Rotorua's 101 must-do's

1. Mountain bike heaven

Rotorua is a Mecca for mountain bikers - just minutes away from the city centre there are thousands of hectares of forest awaiting exploration. Whakarewarewa forest in Rotorua contains one of the oldest trail systems in the country.

Rotorua is a Mecca for mountain bikers - just minutes away from the city centre there are thousands of hectares of forest awaiting exploration. Whakarewarewa forest in Rotorua contains one of the oldest trail systems in the country. Trails weave their way through lush native ferns beneath soaring forest canopies of Redwood, Radiata, Douglas Fir, Eucalyptus and Larch.

Riders are constantly afforded glimpses of Rotorua's beautiful lakes, geothermal activity and brooding Mt. Tarawera. Cross country or downhill, Rotorua's impressive mountain biking areas mean enthusiasts can easily fill an hour, a day or an entire weekend with action-packed adventure.

2. Raft or sledge the Kaituna River

Pass through bush clad canyons, and down steep drops including the world's highest commercially rafted waterfall; the 7m high Tutea Falls. Experience 3 waterfalls and 14 rapids on this amazing adventure filled with a mix of scenery and adrenaline!

Pass through bush clad canyons, and down steep drops including the world's highest commercially rafted waterfall; the 7m high Tutea Falls. Experience 3 waterfalls and 14 rapids on this amazing adventure filled with a mix of scenery and adrenaline!

Check out the intricate caves that dot the landscape around the river — you can learn more about the myths and legends associated with them as you make your way downstream. This river is great for beginners or adrenalin seekers and is a must for all visitors and Kiwi’s alike.

3. Participate in the Rotorua Marathon or 5km and 10km run

A must do! Experience the magic of the lake, the warm hospitality of the people, and the opportunity to celebrate a great achievement. There’s a reason the Lion Foundation Rotorua Marathon is New Zealand’s largest marathon – it is because it is tough, it is spectacular, it has unstinting supporters, and it is memorable.

A must do! Experience the magic of the lake, the warm hospitality of the people, and the opportunity to celebrate a great achievement. There’s a reason the Lion Foundation Rotorua Marathon is New Zealand’s largest marathon – it is because it is tough, it is spectacular, it has unstinting supporters, and it is memorable. Whether you may be doing it again or for the first time, either walking or running, we look forward to seeing you out there and encourage you to lap around the lake!

4. Go zorbing

Strip off to your togs, dive into a large plastic ball and prepare to giggle! It is the hydro Zorb – a vigorous wash for the unclean, a cool drink for the thirsty and a revolution for the oppressed masses.

Strip off to your togs, dive into a large plastic ball and prepare to giggle! It is the hydro Zorb – a vigorous wash for the unclean, a cool drink for the thirsty and a revolution for the oppressed masses. Renowned to cure heartbreak, heartburn and hangovers – and that nagging feeling that you’ve left the iron on at home - it brings couples closer together, keeps sandflies away, tells your mother-in-law when she’s stayed too long and packs her bags to boot. The Zorb encourages hair growth in the bald and defoliates the hairy.

It’ll power your warp drive, warp your sense of reality, pull off your clothes, clean your teeth, read you a story and tuck you in. Keen Zorbonauts can hit the straight slope or the bumpy twister, with warm water to help them slide, giggle and bounce their way to the Zorb-wrangler’s ring, or for those wanting to stay a little dryer the Harness Zorb is there to flip you head over heels in love with the large plastic ball. Seriously not an activity to be missed, Zorbing is not only a serious giggle but an adrenalin buzz that only gets better when shared with friends.

5. Experience a hangi and concert

A visit to Rotorua is not complete without participating in a traditional Maori Hangi and Concert. Receive a Maori welcome (powhiri) followed by an introduction into Maori customs and traditions, rituals, beliefs, protocol and language.

A visit to Rotorua is not complete without participating in a traditional Maori Hangi and Concert. Receive a Maori welcome (powhiri) followed by an introduction into Maori customs and traditions, rituals, beliefs, protocol and language. Enjoy a delicious Hangi meal that is cooked in the earth oven known as 'the hangi pit'.

6. Explore Mt Tarawera

Try a summit hike or a short crater walk summit hike which gives a bird’s eye view of mountains in the Tongariro National Park, White Island, and Rotorua's geothermal valleys.

Try a summit hike or a short crater walk summit hike which gives a bird’s eye view of mountains in the Tongariro National Park, White Island, and Rotorua's geothermal valleys. Or for the more adventurous experience the famous scree slide into the crater, or hike to the summit at 1111 meters. Or why not try a one-way downhill mountain biking trip? Either way, experience the natural wonder of Mt Tarawera.

7. Visit the world famous Pohutu Geyser

A steaming, bubbling land surrounded by centuries of tales, myths and legends of the land – you have reached Te Puia. Become part of a cultural performance, held each day at Te Puia’s marae.

A steaming, bubbling land surrounded by centuries of tales, myths and legends of the land – you have reached Te Puia. Become part of a cultural performance, held each day at Te Puia’s marae. Watch as a warrior comes out to test the waters – friend or foe – before welcoming you into the meeting house for a performance which includes indigenous instruments. Explore the land, filled with silica terraces, bubbling mud pools and unique geothermal vegetation.

8. Go luging

Invented in Rotorua, a must-do is the luge. Jump aboard the three-wheeled cart and scream, giggle and race your way down the tracks built into the side of the mountain.

Invented in Rotorua, a must-do is the luge. Jump aboard the three-wheeled cart and scream, giggle and race your way down the tracks built into the side of the mountain. With up to five kilometres of tracks to choose from, the fun keeps on going. Great for all ages, the steering and the speed of the luge cart is controlled only by the driver, making sure everyone has a safe and exciting ride.

Test your skill on the beginners track and then step up the adventure – take to the intermediate or advanced tracks for faster action and more curves. Take the corners fast or slow, race with friends or simply stop and enjoy the views on the way down. Going back up is just as fun with a chairlift ride back to the top. Feel the air under your feet as you enjoy the chairlift back to the top – something which can be shared with friends.

9. See New Zealand's icon - the Kiwi!

Step inside Rotorua’s Rainbow Springs Nature Park for a refreshing, natural experience which allows to you get up close and personal with some of the country’s most exquisite creatures – including our gorgeous native bird, the kiwi.

Step inside Rotorua’s Rainbow Springs Nature Park for a refreshing, natural experience which allows to you get up close and personal with some of the country’s most exquisite creatures – including our gorgeous native bird, the kiwi.

The kiwi enclosure offers a special evening experience, allowing you to get up close and personal with the lovely-natured birds. Check out conservation in action during the day at the on-site kiwi hatchery Kiwi Encounter. Hundreds of kiwi eggs bought in from the wild have been hatched through Kiwi Encounter. Chicks are hand-reared to a healthy weight before they are released back to the same region their eggs were found in.

Alternatively visit the Kiwi House at Te Puia. In 1986 Te Puia began receiving injured kiwi, often found in traps or on roadsides. It became a haven for recovery and survival of the injured birds. Based on this success, a much needed breeding programme was introduced in 1999. Visit feisty Kenny and shy Colorado inside their preotected and enclosed habitat where they live, work and even quarrel like old mates.

10. Experience a living culture

Whakarewarewa Thermal Village is a living, breathing Maori village that relies on its geothermal powers for the ease of everyday living.

Whakarewarewa Thermal Village is a living, breathing Maori village that relies on its geothermal powers for the ease of everyday living. Unlike anywhere else in New Zealand or the world, their village’s homes, modest shops, restaurants and cafes, graveyard and kindergarten are surrounded by boiling mud pools, a geothermal landscape and steaming pavements.

The village is an area which has been utilised for its geothermal powers for more than 300 years and has a wide range of stories that can be told. Local residents are the guides for the village throughout the day and include local personality Nanny Chris, who provides a tour with a difference as she shares her intricate knowledge of the village. With her humour, twinkle in her eye and trademark smile, Nanny Chris will share the stories of the village from days of old to the present, from cooking meals in the thermal waters and “microwaves” to how the people of the village use the natural landscape for bathing, washing clothes and predicting weather patterns.

Try the freshly cooked corn, boiled to perfection in the bubbling champagne pool, or watch as residents come to collect their food steamed in the “microwave” boxes sitting in the ground, heated again by the geothermal powers. Taste test a traditional hangi on your travels around the village. Yum!

11. Visit the Rotorua Museum

Everyone has been to a museum – some impressive, some not so – but the Rotorua Museum of Art and History is more than just a museum. The spectacular destruction of the Pink and White Terraces, known as the eighth wonder of the world, is documented at the museum, as well as the story of the eruption of Mt Tarawera.

Everyone has been to a museum – some impressive, some not so – but the Rotorua Museum of Art and History is more than just a museum. The spectacular destruction of the Pink and White Terraces, known as the eighth wonder of the world, is documented at the museum, as well as the story of the eruption of Mt Tarawera, the tales behind the world renowned Bath House where the museum is housed, the rich history of Te Arawa people and the exploits of the B Company Maori Battalion during the second world war.

The story of the B Company is told in a touching 30-minute film called B Company Remembers, while the eruption of Mt Tarawera is presented to visitors in an interactive cinema. I All permanent and temporary exhibitions, shows, screenings and experiences are included in the museum’s admission price.

Possibly one of the best sights of the museum is the actual museum itself. Housed in the Bath House, the historical Tudor-style building is stunning. Spectacular inside and out, the Rotorua Museum of Art and History is not to be missed – as judged by those in the know, receiving numerous New Zealand Tourism Awards.

12. Pat a lion cub

Young, bouncy and waiting for you as you read these words. Rotorua’s Paradise Valley Springs are one of the only places in the world where you can get up close and personal with these cuddly felines.

Young, bouncy and waiting for you as you read these words. Rotorua’s Paradise Valley Springs are one of the only places in the world where you can get up close and personal with these cuddly felines.

Slightly larger than your normal “kittens”, these cumbersome tots are just like any other child when it comes to lapping up attention. With giant sized paws you can only imagine the size these cats will grow to. Be one of the many people from throughout the world and New Zealand who have made the pilgrimage specifically to see, pat and cuddle these fantastic creatures.

It really is something a little different and not to be missed. The famous rainbow trout of Rotorua run the Ngongotaha Stream, which cascades through the middle of the park, surrounded in native bush and ferns, sparkling pools and a delightful wetland fenced off to keep the kids out of.

Walkways, bridges and landscaped areas lead to paddocks and wetlands filled with exotic and native birds, and animals of all descriptions. Great for kids, adults and anyone in between.

13. Experience the Agrodome Sheep Show

Enjoy an hour-long live sheep show which includes a display of New Zealand’s 19 most popular sheep breeds, working sheep dogs, sheep shearing and cow milking demonstration.

Enjoy an hour-long live sheep show which includes a display of New Zealand’s 19 most popular sheep breeds, working sheep dogs, sheep shearing and cow milking demonstration.

There’s also a chance to feed baby lambs and take part in a New Zealand sheep auction. Join the inter-active Agrodome Farm Tour, a tractor-drawn trailer will take you on a leisurely trip around the 350-acre farm surrounding the Agrodome complex.

See sheep, cows, deer, emus, alpaca, pigs and ostrich in a real farm environment. The tour allows for numerous opportunities to pat and feed the animals.

14. Go walking in the Redwoods

Famous for its magnificent stands of towering Californian Coastal Redwoods it is just five minutes drive from the city centre.

Famous for its magnificent stands of towering Californian Coastal Redwoods it is just five minutes drive from the city centre.

Here you can experience some of the finest walking and mountain bike trails in the world. Not to mention taking in superb panoramic views of Rotorua City, Lake and surrounding district. If you love the outdoors this area is for you!

15. Experience beauty by night

Head to Rainbow Springs for Beauty by Night – where the nature park becomes a quiet sanctuary filled with more than 700 high-quality coloured garden lights, which highlight the native flora and fauna, and also the waterways where huge rainbow trout swim free.

16. Have a mud bath then bathe in thermal waters

Taking in a bath in Rotorua is an experience that is world famous, world renown and most off all worlds away from your typical bathing experience.

Taking in a bath in Rotorua is an experience that is world famous, world renown and most off all worlds away from your typical bathing experience. Take a mud bath at Hell's Gate in New Zealand's only thermal mud complex.

Relax at The Polynesian Spa, day or night where water is heated geothermally and bathers can choose a pool with a temperature to suit, as they look out over Lake Rotorua. Travel out to Waikite Valley where the thermal pools over look stunning rolling pastures and provide guests a bit of peace and quite.

For those of us looking to simply dip our toes in the water there are the footbaths at Kuirau Park and the Rotorua Information Centre where the weary can recharge and relax – all at no cost. What ever your preference taking a bath in Rotorua is an experience like no other!

17. Go heli-biking on a volcano

Fly to the summit of Mount Tarawera, run the crater rim and then get on your mountain bike to race down to the base of this magnificent volcano – this has to be the adrenaline junkies ultimate ½ day out!

Fly to the summit of Mount Tarawera, run the crater rim and then get on your mountain bike to race down to the base of this magnificent volcano – this has to be the adrenaline junkies ultimate ½ day out!

Let Helipro's pilots and guides lead you through four hours of unimaginable beauty, mind blowing history and, of course, pure exhilarating thrills! It really is the experience of a lifetime.

18. Take a walk or cruise around Rotorua's lakes

Rotorua is famous for its stunning fresh water lakes and nothing is more relaxing and enjoyable than taking a stroll around the many lakeside trails, with the best time of day being the early morning.

Rotorua is famous for its stunning fresh water lakes and nothing is more relaxing and enjoyable than taking a stroll around the many lakeside trails, with the best time of day being the early morning.

Walk around the Blue lake when the air is crisp and fresh, and the lake is populated by only resting birds, giving you the ideal environment to invigorate your day. Each of these trails are only ten minutes drive from the city, but are a world a way from the stresses and hassles of modern living with the best part being you can have a refreshing swim after every walk!

19. Cook a trout at Hot Water Beach

Catch a trout while cruising on Lake Tarawera, then cook it in the thermal sands at Hot Water Beach situated on the southern shores of Lake Tarawera, while you soak in the natural hot pool.

20. Tarawera Falls Walking track

The spectacular Tarawera Falls — where water surges out of fissures in a large rock cliff-face surrounded by native bush. The cliff is the end of an ancient rhyolitic lava flow that is believed to have poured from an erupting Mt Tarawera about 11,000 years ago.

The spectacular Tarawera Falls — where water surges out of fissures in a large rock cliff-face surrounded by native bush. The cliff is the end of an ancient rhyolitic lava flow that is believed to have poured from an erupting Mt Tarawera about 11,000 years ago. An abrupt stop to the flow produced these high cliffs. Vegetation here has developed since the 1886 Tarawera eruption. Both pohutukawa and rata are found. An unusual feature is the range of hybrids between these two closely related species that occurs in the area. Evidence of this interbreeding can be seen in the variety of different leaf shapes found on the forest floor here.

• Go jetboating on Lake Rotorua
• Tandem skydive from 15,000 feet
• Have a picnic in Kuirau Park
• Discover Nature's Spirit
• Watch the Rerewhakaaitu Rodeo
• Ride a Segway
• Try baseball batting
• Take part in the Cateye Moonride
• Rotorua Cultural Heritage Trail
• Drive yourself to the max! Experience a 4WD Bush Safari
• Explore the lakes on a Duck Tour
• Explore Ohinemutu Village
• Visit Agroventures adventure park
• Play a game of golf
• Visit the world first Caterpillar Experience
• View geothermal scenery from a floatplane
• Have a spa therapy
• Cruise to Mokoia Island
• Swim at the historic Blue Baths
• Sample some indigenous food
• Go for a night ride in Whakarewarewa Forest
• Go kayaking on one of Rotorua's Lakes
• Visit the 'hidden valley' of Orakei Korako Cave and Thermal Park
• Visit the Buried Village
• Explore the Lake Okareka boardwalk
• Start the morning with a breakfast cruise
• Try horse trekking
• Buy a tiki or taonga from local Maori artists
• Stay at a luxury lodge
• Try the world's first Shweeb
• Take a ride in NZ's fastest jetsprint boat
• Take a miniature train ride in Ngongotaha
• Watch a rugby match at the Rotorua International Stadium
• Walk to Hamurana Springs
• Go to a RAVE market (Rotorua Arts Village Experience)
• Try Maori carving or flax weaving
• Go bungy jumping
• Try the Swoop
• Paddle a Maori waka
• Visit a Maori village
• Explore Te Amorangi Museum
• Discover the Mamaku Ranges Treetops Rainforest Walk
• Watch stockcar racing at Paradise Valley Raceway
• Visit New Zealand's most colourful geothermal area - Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland
• Try some blueberry wine
• Explore the world's newest geothermal reserve - Waimangu Volcanic Valley
• Indulge in a creamy moment
• Eat freshly baked rewena bread
• Take a dip in clear blue waters
• Tell 'big fish' stories
• Walk on water
• Get stuck in a maze
• Climb Rainbow Mountain
• Soak in the Butcher's Pool
• Go hiking in Whirinaki Forest
• Go twilight kayaking
• Experience quad biking on Mt Ngongotaha
• Experience glow worms
• Place a fern frond at the wishing tree at Hongi's Track
• Take in the Lumberjack Show and learn about log rolling
• Be daring - try the Sky Swing!
• Swim at the Secret Spot where two streams converge in native bush
• Have a picnic in the Government Gardens
• Hand feed wild birds of prey
• Get off the beaten track
• Have a 'healing experience'
• Visit St Faith’s Church
• Take a walk at Okere Falls Scenic Reserve
• Ride the peddle boats at the lakefront
• Visit the Maori Arts and Crafts Village
• Take the plunge at the Aquatic Centre
• Go shopping!
• Watch glass blowing
• Kayak through the Ohau Channel
• Visit ancient Maori rock drawings
• Retrace Hongi Hika's trail
• Follow the Rotorua Arts Trail
• Take in the city from the viewing platform at the Rotorua Museum
• Ride the gondola up the side of Mt Ngongotaha
• Enjoy a delicious meal at a café or restaurant
• Have a Miri Miri massage