Top Things To Do in Rotorua

Yay, another post on the fun activities to do in another city in New Zealand.

Rotorua, a city named after a lake, is an area of geothermal activity and Maori culture. Situated within the Bay of Plenty, it is one of my fondest cities on the North Island.

Let’s cut the babble short and jump right into the activities I did, and will not hesitate to recommend them to any newcomers in this city. Most of the activities I did are free. If I do pay for them, it probably means that they are worthwhile.

Hot Pools

The city has a lively atmosphere, and there are lots of outdoor activities to do. If soaking in hot pools is a favourite activity of yours, then you would enjoy yourself plentifully.

Free – Kerosene Creek

Soaking in Kerosene Creek was a wonderful experience. We visited the site one autumn afternoon and were relishing in the warm pools under the yellow-red leaves. The creek, which has plenty of space for soaking with depths at most waist-deep at some parts, could get crowded. It is free after all. We were lucky that day.

Paid – Polynesian Spa

A friend travelling with us mentioned that Polynesia Spa is a ‘world-renowned’ spa with high rankings and pestered us into going for it. We were staying in a backpackers and managed to score a 10% discount voucher from the reception.

Polynesia Spa’s webpage listed pools of varying temperature and pH levels. We bought the Pavilion Pools package. My best recollections were soaking in the 40 °C pools by the lake and the cascading pools. The former was said to be acidic and the latter alkaline. Unlike the Japanese onsens, this spa does not have a cold pool or bath to stimulate the body. However, there were several water-coolers placed around the pools, and posters reminding you to stay hydrated.

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Geothermal Wonders

Waimangu Volcanic Valley

Aside from the hot pools, which are a geothermal wonder by itself, there are parks to marvel at the steamy alien landscapes in Rotorua.

Budget or not, I think you should at least visit one of the parks unless, perhaps, you’ve seen better elsewhere like in Iceland. They are natural amazement to enjoy.

There are two such parks that I know of in Rotorua — Wai-o-tapu and Waimangu Volcanic Valley.

Wai-o-tapu was, unfortunately, closed for renovations while we were there. The Waimangu Volcanic Valley, on the other hand, had some good marketing. Bookme dot com has big discounts for its ticket, and the park calls itself the world’s youngest geothermal system. How could we not visit the park when we were in NZ, and, most importantly, at a time when there were zero overseas tourists?

The park is segmented into two parts — a self-guided trail around hot springs, volcanic craters and other geothermal activity, and Lake Rotomahana. Depending on your schedule and preferences, you could choose to do either or both parts. We went with their half-day full tour.

Admission timings and capacity are observed when buying the full experience package. We spent two hours trailing the routes with signs pointing out to various attractions, and another hour on a boat tour around the steamy Lake Rotomahana.

Walks

Redwoods Whakarewarewa Forest

There are plenty of trails for trampers around Rotorua, but I bet the first you would have heard of would be in the Redwoods. The park has a website dedicated to all the activities you could do, from tramping to riding.

Ignore the other activities if you have time only for one item in the city. This is an iconic spot you should not miss in Rotorua. It is free, accessible and worthwhile to walk amongst the tall trees.

Some of the fancier paid activities include walking on the canopy at night and ziplining.

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Adrenaline

White Water Rafting at Kaituna Cascade

The rafting was our first activity in Rotorua.

Advertisements on rafting by various companies kept popping out in our social networks when we were in Te Puke. $79/ pp to raft down the world’s commercially highest fall. That does look like a steal, considering that the original price was $105. In the end, bookme dot com has the lowest possible price of $49/ pp.

The whole experience was exhilarating. We donned our shorties (it was summer), and helmets and took a short bus ride to the river. Our guide grouped six of us on the raft and demonstrated the different ways to propel the vessel. We hopped and dipped through a couple of ripples before reaching the mammoth drop. That happened somewhere in the middle of the journey. We did not topple but were very wet. We could choose to jump off the raft and travel through a whirlpool in the river thereafter. 

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Others

Thursday Night Market

You should not miss this weekly night market if you are in Rotorua. It is the closest you could get to the night markets in Asia. 

We shared a piping hot bowl of braised beef noodles cooked in Thai style, crackling Lechon from the Philippines, and a plateful of succulent roasted Beijing duck. Bring cash as not all booths accept EFTPOS.

Cinema

Catch the latest blockbuster in Readings Cinema! Some of us were fans of the popular anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. We caught the movie in its spacious theatre one balmy day in March and dipped ourselves in Polynesia Spa afterwards.

Centennial Park

Soak in the beautiful hues of autumn in centennial park, just before the last of leaves wither away. We unabashedly spent two hours in the park to catch the best photos.

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Restaurants

Yaki-Yaki Korean BBQ

Recommended if you are a meat-lover and a fan of buffets and BBQs. For $25 per person, we had a delicious spread of meat for BBQ, an array of cooked food and salad to choose from, and a free portion of fried chicken and gyoza. Altogether, a great place to gather and enjoy food with friends.

Yamato Japanese

One word to describe it; authentic, at least this was what our Japanese friend attested. He had a beautiful bowl of Oyakon don. The restaurant has $19.90 lunch specials. You could choose four sides, and it comes with a bowl of delicious miso soup. A seafood lover, I picked sashimi, pickled fish, grilled saba and udon for my set.

Oppies Fish and Chips (said to be world-famous)

I am putting this here as I have tried this fish and chips restaurant just before the Demon-slayer movie mentioned above. Not the best I’ve tried thus far (the best is in Mangonui, Northland), despite what it claims to be, but good enough to satisfy the tummy and not put a dent in your wallet. We had two portions of fish and a scoop of chips to share for two for $11.

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Ending

With that are all the activities I have done in Rotorua. Perhaps they will be put into good consideration for you, be it if you are residing in Te Puke for the kiwi season or a traveller exploring the country. You could find out more about my city explorations in Queenstown, Arrowtown and Christchurch in the meantime, as I continue to churn out more such articles in the future.