Bay of Plenty Region

Rotorua is one of the best-known thermal areas in the world. It was developed in the early 1900s as a spa and has retained many of the old buildings from this period which, combined with more modern attractions, make this one of the main tourist centres in the North Island. This is an area steeped in Maori legend and history, so it is not surprising that Rotorua has its own Romeo and Juliet story. According to the legend, Hinemoa, a girl of high birth, fell in love with Tutanekai who lived on Mokoia Island. She was forbidden by her family to marry him, so every evening she sat forlornly on a rock by the edge of the lake, listening to the sound of his flute drifting across the water. One night she decided to join him and with the aid of floating gourds, she swam all the way to the island where she was reunited with her lover. In the face of such passion their families relented and the couple lived happily. Maori legends also tell of the coming of the people from the Arawa, one of the legendary canoes said to have brought the first settlers from their homeland, Hawaiki centuries earlier. The Arawa tohunga (priest) Ngatoroirangi is said to have prayed to the gods to keep him warm in this new land, which is how volcanic activity was introduced to the region.

Rotorua - Ohinemutu

1ohinemutu maori village

The trip starts at the Ohinemutu Village on Lake Road on Rotorua's lake front.
Some of the finest examples of 19th century Maori wood-carving can be found in the Ohinemutu Maori Village. This thermal village was the original (Ngati Whakaue) Maori settlement in the Rotorua district, chosen because the geothermal resources could be used for bathing, heating and cooking. Its Tudor style St Faith's Church was built in 1910 and has a traditional Maori interior, featuring carvings and tukutuku woven panels. An image of Jesus, wearing a traditional Maori cloak is depicted in a window looking out over the lake, creating the impression that the figure is walking on the waters of the lake. Outside the church is a bust of Queen Victoria that was presented to the Te Arawa people in recognition of their services to the Crown during the wars of the 1860s. Tamatekapua, built in 1878, is the meeting house of Ngati Whakaue, a subtribe of Te Arawa. Some of its exquisite carvings are older than the meeting house itself, dating back to 1800. The carvings are highlighted by hundreds of shiny paua shells inlaid into the woodwork.

museum and bath house

Return along Tunuhopu Street and Houkotuku Street to Lake Road and continue southeast into Tutanekai Street 1 km and turn left into Arawa Street. Continue east across Fenton Street on Arawa Street to the entrance to the Government Gardens and the Bath House which is straight ahead.
Built between 1906 and 1907, the original Tudor style bath house was established as part of a government plan to develop Rotorua as a spa resort. The building featured classical marble statues in its foyer and was equipped with the latest balneological equipment as well as massage rooms and thermal pools, operating until the 1920s. The building has now been restored and houses a museum with exhibits tracing the history of the Te Arawa Maori, the development of Rotorua as a spa town and the effects of the Tarawera eruption in 1886. The nearby Government Gardens on the lakeshore are a relating place to take a stroll and you can visit the Orchid Gardens which feature displays of ferns and a variety of exotic plants as well as orchids. The Polynesian Pools with their hot springs and mineral pools are also within walking distance along with the Blue Baths.

Rotorua Owhata-Canoe

2owhata

Return down Arawa Street and turn left into Fenton Street. Continue south 0.5 km and turn left onto Amohau Street and SH30A. Continue east on Amohau Street, which becomes Te Ngae Road, 4.8 km to Owhata Road on the left and travel 1.6 km to Hinemoa Point.
It was here, on the southern shoreline of Lake Rotorua that the legendary maiden sat on Hinemoa Rock while listening to the music of her lover Tutanekai drifting across the water from Mokoia Island. When Hinemoa finally made the long swim to the island, she became so cold that she headed to a hot pool to get warm. When Tutanekai’s slave came to the pool to fetch water, Hinemoa broke the calabash he was carrying which eventually prompted Tutanekai to come to the pool to investigate what had happened. Today visitors to the island can visit these hot pools named Waikimihia, where the legendary lovers were reunited and enjoy a soak in the steaming hot water. At Owhata you will also find an interesting Maori meeting house and a quaint little church near the shores of the lake.

3te ngae 3-d maze

Return to SH30 and continue 6.3 km northeast to Te Ngae. Te Ngae 3-D Maze is on the left.
Made from 57,000m of timber, the Te Ngae Maze has four entrances and four towers, the aim being to reach all four and then return to the same entrance. Its layout changes regularly and it is open seven days a week.

4Okere Falls

Continue north 0.6 km on SH30 to the next major junction and continue north on SH33 and drive north 3.6 km to Mourea on the shoreline of Lake Rotoiti. This picturesque lake, renowned for its trout fishing, is 270 m above sea level and 70 m deep. Continue north 4.2 km on SH33 to the Okere Falls, signposted on the left, 0.5 km down the Okere Falls Road.
A 30 minute walking track winds its way through native podocarp forest to Hinemoa's Steps, a steep flight of stone steps, cut into the rock face of a cliff, leading to thundering waterfalls and the Tutea Caves, which were used as a refuge during the days of intertribal warfare. The caves overlook the Trout Pool, an excellent fly fishing spot, while the track continues to the site of an old hydro station built in 1910 above the Okere Falls on the Kaituna River. This stretch of the river is frequently used for exciting rafting trips, including an 11 m plunge over the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world.

5hamurana springs

Return south 3.1 km on SH33 towards Mourea and turn right onto Hamurana Road around the northern shoreline of Lake Rotorua. Drive west 7.2 km to the Hamurana Springs on the right.
From the road, a bridge crosses the Hamurana Springs and leads to a grove of Californian redwoods planted back in the 1920s. The waters of the Hamurana Springs can be seen welling up from a deep hollow in the solid rock, providing a constant flow of pure water. Coins thrown into the springs will rise and settle on small ledges surrounding the spring. In the park nearby, you will find the remains of two Maori villages which hosted a visit by Governor Grey in 1849.

Raw wool is ready for sorting.

6the agrodome

Continue 7.7 km southwest on Hamurana Road and 2.3 km on Ngongotaha Road and turn right onto SH5. There is a variety of pottery and copper jewellery on sale among the other local crafts available at Ngongotaha. Continue west 2.2 km on SH5 to the Agrodome on the right.

The Agrodome is a showcase for New Zealand agriculture, featuring sheep shearing demonstrations, performing rams, working sheepdogs, a farmyard nursery and a dairy display. It’s an opportunity for visitors to get up close and meet the animals, including ostriches, alpacas, deer, goats and cattle. You can also take a giant 'swoop', bungy jump, go off-road boarding or zorbing, hit the driving range, go clay pigeon shooting or take a ride with a professional driver in a 450 horsepower jetboat on a jetsprint watercourse. You can also try free flying on the Freefall Extreme. Powered by a V12 diesel engine, spinning a DC3 aircraft propeller to create winds of up to 180 kmph, this vertical wind tunnel will allow you to experience the thrill of free flight on a cushion of air.

Rotorua Rainbow-Springs

7rainbow springs

Return southeast on SH5 towards Rotorua 4.2 km to the Rainbow and Fairy Springs on the right.
Located in a luxuriant native forest setting, the springs are famous for their crystal-clear pools and streams stocked with large rainbow, brown and tiger trout. Over 24 million litres of crystal clear water rise up each day through the black obsidian and white pumice sands of the Fairy Springs. Known as Te Puna a Tuhoe (the spring of Tuhoe) a Maori chief, this is said to be the home of the patupaiarehe, the ancient mystical folk of Maori legend. At Rainbow Springs you can also see tuatara as well as kiwi in a nocturnal aviary. There are deer and wild pigs in enclosures, while across the road at Rainbow Farm, shows include World of Bees, explaining the lifestyle of bees and honey gathering as well as a farm show, featuring demonstrations of sheep shearing, sheepdog work and milking cows. You can also bottle-feed baby lambs, ride a bull and try churning cream and butter by hand using traditional methods.