2 minute read
Visit Rotorua
IN ROTORUA VISITORS ARE LEFT IN AWE. THIS PERPETUALLY BOILING LANDSCAPE HAS EXPLOSIVE GEYSERS, MAMMOTH CRATERS AND BUBBLING MUD POOLS.
You’ve never seen anywhere quite like Rotorua. Or smelt anywhere quite so pungent, either. It’s safe to say you’ll get accustomed to the wafts of eggy sulphur, but much less so the staggering scenes of geothermal activity. When most parks boast green lawns and playgrounds, Rotorua features seething pits spitting out red-hot mud and plumes of steam. Even the drains like to vape. Spewing hot cauldrons aside, this is a city with many additional surprises. Experience Māori culture in its heartland, stand beside mammoth Californian redwood trees, blaze down the mountain bike trails or spend some time on one of Rotorua’s 18 lakes.
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Experiences that will stay with you for a lifetime include standing before a tightly wound geyser and marvelling when it blows like a rocket; sinking into a forest hot tub heated by nature, and walking 20 metres in the air on boardwalks and suspension bridges weaving through Whakarewarewa Forest. At night, enormous wooden lanterns illuminate the walkway and it’s truly enchanting. There’s also the famous luge. Operating for over 35 years, this toboggan and go-cart hybrid offers fast, family-friendly racing. Steering your luge down the hillside is almost a rite of passage in these parts.
Geothermal lake & geyser, Rotorua © Destination Rotorua
Māori mythology: How fire demons made Rotorua
TRADITIONALLY, MĀORI BELIEVE THAT ROTORUA OWES ITS THERMAL ATTRACTIONS TO AN EARLY SPIRITUAL LEADER FROM TE ARAWA TRIBE, NGĀTOROIRANGI.
In Māori mythology, when the great waka Te Arawa arrived in Rotorua, Ngātoroirangi had to stand on the summit of what is now Mt Tongariro in order to claim the surrounding land for his tribe. As he reached the top of the mountain, he almost died from the icy wind and the cold. To save himself from the elements, he sent a prayer to his sisters in Hawaiki (where, according to Māori folklore, Māori people originated from). They responded, sending fire demons to his aid. These demons cut across the ocean, surfacing at White Island, Rotorua and Taupō before reaching Ngātoroirangi and freeing him from the lethal cold, leaving a geothermal trail where they had travelled and giving these places the thermal activity that can still be seen today.
Main Image: Waimangu Volcanic Valley © Destination Rotorua
