Rotorua Area Information Guide

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rotorua new zealand

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Welcome to Rotorua – please enjoy your stay and take pleasure in your beautiful surroundings.

Nau mai haere ma ki Rotorua.

Me te mea ko kopu kit e rangi ko te Waiariki ki te whenua.

Rotorua - feel the spirit – Manaakitanga” is the region’s catchcry, and it holds a powerful promise as well as an invitation to experience the essence of this extraordinary piece of New Zealand.

A deep-rooted Maori cultural concept, Manaakitanga makes everyone in Rotorua responsible, as hosts, for giving visitors a warm welcome, and offering the best of

themselves, their time and the region’s history. The welcoming spirit of the Te Arawa people who were the region’s first guides has been passed down through the generations, and this warmth envelops everyone who comes here. Visitors can enrich their Rotorua experience by sharing in the laughter and stories of the Te Arawa people.

The spirit of Rotorua also lies in the region’s stunning landscape, which has enchanted visitors for more than 160 years. It is like no other place in the world. Where else can you stand on active volcanoes or massive craters, or see boiling mud pools, exploding geysers, native forests, a buried Maori village and a sacred green lake?

Manaakitanga will make itself felt the moment visitors arrive and continue throughout their stay, regardless of the purpose of their trip. They’ll return home knowing they experienced the best the region can offer.

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Spirit of a living culture

Maori culture flourishes in Rotorua, and nowhere else can visitors immerse themselves in it so thoroughly. Explore historic thermal villages where locals bathe and cook in the hot pools.

Participate in cultural singing and dancing, try carving or weaving, or grab the chance to taste modern dishes infused with indigenous flavours.

At Whakarewarewa Thermal Village, the descendants of the survivors of the Mt Tarawera eruption continue the hosting tradition begun in the 1880s when people flocked from around

the world to see the Pink and White Terraces. The village is an active geothermal area and offers cultural performances twice a day.

On the fringe of the Whakarewarewa thermal reserve is Te Puia, which opened in 1963 to teach traditional Maori crafts such as carving and weaving. Te Puia is a renowned attraction offering visitors insight into Maori culture and history, and the chance to see thermal activity.

Ohinemutu has been home to the Ngati Whakaue people for hundreds of years. Open to visitors since the early 1880s, it is the site of Rotorua’s Te Papaiouru Marae and St Faith’s Church, which was built in 1910. It has a richly decorated interior and features an image of Jesus Christ, dressed in a traditional Maori cloak and seemingly walking on water.

These attractions display the best of a culture that is part of everyday life in Rotorua.

“Toi te kupu, toi to mana, toi te whenua” The Permanence of the language, of prestige, and land

Spirit of the earth Approaching Rotorua, steam billows overhead and the sulphur smell the city is famous for makes itself known; a pungent introduction to a region that has captivated visitors for more than 160 years. Bubbling mud, steaming geysers and the rumbling of the earth underfoot comprise Rotorua’s unique landscape. There are four main thermal areas in the region.

Whakarewarewa is one of Rotorua’s most active geothermal areas, and home to the powerful Pohutu Geyser, which erupts up to 20 times a day.

Boiling mud pools, hot springs, a Maori pa and the chance to see traditional craftsmen at work at Te Puia makes Whakarewarewa a popular attraction.

The inferno crater is a highlight of Waimangu Volcanic Valley, with bright blue steaming water and sheer crater falls. Waimangu’s thermal

pools were formed when the Mt Tarawera eruption caused a series of explosions along the fissure the mountain sits on, creating 10 craters.

Further down the road is Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland, which features the stunning Champagne Pool and huge steaming craters.

Time a visit for 10.15am to see the Lady Knox Geyser erupt.

At Hells Gate visitors soak away your worries in geothermal spa pools or mud baths surrounded in native manuka trees.

With all this on offer, Rotorua is a volcanic paradise, and a great place to see nature at its most powerful.

REjuvenate your Spirit

“Kei te kamakama te tikanga” It is a proper thing to be joyful and full of high spirits

With its abundance of geothermal properties and hot sulphur springs, Rotorua is the spa capital of New Zealand. Known – with good reason – as Nature’s Spa of the South Pacific, the region knows how to spoil its visitors. People can soak in the healing waters of various hot springs, unwind with a therapeutic spa or massage, or ease aches and pains with a mud wrap.

The main thermal belt runs northeast from the three volcanic peaks in the centre of the North Island to White Island, an active volcano off the Bay of Plenty coast. The heat and springs this belt generates is used

in unique spa treatments, including geothermal mud therapies, sulphur baths, and hydro massages.

Rotorua’s history as an important spa centre began more than 100 years ago when the first Maori people used the boiling water for cooking and medicinal purposes. The therapeutic use of these waters has continued; hot mineral springs can help ease ailments and provide relief for rheumatic sufferers.

Natural thermal pools are dotted throughout the region. These include Kerosene Creek, nestled in the bush south of Rotorua, Hot Water Beach, in the western corner of Lake Tarawera, and Hinemoa’s Pool on Mokoia Island in Lake Rotorua.

Spa and mud therapies are so healing and relaxing that a short break in Rotorua is better than therapy, making the city an ideal place to rejuvenate your spirit. Where else can you sit in naturally heated baths of natural mineral-enriched mud, smear it all over your body and come out feeling revitalised?

ROTORUA – A TOWN BUILT ON TOURISM In the 1880s, two glistening silica terraces lay on the shores of Lake Rotomahana, near Mt Tarawera.

The Pink and White Terraces were renowned as the eighth wonder of the world, drawing visitors to Rotorua from far and wide. These visitors were Rotorua – and New Zealand’s – first tourists, and the Arawa were their hosts.

People came overland from Tauranga via a bridle track to Ohinemutu on the shore of Lake Rotorua. From there a coach took them to Te Wairoa, where a two-hour canoe journey and a walk over the narrow isthmus separating the swampy shores of Lake Rotomahana from Lake Tarawera ended at the foot of the fabled terraces.

The white terrace (Te Tarata - the Tattooed Rock) covered seven acres; it was 30m high and 240m wide.

The pink terraces of Otukapuarangi (Fountain of the Clouded Sky) were smaller and lower. The steps led down to the crater platform, where 3m-deep basins were filled with warm, clear blue water, making superb bathing places.

In the early morning of June 10th 1886, Mt Tarawera erupted. By 2.30am its three peaks were in eruption. Columns of lava and ash blasted thousands of metres into the sky. Basalt magma mixed with the hydro-thermal system under Lake Rotomahana, and at 3.20am the lake bed exploded, taking the Pink and White Terraces with it. Nearby villages of Te Ariki and Moura were buried under a scalding pyroclastic flow (a fast-moving current of hot gas, ash and rock).

The terraces were completely destroyed and more than 100 people were killed.

The survivors moved to the thermal village of Whakarewarewa, where they continued to host visitors. Today, people from around the world still visit Mt Tarawera, and can trace the story of the eruption at the Rotorua Museum or the excavated site of The Buried Village of Te Wairoa.

discover nature’s Spirit

With 14 public lakes packed with trout, and acres of walking trails, the Rotorua region is the perfect place to marvel at native bush or stately forests, cook or bathe in the hot springs running into the lakes, or take a helicopter flight up Mt Tarawera. Find your own space.

Rotorua has a large selection of secluded spots with awe-inspiring scenic vistas, and is the ideal place to relax and indulge in a bit of soul searching.

There are unlimited ways to free your spirit here, whether it be a quiet day’s fishing, a stroll through native bush, or relaxing on a lake beach.

Lakes Rotoiti and Tarawera are renowned for quality trout. What could be better than catching a trout, cruising to Hot Water Beach on the shores of Lake Tarawera, digging a hole and cooking it, while you soak in water heated by thermal vents beneath the sand?

Scenic vistas are everywhere, with walkways and tracks of varying lengths.

For short walks, the Redwood Grove in Whakarewarewa Forest is ideal. If you have time, enjoy a walk around Blue Lake or head into the forest. The Department of Conservation provides many walks between lakes, such as tracks at Lakes Tarawera, Okareka and Okataina.

The climb to the top of Rainbow Mountain, named for its colourful make-up and geothermal beauty, is a great walk with beautiful views.

“He pai rangi tahi” The beauty of a single day

challenge your Spirit

“Werohia te wero” Take up the challenge

Rotorua has always drawn people with an adventurous spirit, and people looking for adrenalin-pumping action can’t go past this region. Rotorua boasts an awesome selection of activities guaranteed to get even the bravest visitor’s heart racing.

Run, slip or slide down the slopes of an extinct volcano, speed along tracks down a mountain, throw yourself from a bungy tower, sledge over whitewater rapids or raft the southern hemisphere’s highest commercially rafted waterfall.

Mountain biking is huge in Rotorua.

Take up the challenge and enjoy one of the many scenic mountain bike tracks and trails in Whakarewarewa or Whirinaki Forests.

Gain a different perspective on the city with a helicopter or floatplane trip, land on the slopes of Mt Tarawera or White Island, New Zealand’s only marine volcano. Try tandem skydiving and marvel at the stunning lake views, tumble head over heels down a hillside in the revolutionary Zorb, hang on tight for 360 degree jetboat spins, or ride over rugged land on horseback, farm bike, or in a four-wheel drive.

From a family group to a solo traveller, there is something for everyone in Rotorua. We don’t do boring. So whether it is a little taste you are after, or an adventure-filled break, Rotorua is sure to challenge your spirit.

Calendar of events 2010

March Te Arawa Regional Kapa Haka Competition 2010 5 March - 6 March U&I Soccerfest 2010 6 March Soundshell Market 7 March, 21 March Kingsgate Rotorua Off Road Half Marathon & New Balance 10k Fun Run/Walk 7 March Childrens & Family Fun Day @ The Redwoods 7 March Rainbow Springs Kiwi Wildlife Park Childrens Day 7 March Bunnings Great Go Kart Race Rotorua 2010 7 March Rotorua Marae Line Dancers Fundraising 11 March Walking Festival Week 12 March - 21 March Jump Start - David Michael Martin (Seminar) 13 March Mini Market Day/Car Boot Sale 13 March

Lakefront Airshow 13 March Relay for Life 13 March - 14 March The Third Annual Brewers and Liars Festival 13 March Stage of Origin - Union VS League 13 March REAL Women’s Duathlon - Rotorua 14 March Rotorua Walking Festival 19 March - 21 March New Zealand Marching Championships 19 March - 21 March

April Combined Church Ministries Good Friday Service 2 April Soundshell Market 3 April - 5 April, 18 April Activator - Step Up 17 February - 7 April Xterra Rotorua 2010 10 April Touch-A-Truck 11 April Bad Girls: The Musical 16 April - 1 May

Tarawera Ultramarathon Run and Relays 20 March

May

Adventure on the Mangorewa Track Rotorua Walking Festival 20 March

46th The Lion Foundation Rotorua Marathon 2010 1 May

Tangaroa Hapuu Challenge 20 March - 21 March

Soundshell Market 2 May, 23 May

Rotorua Marae Line Dancers Fundraiser 25 March

Cateye Moonride 7 May - 8 May

Classic Tagged Trout 26 March - 28 March

R4 15 May

Avanti Rotorua to Taupo 100k Flyer 27 March Music at the Rotunda 2010 7 February - 28 March

June

September

Soundshell Market 5 June - 6 June, 20 June

Soundshell Market 5 September, 19 September

July

Spring HOT Fest 2010 24 September - 30 September

Soundshell Market 10 July - 11 July, 25 July

October

The Daily Post Home and Leisure Show 16 July - 18 July

Soundshell Market 3 October, 23 October - 24 October

Kapa Haka Kura Tuarua 2010 (Secondary Schools Nationals) 27 July - 30 July

KSwiss Ekiden Relay 9 October

August Waikato Draught Tough Guy & Fal Challenge 7 August Waikato Draught Tough Guy & Fal Challenge #2 14 August Soundshell Market 15 August, 29 August

November ibis Bike the Lake 7 November Soundshell Market 21 November The NZ National Freeflight Championship 28 November

December Soundshell Market 5 December, 12 December, 18 December - 19 December, 26 December - 28 December

Note: Events can sometimes change without notice. For more information on events, please go to www.rotoruaNZ.co

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or visit the nearest Visitor Information Centre.

thank you

rotorua for visiting

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