[mgbridges]

We're off to Mount Manganui (sp?) for a weeks holiday soon and figure its within range of doing a day trip to Rotorua so my question is what is a 'must do' in Rotorua? We have the in-laws (who have never been to NZ before) with us and a 6yr old child with a short attention span! :laugh

Any tips gratefully received.

Thanks, Anneliese

[jubjub]

Quite a few ideas here.

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=8069&highlight=rotorua

Our favourites were the geysers and the mud pools at Te Puia, the gondola/luge and hubby loved zorbing (that would be a good one for the inlaws :laugh)

Also rainbow fairy springs went down well with the toddler as did a bit of swimming in one of the local hot pools.

[shakyle2906]

Hi

We had a great time at the Themal park, Waio Tapu (?? sp). It was great and very interesting, our 5yr old loved it.

Sharon
x

[Caroline and Dave]

We had a great time at the agrodome
http://www.agrodome.co.nz/
It caters for all ages, the sheep shearing/show is good for kids to adults.

[shakyle2906]

Hi

We had a great time at the Themal park, Waio Tapu (?? sp). It was great and very interesting, our 5yr old loved it.

Sharon
x


Just looked back at our blog, and its Wai O Tapu, Rororua.
We went there back in May if you want a look at some pics.
It was amazing

Sharon
x

[MaxG]

Just to add my voice to that - Wai-o-Tapu was really good. The museum was good, too - a stunning building that was originally a spa/mud/thermal/hydrotherapy hotel.

Some photos here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/petegray/sets/72157594243200416/) from our 2006 NZ expedition.

[DMcG]

If you're looking for cheap options, try the Craters of the Moon - which is a DOC site covered in steaming vents - it's free :) There another set of boiling mud pools out on the Taupo road - also DOC and free.

If it's a nice day take a trip down to Orakei Korako. It's a bit less touristy than most of the other geothermal areas - and you get a boat trip across the river for starters.

Dougie

[IanW99]

If you're looking for cheap options, try the Craters of the Moon - which is a DOC site covered in steaming vents - it's free :) There another set of boiling mud pools out on the Taupo road - also DOC and free.

If it's a nice day take a trip down to Orakei Korako. It's a bit less touristy than most of the other geothermal areas - and you get a boat trip across the river for starters.

Dougie

Would recommend the Orakei Korako (Hidden Valley) it is a very good.

It does have a lot of steps etc so may not be so good for some visitors e.g. pushchairs etc. I would have suggested this myself but thought that it is quite a distance from Rotorua and if you are just visiting for the day from Mount Manganui then there is more than enough to do within Rotorua.

If you did decide to go down to the Craters of the Moon (again a fair distance from Rotorua), then also check out Huka Falls and the Huka Prawn Park where you go fishing for prawns.

Ian

[Tia Maria]

All already mentioned but our boys enjoyed:

1) Luge & Skyline (& scary sky swing) - Give about 1 - 2 hours (big cafe)

www.skylineskyrides.co.nz/rotorua/

Fantastic for all ages and has different levels for different abilities, our boys liked it so much they even did it in the rain. It was quieter earlier and later on, worth considering as if a tour group comes in you may have to queue a while.

2) Rainbow Springs - can take between 30 mins to 2 hours

www.rainbowsprings.co.nz

Practically next door to the Luge, more of a sedate wander around the pools and a way to 'calm down' after the Luge.

3) Agrodome - give about 2-3 hours if you do show and farm tour

www.agrodome.co.nz

Further down the road - The thought of a sheep show really didn't appeal but it was really good and surprisingly funny. The boys liked the farm tour where they let you get close to the sheep, alpacas, pigs etc. Also got to try some feijoa wine. I noticed zorbing down the hill as we entered the farm, so nice and near for those interested.

I enjoyed all three but would definitely go back to the luge and the agrodome. Rotorua is fab have fun!

Cheers

Tia

[Tia Maria]

Forgot to mention (allow about 3-4 hours if you do everything):

www.whakarewarewa.com

There are a couple of places like this but we felt this place had the whole geyser, bubbling mud, show thing in one place.

Our oldest boy, then 5, got invited up to do the Haka at the show and one time they got to ride around on the land train (it wasn't running the other time).

When the geysers go off it really is amazing and there are places where you can lie on the stone and its like underfloor heating. This is a great place to get those allimportant NZ photos sometimes it feels like another world - the boys thought it was like being on the moon - it really captured their imagination.

We really enjoyed the tour but the boys weren't so interested. They've recently improved it and it has an interactive room which they loved - lots of buttons to press and things lighting up as it told you about Maori history and culture.

Its also got a small Kiwi house.

We have been to this place twice and would go again.

Cheers

Tia

[Cardy]

definetly the luge and the thermal park:nice1

[Moorf]

We'll be in Rotorua in Feb. Which of the hot spring spa-like places would people say is the best in terms of quietness, calm and relaxation vs an activity/family-themed one? We're looking for a relatively quiet spot :o

Plus - would you stay in one or are they overpriced compared to local accommodation?

[jubjub]

Moorf, we stayed in the Millenium which is right next to Polynesian spa, which I havent been in, but heard great things about, there is a family pool, but also separate pools for quieter adults! (also the hotel was walking distance to CBD)

My friend has just stayed in the Rydges which is a bit further out, she said the service & hotel was great (she is very fussy!) but cant answer for what their spa is like. http://www.rydges.com/hotel/0/RZROTO/Rydges-Hotel-Rotorua.htm

Other option is Hells Gate, which is further around the lake, but rumoured to be a bit overhyped.... http://www.hellsgate.co.nz/

[Moorf]

Cheers Sal - I recognise the name Waiora (Hells Gate) spa website, I think Smiler recommended it - has anyone been there?

Maybe I should just stick to the good old Top Ten sites - anyone stayed in one in Rotorua?

[Mels]

We stayed in the Blue Lake Top Ten. Quieter out of town and at the time we had been warned off staying at the more central one by some Canadians who had their campervan broken into.

As it turned out the lake was fantastic (even in Sept) with lovely scenary and the lake is just over the road.

http://www.bluelaketop10.co.nz

have a great time

[Mels]

I forgot the forest Whakarewarewa, we went mountain biking there. Bikes were ordered from the forest's gift shop. The chap delivered the bikes to a convenient carpark and then picked us up a couple of hous later. We did the 'baby' track and that was scarey enough!!

[Peter&Liz]

If your looking for somewhere to eat in Rotorua, I would highly recommend Fat Dog Café & Bar 1161 Arawa Street, it has a real unique atmosphere very reasonably priced and the portions are huge.

We eat there twice on our holiday to NZ late 2005 and really enjoyed ourselves, although I would recommend choosing the ‘small’ :) portion if given the option.

Peter

[Kim39]

You know you wanna!!!

Skyswing.....Rotorua

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v721/Brierley1964/various034.jpg

Kim

[jubjub]

Moorf. not stayed at the top ten, but stayed here...

http://www.rotoruathermal.co.nz/home.html

the lodge is seperate rooms, but shared showers/recreation area. last year when we were there the onsite cafe was lovely, so was the nice warm pool, although small.... so prob best somewhere else for a good sploosh about...

[sizzlingbadger]

We can recommend a lovely bach, about 40 mins outside of Rotorua with views over Lake Rotoehu, very, very quiet spot and beautiful sunsets. The bach was a perfect distance from Rotorua and we managed to do quiet a lot in Rotorua with out having to stay there with the sulphur smell, sorry just couldn't have stayed there for a week :) It wasn't too expensive either around $100 a night.

Just at the end of the road was a natural thermal pool. Very weird jumping in and it being very hot :D

Try and avoid Hells Gate, we pulled up on the last day thinking we'll have a treat and ended up driving away again, prices were horrendously expensive especially for a family. There's lots of other places to go.

The drive out to Lake Tarawera is beautiful at the end the Landing Cafe does some really good food as well. There is a boat trip that runs but wasn't running while we were there unfortunately.

[willowshouse]

If your looking for somewhere to eat in Rotorua, I would highly recommend Fat Dog Café & Bar 1161 Arawa Street, it has a real unique atmosphere very reasonably priced and the portions are huge.

We eat there twice on our holiday to NZ late 2005 and really enjoyed ourselves, although I would recommend choosing the ‘small’ :) portion if given the option.

Peter

Couldn't agree more!! Been to Rotovegas twice and this is DEFO my favourite place to eat .. breakfast, lunch and dinner! :nice1

[jubjub]

Hmm, Fat Dog, we got a strong recommendation for it so we went... found it to be average in our opinion. Its nice enough, we just felt it was not anything special.

Oh, another place to go is the Kuirau park, you see it as soon as you drive in to Rotorua, the steam rising from its little mud pools and you can sit with your feet in the little spa pools dotted around, best bit is its free! If you are going in summer, personally I would prob not go there later than 7, I have a feeling it could be quite seedy/dodgy later at night....

[mgbridges]

Thanks for all the suggestions folks! We ended up going to Te Puia for the majority of the day (even though it was raining) and really enjoyed it. We could have easily spent the entire day there and feel sure we'll go again.

We had planned to go to Wai O Tapu but by the time we thought about setting of it was passed the last admission time so we went to Hells Gate instead. It had changed a bit since the last time we went (over 6yrs ago) as it now has the spa, wood carving, cooking bit and gift shop but we still enjoyed it. It seems so much more 'raw' than what we remember of Wai O Tapu.

Ended up having dinner at Fusion in Roturua, a good enough meal but service was slow and they were trying a bit too hard to be something they aren't - e.g. parnish and vanilla puree!!

Kinda wish we'd spent 4 nights at Mount Manganui and 3 nights in Rotorua as there is plenty to keep you occupied in Rotorua, another time maybe and at the end of the day the in-laws thoroughly enjoyed it despite the yucky weather.

Anneliese