Back to the North: Rotorua

Rotorua is definitely one of the main tourist centres in the North Island. Since it is one of the main Maori cities in the country, there is much Maori culture to be seen here whether you'd like to simply take part in a hangi, or Maori dinner, or get up on stage and learn how to use poi (pretty much swinging around rope with big Styrofoam balls on the end which, when done correctly, looks really quite amazing), you can do it here. There is no end to tours offered at various places around Rotorua.

Many of these places, such as the Tamaki Maori Village and Whakarewarewa, are not only traditional Maori villages but also very active thermal areas. This is one of the major attractions of Rotorua, and you can tell this the minute you get off the bus in the city. Rotorua smells of sulfur. And when I say smells of sulfur, I mean it really smells of sulfur. After a little while in the city, you get used to it... and then you leave again and realize that everything you own smells of it. It's worth the smell though to see the attractions here. In the middle of the government gardens, there's a huge, constantly steaming pool, and there are many of the same in one of the big parks in the city. If you want to see more spectacular steam and boiling mud and the like, you can take any of the many tours offered, although I can't recommend any because I did not take one. If you aren't sure if you want to shell out the money to see boiling mud, take a walk around the lake (although the springs here are especially smelly), or go to Craters of the Moon in Lake Taupo, a huge, free, geothermal area.

One thing Rotorua is very well known for is zorbing. This was a new sport, invented by a Kiwi who was obviously bored with the total lack of adventure sports available in the country (ha!). Although I did not get to zorb in Rotorua, I did zorb in Australia and it was amazing. While it doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun to some people—getting into a big plastic ball, perhaps with a couple other people, filling it partly full with water, and then rolling down the hill—I couldn't stop laughing the entire time and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Quick Tips:

Pretty much everything that you will want to book is available to be booked at the Rotorua Information Centre. This is the main building on the end of Fenton St that is close to the lake--all major bus lines drop off and pick up in front of this building. The visitor's centre is huge and contains walls and walls of brochures, as well as four or five people each at the desks for booking activities and accommodation and for booking travel.

I definitely recommend, that if you want to do an activity, to book it at the visitor centre rather than waiting for the various shuttles that stop outside the centre (these take you around various places inside Rotorua, in a loop around the various thermal sites, or to the Agrodome, where zorbing and bungee, among other things—like lots of sheep—are located). I waited outside the visitor centre on the advising of the lady at the front desk of my hostel for the Agrodome shuttle for nearly an hour. When it finally arrived, I watched it drop someone off and then leave before I could make it to the door. This was the last shuttle of the day, and thus I missed zorbing altogether, because apparently the shuttles do not stop and wait unless people have pre-booked. Also, I recommend booking when you get to Rotorua, or at least the beginning of the day, for any activities you would like to do, because many fill up quickly, due to Rotorua's huge tourist population (at least for the North Island).

Also, if you need a home base from which to take day trips, rather than moving from city to city every couple of days, I would definitely recommend Rotorua. It is very centrally located; only 2 1/2 hours from Auckland, about the same from Waitomo (a very good day trip), and only around one and a half hours from Taupo.

Best Way To Get Around:

To get around Rotorua itself, walking was not a problem. Even the Kiwi Paka YHA was only around 1.5km outside town, so it was a bit of a long walk but still very manageable. You can see many things, like the city and gardens, via walking. However, many other activities involve paying for transportation. As I mentioned in the quick tips, there are many shuttles that run to various activities outside town. The Agrodome provides a free shuttle to anyone that has booked an activity while most other places like the thermal areas (the Kiwi Encounter, and I think the Skyline Gondola) require a small fee for a shuttle to their location. These fees can add up, and many shuttles operate on a loop, so you can go see many activities on the same shuttle ticket, which is what I recommend.

Rotorua is in the center of the North Island, and is one of the major tourist attractions, so every major bus line operates here. Their pick up and drop off point is the Rotorua Information Centre, where as I mentioned above you can also book transportation. There is also an airport for those that want to fly, but the drive from Auckland, Taupo, or even Wellington is manageable and much cheaper.

My main problem with this hostel was attempting to find it when I arrived in Rotorua. When I stepped off the Intercity bus around noon at the visitors centre, I wasn't exactly sure where to go so I went inside to grab a brochure. The brochure didn't make it look all that far to the hostel, so I decided to walk it.

I ended up walking all the way through town and around a little area with lots of thermal activity (mainly seen in the sulfurous steam rising from the ground), and then through a soccer field. Even at this point, I could see the hostel but couldn't actually figure out how to get to it. I ended up having to walk the long way around and eventually made it, slightly winded from carting all my stuff around Rotorua.

It turns out that the hostel is around 1.5km from the Rotorua, making it rather out of the way. If you call them from the visitors centre, they will send someone working there in a car to pick you up, but they do not have a van so if there are a lot of people waiting it could take some time to actually make it to the hostel.

This was really my only problem with the Kiwi Paka YHA. I only stayed here one night out of the three I spent in Rotorua, because I was there over Easter weekend and could not get three nights in a row at one hostel. However, I have to say that I liked my other hostel much better on account of its much more convenient location.

However, if you have a car or don't mind the trek in and out of town, the Kiwi Paka is a wonderful place to stay. The rooms were very clean and well-kept. I rather liked them; they seemed like a cabin when you first walked in. The room I was in had five beds and was rather cozy. It was close to the bathrooms, which were also very clean and large enough for the number of people in the hostel so there was generally no waiting.

The front desk staff were kind and helpful, even though they were very harried with the number of people going through the place and the number that wanted rooms that weren't available. The only other facility I paid attention to was the internet, which was annoyingly "pay for a bulk amount and then hope you use it all" rather than "pay as you go."

This was a YHA, so it was a rather large hostel, but that was the impression I got from most hostels in Rotorua. I liked it anyways, and would have been happy to stay there two more nights. As I said, it wasn't too conveniently located, but at least it was a decent hostel. Plus, I was convinced that you didn't smell the sulfur quite as much here as you do closer to town.

I spent my second and third nights in Rotorua here, since Base was all booked up the first night due to the Easter weekend holiday. I liked it right away when I arrived, because it was so conveniently located. It was about two blocks away from the Rotorua visitor centre, and about three shops away from the actual centre of town, the square (or I guess it could be called a circle). Because of this location, I was able to hear festivities going on outside my window one night, and after investigating got to see a big music and dance festival that I wouldn't have seen otherwise.

The front desk staff were nice enough, but didn't particularly seem to know much about activities and stuff in town like the other hostel staff had. In particular, I was very angry at the fact that they gave me wrong information regarding zorbing (a very popular attraction in Rotorua) and I ended up missing out on it completely because of it. Luckily, I ended up going much later at Zorb Gold Coast in Australia.

The hostel was laid out so you walked up the ramp past the hostel bar before you got to the actual hallways and rooms. I never actually saw the bar open, but I was there over Easter, so this could have been a reasonable explanation. It had a cute sign out front about "Kiwioki," which might have been very interesting, although I have to say I was happy the bar wasn't open, given my room's closeness to it.

The hallways were secured behind a door that only people with keys and a code could get into. I was in the section "For Girls Only" called "Sanctuary" or something like that. It was supposed to be an area for girls to... be girls? Smell nice? I'm not sure. I just know there was a lot of pink. My room was nice though; there were 4 beds, and since I got there early enough I managed to claim one of the non-bunks. There were also huge lockable cabinets to put your stuff into in case you don't quite trust your roommates. There wasn't a huge amount of maneuverability in the room, but there was enough room to get to your bed without stepping on other people.

The bathrooms amused me, since they had lots of pink and rose petals, along with big signs that said "Nice Ass," and then underneath explained that they'd like to keep it that way so they've provided wipes for the seats, etc. Too bad the wipes hadn't actually been refilled. The bathrooms, like the rooms, were very clean, which is unlike what I've heard about other Bases, especially the one in Christchurch.

The location was a very big plus on this one, and although the service was not much use and I never did quite find any large lounge area, the rooms were quiet, clean, and really all I ask for in a hostel.

After a long day of wandering around Rotorua (yeah, I know, hard life right?) I decided to wind down at the Polynesian Spa, one of many choices in Rotorua for thermal bathing. I think the main other competition to the Polynesian Spa is the Blue Baths, which is a historical building located in the Government Gardens that has been recently renovated. I chose the Polynesian Spa because I left my hostel and looked down to the end of the street and saw it. The Blue Baths might have been more interesting because of their historical value, but I can't say for sure because I only walked past it. The Polynesian Spa was also slightly more expensive than the Blue Baths, at $12 for the family spa and $15 for the adult spa, vs. around $9 at the Blue Baths.I chose the family spa because it was slightly cheaper and offered the same type of pools, albeit in a slightly louder environment. There is a big, normal temperature pool for the kids, and two thermal "relaxation" pools for the adults at the end. I actually did manage to relax in these pools, despite the sound of children's laughter and screaming. The children generally stayed in the main pool, with only the littlest ones sticking beside their parents in the warmer pools.There were two thermal pools, one that was around 37°C and one that was 39-40°C. The 37°C pool was quite relaxing, while I found that the warnings on the 39°C pool were definitely to be heeded—I felt dehydrated after about 5 minutes of sitting in the pool. It was a good shock to the system to go directly from that to the main pool though! I found that rather enjoyable.There were changing room areas, along with showers, although I feel that the adults area probably had this part better because there were not children swarming, staring at anybody that dared to actually get changed. Other than that though, they were pretty much typical pool changing areas. They offered buckets to place on shelves beside the pool for your personal belongings, and I found that from the adult pools I could see my stuff, just to make sure it didn't walk away.When you enter and leave, you walk through a massive spa-type store area, with all the relaxation beads and lotions and everything else you could ever want. It was all rather expensive, however, and I didn't take much of a look because I was already on vacation and felt that it would be criminal to relax any more than I already was! It was a nice experience, just to sit in a pool and relax, and for those that need even more spa treatment/relaxation, for around $35 they offer a spa experience, in which you get to actually go into steaming pools and the like. I was happy with what I got, however, although it did take a good long shower afterwards to stop smelling like sulfur!

I was really interested in finding the Orchid Gardens in Rotorua and having a stroll around them, especially since it's nice to actually see live orchids, as opposed to the ones my mother has killed at home! However, it took me hours to actually find the place. There are street signs that point in a vague direction saying "Orchid Gardens," but once you get close to the actual gardens, there are no street signs in sight. The map of Rotorua that I had even had it in the wrong location on the map, because I distinctly remember seeing a building and looking behind its fence to see if I could find some orchids, but I did not.After a few circuits of central Rotorua and one stop in a shop to hide from the sudden deluge of rain (where I found a $23 greenstone necklace and, after picking up my jaw from the floor, promptly bought it), I finally found the Orchid Gardens. However, this was still totally by mistake. I walked into the closest open-looking building I could find that was near the place designated as "The Orchid Gardens" on the map, which happened to be the Realm of Tane complex, which I think was an exhibition/booking place for going to a Maori dinner. There, I asked where the Orchid Gardens were, and they directed me down a hallway, and through a backdoor, and there I was! Actual gardens!The gardens were rather nice, and nicely laid out as well. As you walk in, you walk across a bridge and can see the length of the orchid gardens in each direction, which isn't terribly far but looks very green and flowery. You then walk in a circuitous manner down a hill to the ground level, past many flowers. However, I'm not sure whether it was the time of year or what, but I only saw one or two actual orchid plants. Don't get me wrong, the rest were quite pretty, but it wasn't quite what I was expecting.The thing that amused me the most about the Orchid Gardens on the hole were the cockatoos in a cage that was situated almost underneath the entrance bridge. I had previously visited Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane, which had a cockatoo advertised as "Dicky the Talking Cockatoo," who was supposed to repeat everything you said. I've never actually talked to parrots or cockatoos, so I was quite amused by this prospect, but Dicky never did talk to me. However, one of the two white cockatoos here was a feisty little creature and enjoyed telling me exactly what I had just said to him. This kept me amused for a good while; luckily there was no one else actually in the gardens or they might have wondered about my sanity.Overall, it was a nice little stroll, but I was unimpressed by the "orchid" part of "Orchid Gardens," and even less impressed by the effort expended trying to find them!

I had a wander through the Government Gardens on two different days in Rotorua—the first day I arrived, and then again at the beginning of my last day here, in my search for a good track to take around Lake Rotorua. On my first trip, I walked in through the main entrance, which was really quite a sight in itself, being very nicely designed and decorated with Maori symbols. I found the rose garden rather easily, which was nice but compared to Christchurch, not exceptional. After leaving there, I seemed to walk into a large school function at the local pool, but I finally managed to find my way through to the centrepiece of the Government Gardens, the area around the Blue Baths.Beside the Blue Baths there is a huge steaming thermal pool, which was the largest I had seen so far in Rotorua. It was cool to look at, but only for a minute or two before the smell overpowered me. The lawns outside the Blue Baths were really nice and covered in lawn bowlers having a nice day out. The Blue Baths themselves stick out, as a bright art deco building generally tends to, and were bustling with activity.Once I got past the Blue Baths I saw the museum, but I only had a peep inside. It was a museum all about the history of Rotorua and appeared to have some rather interesting information on the Blue Baths (like how horrible they were to renovate), and other local history.On my next trip around the Government Gardens, I took a track looping around behind them, along the shores of Lake Rotorua. The track started near the Polynesian Spa and went behind the Blue Baths, and then wound its way through some trees to the lake shore. There were lots of signposts with the track on it, along with informative local history. The walk along the lake was alright, but was not anything picturesque. It was kind of interesting to see the different colors of the lake depending on how shallow it was, and therefore how much sulfur it contained. I saw a whole lot of black swans as well.The track takes you all the way along the shore behind the gardens, and you could continue walking until you get into Rotorua itself, but as it looked like rain I turned around when I got to Mokoia Island, I walked around and cut through the gardens to get back to shelter.Some interesting facts I learned on the tour—one really disgusting looking thermal pool, that was the color of off coffee, used to be believed to have medicinal powers, and people would bathe in them despite the smell and the fact that they turned brown for weeks! Also, the legend of Tutanekai and Hinemoa, who swam from the shore to Mokoia Island to be with her true love, is so deeply ingrained in the city's history that the two main streets in town are named after them!

In Christchurch I took a very good tour of a wildlife reserve, where I got to visit a nocturnal house and see the national bird, the kiwi bird, essentially run in circles and roll down hills. They were absolutely adorable, and when I heard that Rotorua had the country's foremost kiwi nursery, in which they take kiwi eggs from the wild and raise them until a certain age before they are re-released, I knew I had to go.

The idea of the place sounds a bit odd, since the odds of animals that have been raised in captivity generally aren't that good when they are put back in the wild. However, in New Zealand, they have a huge problem with introduced predators. New Zealand itself, before the settlers arrived, did not have any native mammals at all. When mammals were introduced, like the ferret and stoat, they immediately began ravaging the kiwi population. They told us on the tour that as many as 95% of eggs that are laid in the wild never hatch. Therefore, they monitor certain areas and take the eggs, during their most vulnerable time, and put them back in the wild when they can defend themselves at least a little bit better.

To get to the Kiwi Encounter, I had to wait outside the Rotorua Information Centre for the shuttle that does a loop around the major thermal sites, etc., around Rotorua. A round-trip ticket was, I believe, $12 to get to the Encounter. When I got there, I waited for around 30 minutes, because the shuttle doesn't quite sync up with the tour schedule, but they had a gift shop full of kiwi paraphernalia (which was good, since my friend had lost her paua kiwi bracelet and wanted another one), and plus, the guy working at the front desk was very talkative, especially on the topic of rugby.

The tour itself was about 45 minutes long, and cost $26.50. I thought this was a good deal because the tour was incredibly informative. I came out knowing much more about kiwi, their habitats, and New Zealand in general. The tour guide was incredibly well versed in everything that went on in the centre, partly because she actually worked behind the scenes as well.

We got to see, through windows of course, the hatching area, where the eggs that are brought in are incubated. Sadly, the last egg had hatched the Friday before I got there, but we got to watch a video of one hatching instead. Then we were led to the area where the baby kiwi are kept in tiny kiwi runs. Most of them were hidden in their blacked-out sleeping areas, but we saw a couple, and they were so small and cute!

This review is continued in Kiwi Encounter, pt. 2.

This is a continuation of my "Kiwi Encounter" review.

Apparently, it was supposed to be feeding time (which is why I would recommend going around lunchtime!), where the kiwi are actually held close enough for you to see while they eat, but there was some sort of emergency in one of the outside runs so there were no staff in the room as we walked past, peering through the windows. Many people wondered if they could hold a kiwi, but the answer was a definite no--kiwi shake as it is when they are being fed by trained workers, they are so scared. Plus, they are being kept away from human contact as much as possible to help them more easily readjust to the wild.

The next stop on our tour was the nocturnal house. This was where three kiwi were housed, including the oldest one living there (who was an amazing 31 years old!). These kiwi were ones that were hurt or otherwise not able to go back into the wild. And I have to say, they were absolutely hilarious. We all could have stood there all day just watching one of them roll down the hill, bounce up and down trying to look over the wall, running back up the hill, and then rolling back down again! The kiwi on the other side of the wall was nearly as funny; he was running up and down the length of the wall, stopping every few feet and pecking the ground as if looking for food, but not actually attempting to eat it, and then taking off running again. The third kiwi simply amused himself by running around in circles. As cute as they are, this, coupled with the fact that the kiwi has no useable wings or any real defense besides its beak, helped us to understand why the kiwi population in the wild was decreasing so rapidly.

We were then led outside, where there are 30 or so runs that sprawl all around the place. These runs are very heavily protected against ferrets and other such predators, so they seem kind of liked armed fortresses, although we did not see many. Us going outside was simply to give us a glimpse of the runs, and mainly just to get us back into the main building. It was here that our tour ended, but that was not all that the Encounter offered. There was a huge informational exhibition area that I spent probably 30 to 45 minutes more in after the tour had ended--possibly even longer, since, by the time I left, another tour group was pouring in from the nocturnal house themselves!

In this exhibit area, there are loads of stuffed kiwi; there is also information about the different kinds of kiwi, where the name came from, and whether it is too weird to actually be a bird. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience and, especially if you have not seen the kiwi, it is a must-see!