Rotorua provides the holidaymakerthe best of both worlds, catering for those seeking adventure or relaxation or both. For adrenaline junkies,Rotorua offers an endless array of heart-pounding adventures to explore. When you want to slow down your pace, their thermal mud pools and springs are internationally famous, with incredibly beautiful nature preserves to explore. Here’s our pick of thebestRotorua has to offer in excitement and relaxation.
Shweeb Pedal-Powered Racetrack
The Agroventures Adventure Park is your one-stop-adventure-shop. They offer activities such as the Agrojet speedboat, bungy, wind-tunnel simulated skydiving, and ‘swoop’ super swing.
But perhaps the most unique of the adventures on offer is called the “Shweeb”. It’s described as a pedal-powered racetrack, but that doesn’t really explain how fun this is to try out. It’s an overhead-rail style monorail on a twisting and turning six hundred metre track that lets you reach speeds of up to fifty kilometres an hour – and there’s a pair of them, so you can race against a friend. Lie down on your back like you would to ride a recumbent bike, and the choice is yours - take it slow and enjoy the view, or pedal hard and try to beat the current world record – there’s a one thousand dollar prize up for grabs if you manage it.
Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland
No trip to Rotorua is complete without a visit to Rotorua’s amazing thermal springs and mud pools. There’s lots of places to see them, but the Wai-O-Tapu park is one of the best. Considered to be New Zealand’s most diverse and colourful geothermal sight-seeing attraction, you can see a range of natural wonders on display here. Marvel at the Lady Knox Geyser, which has guided tours just once a day. It’s also adjusted depending on the season, so make sure you check their timetable.
Check out the broiling mud pool that was once a large mud volcano, and now one of the most active and expansive mud pools you can see. There’s a boardwalk for easy access and plenty of opportunities to take a photo.
The geothermal area is full of springs, where you can do short easy walks or an all-day trek to see more of the area.
Rotorua truly is the destination to tackle every holiday-goer’s vacation wishes.
