Fun and Relaxation in Rotorua

Our family recently took a trip to Rotorua for some end of year relaxation and fun. For the last few years we have used early December (after my husband, a teacher, finishes work) to take time out and reconnect before the Christmas craziness. We used to find that Christmas time put quite a strain on our relationship thanks to the end of year busyness (in both work and homeschooling), but going away together at this time provides a helpful buffer between school and Christmas. Plus it keeps the distractions (e.g. Christmas shopping and housework) to a minimum and allows time for just enjoying each other’s company.

So back to Rotorua – what a great place to relax and have fun! We made the most of our 11 days there with a mix of free and paid activities:

Paid activities

1. The Luge

Probably the highlight (especially for the kids) was the Luge. I prebooked tickets on the Bookme website and got a slightly better deal than if we’d just turned up. Thankfully the weather forecast was accurate! The first ride down was a bit problematic at the start for our youngest individual rider (Jess, aged 7 – she got stuck right near the top and my husband had to walk back up to get her going again amidst tears etc) but after that everyone had a blast, and even Jess was speeding down like a pro by her 4th time.

Probably the most nerve-wracking part (for me) was getting all the kids on and off the chairlift the first time – only two are allowed per seat including toddlers, so my son (9) had to ride alone and my eldest daughters went together (10 and 7). Meanwhile, my husband looked after Sophia (4) on their seat and I had to wrestle to keep the 1-year-old from standing up on mine!

2. Treetop Walk

Another activity well worth trying is the Rotorua Treetop walk. At the time we did it they offered a special deal where you could go back and do the nighttime version for free if it was within the next 3 nights, so we did both the day and nighttime walks on the same day. They were quite different experiences! One benefit was that it cured our 4 year old of her fear of rope bridges – the first long bridge over the carpark took an age to get her across, but being forced to navigate 28 of them did the trick! Beautiful scenery and a fun and different way to experience it.

3. Waimangu Volcanic Valley

Waimangu Volcanic Valley was one of the geothermal parks actually open for business – several were under renovation, I suppose due to lack of tourists in the current climate. It was a self-guided walking tour down to Lake Rotomahana, with interesting silica formations, steaming pools and streams and a beautiful bright blue volcanic lake called the Inferno crater.

On the lake you take a boat tour and visit the sites where the famous Pink and White Teraces once stood (now under water), plus see some other interesting geothermal phenomena with Mt Tarawera in the background. Funnily enough, the ride back up in the coach was one of the most exciting parts for our bus-deprived children!

4. Buried Village

Our final paid activity was a visit to the Buried Village, Te Wairoa. Reading and hearing about the experiences of those caught up in the Mt Tarawera eruption of 1886 was quite moving, since it personalised the disaster. It was interesting exploring the village remains and trying to imagine what it was once like, plus the kids enjoyed the scavenger hunt activity. Also the short sidetrip to the waterfall was so beautiful and well worth dragging Isabella (the 1-year old) along for!

Free activities

There are heaps of free activities to do around Rotorua too – in fact some we didn’t even get time for, but here are some of the ones we did manage:

Kuirau Park – Footbaths, a steaming lake and bubbling mud – always worth a visit!

Sulphur Bay – Probably the smelliest place we visited in Rotorua, but interesting terrain and lots of wildlife .

Government Gardens – Right next to the museum, which unfortunately wasn’t open while we were there. Pretty gardens to have a wander through, with lots of frogs to spot in one of the ponds.

Kerosene Creek – Not much to look at when we first arrived, but we continued along the stream to find some good bathing spots. It was a really strange sensation to paddle in a steaming hot creek! If you visit, just make sure your kids don’t put their heads under the water – some nasty parasites live there.

Okere Falls – A walk through beautiful bush with views of the Kaituna River and several waterfalls, plus a pretty cool cave. Apparently at times you see white water rafters navigating the rapids, but unfortunately none were around when we were there.

Redwoods Walk – After experiencing the redwoods from up high on the Treetop walk, we did one of the many free walks through the forest, which was just as beautiful.

Blue Lake Walk + Swimming – We did the beautiful walk once around the Blue Lake (Lake Tikitapu) but came back on several consecutive days to swim in the lake. The walk was pretty easy but with young kids still took quite a while. Swimming in the lake was amazing and so refreshing on the hot days we experienced in Rotorua!

Pohutu Geyser – This is actually located in the Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve (which requires payment to enter) but we discovered you can actually see the geyser in all its glory from the roadside for free! At least, I’m pretty sure that’s what we were looking at.. It was pretty impressive to see it exploding/erupting, even from a distant vantage point. We kept an eye on it every time we passed (since we were staying nearby) and pulled over when it happened to be going off.

Lake Okareka – A wetlands board walk with lots of birdlife.

We had planned to do some walks on Rainbow Mountain too, but the Rotorua weather in our final days of holiday was more conducive to swimming at the Blue Lake than walking up a mountain!

The whole family loved our time in Rotorua and it’s definitely somewhere we’d like to revisit in the future!