Rotorua, New Zealand

Rotorua (2 days, 2 nights – Nov 23-25)

We highly recommend renting a car and driving from Auckland to Rotorua to enjoy the New Zealand countryside. The drive takes roughly 3-4 hours from Auckland and you will see a lot of green fields, a ton of sheep and the occasional cow. We recommend that you start your drive no later than 9:00am from Auckland so you can stop at the Waitomo caves to go black water rafting and visit the glow worms on your way to Rotorua. The cave tours apparently take four hours. Unfortunately, Dee Dee and I did not leave Auckland early enough to take advantage of this tour and we were disappointed that we didn't plan this better! GO! It's supposed to be great!

Rotorua is really great. The region is a geothermal amusement park with a lot of bubbling mud and escaping thermal gases...which makes for stinky air. Rotorua is also home to the Maori culture. We recommend spending at least two if not three days here.

Where to Stay
We searched through Trip Advisers and found the B&B at the Redwoods and what a gem this place is! The B&B is really comfortable and very nice...but what makes this place great are the two inn-keepers, Vivian and Peter. They were very helpful in helping us plan our daily itinerary and were very attentive to making sure we were comfortable. Vivian is a great cook and prepared a very tasty English breakfast. Please look into staying here...it's well worth it! When you make reservations, please mention that we referred you!

What to Do
There are a lot of great outdoor activities to do here...the problem is choosing what to do!

Mitai Maori Hangi
There are a lot of Maori people in the area and there are several opportunities to learn about their history and culture. Unfortunately, there are a lot of CHEESEY opportunities too! Vivian recommended that we go to a hangi, or a Maori-style luau, called the Mitai Maori. The tourist "show" consists of a traditional meal cooked underground, Maori demonstrations of tribal life and Maori dancing. Dee Dee liked the dancing the best for the men wore nothing but loan clothes with "g-string" backs. What makes this hangi unique is the size. The tourist capacity is only 100-ish...with the competing hangis holding 300. Secondly, the location of this hangi is in a natural park with natural springs and forests. The park also contains several animal and fish exhibits...including glow worms! The most unique exhibit is the Kiwi preserve...apparently the Kiwi bird is having a tough time surviving in the wild so "rescue" teams are raising them in this natural park. Dee Dee and I caught glimpses of the birds and they are really cool!

Wai-O-Tapu
The Wai-O-Tapu geothermal park is fantastic and is well worth spending a morning. Be sure to arrive at the park by 9:30am to buy a park ticket and then head over to see the Lady Knox geyser erupt at 10:00am. After the eruption, head over to see the rest of the park. Wow! Cool.

Mountain Luge
This is not a unique to New Zealand experience so we recommend passing on this if you are pressed for time. There are far more interesting things to do in Rotorua if you are limited in time..and you can do this in Tahoe during the summer. However, if you have never done this, it's actually fun. We drove out to Skyline Rides in the later afternoon...after all of the kids have gone. You have to buy a gondola ticket to get to the top of the mountain. You will also need to buy luge tickets. Look for combo deals (condola + luge) when you buy the gondola ticket in the main office. Honestly, you will do the luge 2-3 times and will be burnt out on it.

Polynesian Spa
If you have never been to a natural hot spring this is a MUST do. However, you MUST do this when there are not hundreds of others in the hot springs with you!! The most popular and most authentic spa in Rotorua is the Polynesian Spa. The big tip is to go between 3:00pm - 5:00pm which is the in-between time for the tour buses. The afternoon tour bus will have left by 2:30pm and the evening bus at 5:30pm has not arrived. There is the option to pay $20 extra per person for a private room. If there are a lot of people at the hot springs, this option is worth the privacy to NOT be in crowded pool. However, if the spa is fairly empty, just pay the flat fee to enjoy the public pools...there are 5 of them and all very in temperature. Ahhh...niiiiiiice. After you get out of the pool, you will want to shower to get rid of the gritty feeling on your skin..not to mention the sulfur smell!!

Where to Eat
Rotorua is not known for have a lot of great restaurants. In our limited time we found both restaurants by asking our B&B hosts, Vivian and Peter. We recommend referring to the locals for where to eat based on your culinary mood!

Mitai Maori Hangi
Be sure to make reservations for this hangi a day in advance if you can. It's well worth it and the food is great!

The Fat Dog Cafe
This place is in the downtown area and is a great find. The food is great...they have great beer too. This is a great place to meet locals as well!