two main formats for domestic mail, namely Standard Post and Fast Post. Fast Post is used next day delivery between major towns and cities (two days from rural areas), whereas Standard Post will take a few working days to deliver nationwide. Standard costs NZ$0.40 for letters/postcards (NZ$0.80 for larger envelopes), Fast Post costs NZ$0.80 (NZ$1.20 for larger envelopes). International mail takes about 3-6 days to Australia (NZ$1.50), and 6-12 days to Europe, Asia and the United States (NZ$2). Post boxes are white, red and black and can be found in many areas throughout towns and cities, including information about when their contents are collected. Most post offices and smaller post shops have opening hours from 9:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday, and 9:00am to 12:30pm on Saturday. You can buy stamps here, or at newsagents and general stores. For parcels, you can use the NZ Post or otherwise courier companies like TNT, DHL, UPS or FedEx.