Roturua in the North Island of New Zealand is well worth a visit, full of many wonders from thermal lakes, mud pools, geysers and for the adventurous among you white water rafting and Zorbing.
Be warned however with all the thermal activity comes a pungent smell of egg! Not the most pleasant thing to wake up to into the morning but you kind of get used to it after a while, not sure if that is a good or bad thing!
The only downside to Rotorua I can think of is the fact that it is very spread out, you can take buses to the main activities but this cost $10 a ride, myself and a friend decided to hire a car for the day and this was brilliant as it meant we could see a lot more and at our own pace. Hiring a car cost about $70 for the day between us.
Accommodation in Rotorua is plentiful, we stayed in a backpackers hostel as we where on a budget but they have a varied range available.
A must see in Rotorua is the Thermal Wonderland, a world full of geothermic activity you will see sights that you never dreamt you'd see. I really felt like I had gone back in time to Jurassic park when I entered the wonderland.
The wonderland is laid out so that you can walk around freely at your own pace, every person is given a map showing different routes that you can take to explore the sights it holds. The highlights for me included the Champagne Pool, a massive thermal lake with many colours from orange, red and green, it really is an amazing sight. The Artists Palette is similar sight to the Champagne Pool, you get to walk across it on a bridge which gives you a very close look at all the colours. Entrance is $27.50 per adult and $9.00 per child, a bargain in my opinion.
Make sure you visit the Lady Knox Geyser, you will get to see her explode at 10.15am each day and it really is a sight to see, also walk past the mud pools, the smell isn't the best in the world but it is amazing to see the red hot mud bubbling and spitting! Don't stand too close mind you as a few people ended up covered in mud when one of the pools got a little over excited!
The one thing I wanted to do in Rotorua was experience swimming in a Thermal Lake, there are lots of spas and thermal pools available to do this in but they charge quite a lot to do this, being on tight budget we couldn't afford this luxury! However we were very lucky that our hostel were able to point out a natural thermal lake to us and we drove to take look. It really was brilliant to be able to jump into a lake that felt as warm as a bath, I wish I could remember where it was so that I could tell you but I am afraid I can't! I would however advise you to ask at your accommodation as the locals seem to know a lot about where they are.
The activities in Rotorua are some of the cheapest in New Zealand so it is worth doing them in the North Island as you will find the South Island is a lot more expensive. I have to say I am a little gutted that I didn't do the white-water rafting at the Okere Falls. Having watched the rafting it looked amazing and I wish had given it a go! Maybe another time!! The rafting is prices from $99 per person.
Zorbing as I mentioned before is becoming more and more popular with backpackers and other tourists! Rotorua is the ONLY place in New Zealand that offers this unique experience. What is Zorbing I hear you say well allow me to try and explain, Imagine a giant hamster ball filled with some water, add one, two or three humans and then push it down a hill and you get Zorbing!! A weird concept I know but it seems people can't get enough of it, I did not however participate in this!!
If you interested in the Maori Culture then I highly recommend the Tamaki Village experience, it costs NZ$75 and it is well worth the money, a coach picks you up and take you the village where you get to see how the Maoris lived, experience seeing performances of the famous Hakka and sample a delicious buffet style traditional Hangi! I will be writing amore detailed review on this experience shortly!
All in all it is a great unique place to visit! We only had two days but I would say you need about 3 or 4 days to truly see everything on offer.
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