You know you’ve arrived in Rotorua when your nose detects the signature scent of rotting eggs. Even in town you can hear hot water bubbling under pavements and see fumaroles venting behind patchy scrub—should you need reminding of the volatile nature of geothermal areas! The long-standing tourism business here draws visitors seeking their first exposure to sulphuric sights and the rich traditions of local Māori culture, too.
Coordinates
Into the maw of Tarawera
We marked Waitangi Day with a crater walk on Te Maunga ō Tarawera | Mt Tarawera. Now closed to public access, the Ngāti Rangitihi iwi permit only guided tours on the mountain. It erupted as recently as 1886, taking lives and destroying the famous Pink and White Terraces. We arrived by AWD Hiace van at the crater rim, shaken but not stirred (first and second photos). Wahanga Dome is a tapu iwi burial site, so there is no access even on tours (third photo). We had good views to Putauaki at 821m (which we’d seen heading into the Whirinaki Forest), some 24km away (final photo).
Views from Ruawahia Dome at 1,111m were far-reaching and wide; they included Lake Tarawera, with its surface at 299m (first photo), even down to Hot Water Beach; Tarawera Dome to the right with Maunga Kākaramea | Rainbow Mountain peaking above cloud on the left—also seen but not in frame, Ruapehu and Ngāuruhoe (second photo); and Lake Rerewhakaaitu emerging from cloud cover to the south (third photo). A view into the gaping crater as we contemplate descending into it (final photo)!
The path down into the crater had looked a little intimidating as we first laid eyes on it from the opposite rim (first photo). It was steep, but the technique of “scree surfing” proved to be an effective approach for some members of the tour group (second photo). The rocks appeared to reflect traditional Māori colours of red, white and black—actually a mix of basalt, some turned red by oxidation, and pale rhyolite (third photo). The view back towards summit from near the bottom of the crater was satisfying as we regrouped (final photo).
Rotorua
Te Puia, home of the NZ Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, held a Waitangi Day event. We arrived an hour before closing, from Mt Tarawera. Sadly the hāngī stall (and other lunch options) ran out of food; furthermore, the train offering rides to view the geyser was out of action. However, we did see some carvings e.g. the Te Arawai waka (first photo); reconstructed Māori village buildings (second photo); Pōhutu geyser from afar (third photo) and a performance on Rotowhio Marae (final photo).
Rotorua’s Government Gardens feature a Tudor-style spa bath house, opened in 1908 (first photo). Prince’s Gate Hotel was built 1897 in Waihi; in 1920 it was disassembled kauri plank-by-plank, taken by horse cart then by steam train for reassembly in Rotorua (second photo)—proof that assembly hell had form before IKEA even existed! The iSite clock tower and building dates from 1914 (third photo). Modern architecture at the covered Eat Streat food hall (final photo), where we dined on disappointment.
Ōhinemutu is great value (it’s free to wander, when much in and around Rotorua costs). This “living village” is home to Ngāti Whakaue, who use steam from multiple geothermal vents in the lakeside village to heat, bathe and cook. The village includes a war cemetery—where the burials are above ground due to the geothermal activity—and a church (first photo). We noted that someone was a fan of Queen Victoria (second photo) and chuckled at the lichen hair on a pou (third photo). Window decoration as you’ve likely never seen was on the marae’s meeting house (final photo); the church featured a window with a Māori Jesus walking on the waters of the lake.
We didn’t get $47 value from a hāngī meal and hāngī pie at Whakarewarewa: boiled dead vegetables, chicken and a 3cm cut of lamb—flavour free! When B. was a lad, hāngī food had a very distinct smoky earth taste. Such was our disappointment we skipped the Māori village tour. But there’s always consolation to be found: Whittaker’s Choc Cross Bun captures that taste well. Perhaps it’s worth starting a petition for a Choc Hāngī edition?
Redwoods Treewalk provides an elevated view of the introduced trees in Whakarewarewa Forest (first photo); the tallest here is 75m with a 2.2m girth, planted in 1901. But the forest offers plenty of free walks, too. On the 7.5km/ 2h Pohaturoa Track you’ll walk among the sequoia (second photo), with lookouts over Rotorua and its lake/ Mokoia Island, and over the Pōhutu Geyser (third photo) and the (dead after 4pm) living Māori village of Whakarewarewa.
Rotorua felt somewhat like a Queenstown wannabe. Fancy rolling down a hill inside a double-skinned ball filled with water (first photo)? It’s fun merely to watch the ZORB birthing process, where occupant(s) emerge from the entry/ exit passage in a 40L gush of amniotic fluid (second photo). Redwoods Nightlights means experiencing the treewalk after sunset: it’s 700m long, with 28 swing bridges set at a height of 20m and lit by 34 lanterns, which make for a magical transformation (third and final photos).
Hitting the paywall
In the densely touristed areas of North Island, even access to nature may have to be paid for. Viewing the crater of Mount Tarawera for instance—once the highlight of a scout trip for B.—now requires payment as steep as the scree slopes that await. Costs can add up quickly, as the area is rich in culture, geothermal wonders, bathing experiences and more adventurous pursuits. Should your approach be to try “one of each”, even on a whistle-stop tour, you’ll need deep pockets. If you have more time, you can still find some excellent free or low-cost experiences. Another way to see a bit more for a bit less—if you can be flexible—is to utilise a discount booking service/ app. For example, Bookme may be helpful if you can commit to a time slot for the week ahead. At other times a membership card (e.g. NZMCA, AA, TOP 10, etc.) may just take a couple of bricks out of that (pay)wall!
Tips and tricks
More lakes
Te Roto-Whaiti-i-kite-ai-a-Ihenga-i-Ariki-ai-a Kahumatamomoe, named for the early Māori explorer Īhenga, is better known as Lake Rotoiti. Korokitewao Bay (first photo) at eastern end is the trailhead for Hinehopu (Hongi’s) Track, to Lake Rotoehu (second photo); it was used by chieftainess Hinehopu in about 1620 and by warrior Hongi as portage for waka in 1823. We called briefly at Tauranganui Bay on Lake Ōkataina (third photo); from Lake Ōkāreke we got our first proper view of Mt Tarawera from below (final photo).
1886 uncovered
The Buried Village of Te Wairoa is an archeological site and museum, described as “NZ’s Pompeji”. A “model village” was established here in 1848 by Christian missionaries, but Tarawera erupted 1886, covering it. Exhibits include Victoriana (first photo), excavations (second photo) and other artefacts (third photo). Also lost were the Pink and White Terraces (final photo). Formed of silica and salt, the terraces were once NZ’s most famous tourist draw; debate continues over their possible survival.
Yet more lakes
Rotorua District has 18 lakes in all. Tikitapu | Blue Lake (first photo) formed about 13,500 yrs ago and may drain underground into Lake Rotokakahi; a white rhyolite and pumice bottom colours it blue when seen from above, as observed on the Blue Lake Track (second photo). Rotokakahi | Green Lake is in turn coloured by a sandy bottom, here seen from the lookout—there’s no public access, as it’s iwi-owned (third photo). Lake Tarawera (final photo) is fed by Wairoa Stream and drains via the Tarawera River into the Bay of Plenty.
Lake Tarawera
The trailhead for the Tarawera Trail is near to the Buried Village. Soon after setting out you’ll hear Wairere Falls on the left—here seen from Buried Village (first photo); the steep hill to your right at this point is the 200,000 year-old Kapenga Rhyolite Dome, covered with layers of more recent volcanic debris. Then comes Kōtukutuku Bay (second photo). There’s beach access from Hawaiki Bay at the 5km mark (third photo), with Te Hīnau Bay about 1km further on (final photo).
Following a gradual climb on the trail, a steep descent brings you to the lake edge in Rātā Bay (first photo). Further along a beach popular with boaties is the DOC campsite at Hot Water Beach (second photo). Signs warn bathers of the risk of burns (third photo)—and of amoebic meningitis, should they dunk their heads in the hot and cold eddies! Walk out the same way, or walk the plank onto a water taxi to Kariri Point (final photo).
Our walk was 15km/ 4h 20min in; it was 13km/ 40min out by means of water taxi and shuttle back to the trailhead car park:
Waimangu Volcanic Valley
Waimangu Volcanic Valley formed on 10 June 1886, when Mt Tarawera erupted. A sequentially-numbered 4.5km trail descends through many sights, which include Frying Pan Lake, the world’s largest hot spring, formed during the 1917 Echo Crater eruption (first photo); silica terraces coloured by blue-green algae (second photo); Inferno Crater—the pale blue lake within fills and empties every 38 days (third photo); and Marble Terrace—formed of layered silica, it is coloured yellow by algae (final photo).
A 45min cruise on Lake Rotomahana can be booked via Waimangu Volcanic Valley; it’s NZ’s youngest naturally-formed large lake. The boat enters the flooded Star Hill Crater, linked to main lake via a passage (first photo). The Steaming Cliffs boast fumaroles; geysers—this one erupts every 6m (second photo); and hot springs, which by contrast have a constant water pressure (third photo). The red colour is due to iron oxide/ rust (final photo).
Lake Rerewhakaaitu
Lake Rerewhakaaitu had been visible to us from the summit of Mt Tarawera; it looked just as calm and tranquil from ground level (first photo). From our pitch in one of two small lakeside DOC camps we observed Himantopus leucocephalus | pied stilt (second photo) and Egretta novaehollandiae | white-faced heron (third photo) patrolling the water’s edge. Cygnus atratus | black swan (final photo) are here too—although this mother and her chick were photographed on Lake Rotomahana.
The neighbouring areas of Lake Taupō and Ruapehu will see us get into hot (and cold) water, and will challenge our fitness by climbing over more volcanoes.
Join us on future away missions
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