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New Zealand Tours for You to Choose From

Are you interested in taking a romantic getaway to New Zealand? If you are, have you started making your travel arrangements yet? Even if you have made your travel arrangements or your overnight accommodation reservations, have you planned out the activities that you would like to participate in while in New Zealand? If you have yet to do so, you may want to take the time to examine some of the many New Zealand tours available for you and other tourists to take.

If you are looking for an adventurous New Zealand tour, but also one that is relaxing at the same time, you may want to think about taking a New Zealand whale watching tour. New Zealand is well-known for their whales and other amazing marine animals. What is nice about New Zealand whale watching tours is that you often have a number of different options to choose from. In addition to traditional boat tours, you can also schedule a New Zealand tour that allows you to go whale watching from the air.

Another type of New Zealand tour that you may enjoy is a traditional hiking tour. New Zealand hiking tours are not only exciting and adventurous, but they are also beautiful beyond what words can explain. The New Zealand terrain is one of the best in the world for hiking tours. In addition to taking a traditional New Zealand tour on foot, did you also know that you could do more? It is also possible to take a New Zealand tour on an off-road vehicle. Off-road tours are the perfect way to turn an otherwise casual scenic tour into an unforgettable adventure.

One New Zealand tour that you may want to consider taking is one that is relativity unique, but one that you will never forget. As it was previously mentioned, New Zealand is well-known for its vast array of landscape. That landscape also includes caves. It is possible to find a New Zealand tour, in fact a number of them, that allow you to tour the caves of New Zealand, some of which are underground. In fact, you can do more than just explore caves on a New Zealand tour, but you can also enjoy a cave rafting adventure!

The above mentioned New Zealand tour types are just a few of the many that you will find waiting for you in New Zealand. In addition to choosing which type of New Zealand tour or tours you would like to take, you also have a choice when it comes to making your reservations. If you have yet to book your travel arrangements, including your overnight accommodation options, you may want to look into making your reservations in the form of a New Zealand tour package. For instance, if you were interested in taking a whale watching tour, your package could include a few days of whale watching, as well as overnight accommodations at a nearby hotel or resort.

When it comes to choosing a New Zealand tour to attend, it is advised that you first examine all of your options. When doing so, you may find yourself wanting to make reservations for more than one New Zealand tour.

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A Travel Guide to Rotorua, New Zealand

Travel Rotorua

This article is a basic tour guide to traveling in Rotorua highlight and evaluating the main sites in the district.

Introduction:

If you had only one day in the North Island of New Zealand and you asked me where should one go for that day I would without hesitation say Rotorua.

This article is my personal guide to Rotorua from someone who has visited it more times than I can remember and if given the chance I would visit it again. This article is non-commercial and is intended to be for general information.

Location:

Rotorua is approximately 2.5 – 3 hours drive south of Auckland. Head south through Hamilton and Cambridge, or for a quicker route via Mata Mata. Shortly after Cambridge turn left and take the number 5 which will lead you right to Rotorua. Coming up from Wellington head to Lake Taupo and take the number 5 to Rotorua. Train and Bus routes also service Rotorua.

Attractions:

Rotorua is a jewel in the North Island, with geothermal wonders, a center of Maori Culture, Parks, Lakes, Natural History and numerous modern day attractions. Most visitors comment on the smell when they arrive. It is Hydrogen Sulphide (rotten egg gas) and while distinct at first, if you stay for any length of time you will adapt and seldom notice it.

Geothermal Parks

The main geothermal parks in Rotorua and its surrounds include Whakarewarewa thermal area, Waimangu Volcanic Valley, Waitapu Thermal wonderland, Orakei Korako Geyserland and Hell’s Gate. All these required payment.

Whakarewarewa:

Visiting this site used to be standard fare in any visit to Rotorua. Unfortunately the park has now divided into two parts, and I personally don’t believe either site has enough to stand alone. So what you used to get for one entry price now costs two (be warned). On the Hemo Road entrance is the NZ Maori Arts and Crafts Institute with its master carvers. Also includes a weaving house, kiwi house, and Maori meeting house. Pohutu (big splash) and the Prince of Wales geyser are also on this side. (Prince of Wales geyser so named because the 3 directions the geyser shoots out resembles the feathers on the Prince of Wales crest). On the Tyron street entrance you get another meeting house where a cultural show is put on, a village, shops and some hot pools, etc. Also here outside school hours you may find the local Maori children willing to jump off the bridge into the stream below in return for chasing your loose change thrown into the same.

Waimangu Volcanic Valley:

A nice walk along a valley with numerous hot pools, lakes, and near the end of the track the Warbrick thermal terrace – a multi coloured silica terrace, probably the most colourful terrace in Rotorua. Worth a visit if you have already seen some thermal parks and want more, or like a more expansive tour, you can link with a boat tour. (see the gallery for some photos courtesy Waimangu’s website). The pink and white terraces once existed in the area prior to the 1886 eruption.

Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland:

My personal favourite, about 20 min. south of Rotorua towards Taupo. Be prepared to walk abit. Numerous rainbow pools, the huge champagne pool, artist palette, sulphur vents, boiling mud and a huge silica terrace. If you arrive early in the morning, before 10am, a short drive leads you to the Lady Knox geyser that gets set off once a day by them feeding it with soap, cost of this is included in your admission (was $25 an adult). Also on this road is a natural mud pool which is the best display of boiling mud I have seen and its free.

Orakei Korako Geyserland:

Closer to Lake Taupo than Rotorua on a side road connecting route 5 to the main route 1. You need to catch the ferry across the lake to begin exploring the park. Like most of the parks good tracks requiring you to walk to see mud pools, a large cave, the emerald terrace and the largest silica feature in the country. Worth the visit if you are passing that way.

Hell’s Gate:

Another thermal park with numerous boiling things, including Adam’s frying pan, a mud volcano, hot water falls and one of the few places I found I could buy the multi-colour sand in a glass container (quite pretty). Once visited by Mark Twain who stated he would have gladly paid not to have gone there. I’ll have to disagree; I think it’s worth the visit.

Maori Culture

Rotorua has plenty of Maori based attractions. These include Tamaki Maori Village (I’ve yet to visit). The NZ Maori Arts and Crafts Institute (already spoken about), the Buried Village and numerous Hungi and Cultural Performances.

The Buried village is what it sounds like, a half buried village. During the 1886 eruption a number of local Maori perished buried in mud. Some of the village has since been dig out and rebuilt to give tourists an idea of a Maori village.

I haven’t been to Tamaki Maori Village so can’t give a review.

If you really want to get a good taste of Maori culture food and hospitality then book one of the many feasts and concerts put on by the local hotels. The food, music and friendship are always top rate.

Other Attractions

Rainbow Springs Park:

A nice park with trout fish as its centerpiece, beautiful clear running water and a top bushland. Lovely walking tracks and you can feed the fish. Also has a farm show attached.

Skyline Skyrides:

The main reason to take this ride on a gondola is not just to get to the top for the view, the main reason is to ride the luge. Massive fun, as long as you don’t fall off. They have a small chairlift operating so that you can ride the luge for as long as your budget can afford.

Agrodome:

Everything you wanted to know about sheep. Surprising a show about sheep and farming in NZ is interesting and entertaining.

Rotorua Museum of Art:

One of the first buildings built in NZ solely with tourists in mind. Originally built as a bath house and hot water treatment center it has now been converted. Good museum but the highlight is the movie on local history, sit down and be sure to be holding on – a total multimedia experience. Definite must do. The building itself is one of the finest examples of Edwardian design and is an art piece in itself. The surrounding gardens are always nicely maintained.

Natures Wonders

There are numerous things to do, totally free for nature lovers.

Huka Falls:

Just North from Lake Taupo on the M1 is Huka Falls and the world famous Huka Falls Lodge (for the novu-rich of the world). Huka Falls itself is free for all. Near the beginning of the mighty Waikato river (NZ longest river) it’s not the height of the falls but the sheer volume of water that is forced through which is impressive, few people have gone over the falls and survived. Boat trips are now run up to the base of the falls for those wanting a different perspective.

Whakarewarewa Forrest Park:

On the road to the blue and green lakes. Contains beautiful stands of redwood trees, walking and horse riding tracks. The redwood trees are relatively young for trees, but they are already huge in size.

Government Gardens:

Outside the Rotorua museum is well kept flower beds, rose gardens, bowling greens and more.

Kuirau Park:

Opposite the main hospital on Kuirau road is Kuirau Park with numerous boiling pools and geothermal activities. Contains some foot pools to ease your sore feet and a children’s park with miniature railway. On my last visit there was a huge hole in the ground and several trees blown over or covered in mud due to a localized eruption. It is a reminder the whole area is geothermally active and has the potential to be dangerous.

Blue and Green Lakes:

Past Whakarewarewa Forrest Park is the blue lake, great for swimming or boating activities, clear water with a pumice bottom, those further out there is a problem with weeds. Keep going on the road to get a view of Mt. Tarawera. The green lake is banned and tapu (Maori for cursed, sacred, special) and no is supposed to enter it.

Mt. Tarawera:

For the true adventure fanatics. Take the back road and climb Mount Tarawera. Enter the crater and run down to the bottom at full speed. The massive crater was caused by the 10 June 1886 eruption which destroyed the pink and white terraces and buried many villages.

Lakes:

The number of lakes is simply too many to mention. Great for trout fishing, boating or picnics. Some lakes even have black volcanic glass and/or pumice stone lying on their shores.

Hamurana Springs:

If you want to see a beautiful spring feed stream, this is worth a visit, pure water with a hint of blue flowing over white pumice bed. There is also a nice stand of redwoods and I would be surprised if you didn’t’ see any trout in the stream (no fishing allowed, sorry).

This list is by no means exhaustive and like any tourist destination new venues are always opening up. I hope this provides you with a basic to do list when visiting. To see pictures go to the website in the resource box below.

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Fun Travels in Australia and New Zealand, Part One

Wanda, my travel guruess, shrieked, “Australia and New Zealand, that’s where you two want to go? Oz and Zed are underpenetrated tourist destinations, ripe for fresh look-sees. I can get you a great deal.”

“Underpenetrated by whom?”

“By your ilk, naturally.”

Never to disregard Wanda’s importunings is my creed. Underpenetrated was exactly what I needed. Late in February we took a flight from Miami to L.A., arrived on time and waited there until our Air New Zealand flight took off for a seemingly endless thirteen hour flight to Auckland. Naturally we crossed the International Dateline which confuses the hell out of me. We arrived Friday morning in Auckland around six in the morning, groggy, grotty, and grumpy. And of course my fellow passengers were sleepwalking Groggy, Grotty, and Grumpy. Groggy’s huge carry-on bag jarred my thigh, Grotty broke wind on the narrow ramp in front of me, and Grumpy swore at me for getting in his way.

I got my baggage from the carousel where two very peppy beagles were giving the baggage real good sniffs. Their tails were wagging, they were panting with delight, and they were happy to be working. One of them stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the track and grabbed a loose sock going around with the luggage. His minder tried to pry it away from him, but then the two dog sniffers began to fight over it.

They loved that sock and were having lots of fun as enormous suitcases and duffel bags full of dope were off-loaded and whisked away. Never trust a dog to do exactly what he has been trained to do. After all he can’t get high from grass, but the taste and smell of a real raunchy, odorous sock; that’s another high altogether for a beagle.

By the time we got through immigration and customs it was 7:30 in the morning. After being up for twenty-nine hours, We were ready for some sack time. Oh, no, the hotel desk staff said. We were told that our hotel rooms would not be ready until 3:00 in the afternoon, so we were going to be taken on a four hour familiarization tour of Auckland, the biggest city in New Zealand.

I really didn’t mind once we got going. Auckland seemed to have a lot of hills, an attractive harbor, and like cities everywhere was vying for some identity and distinction by having a skyline, in this case a skyline made up of modest skyscrapers. Numerous Aucklanders love and own boats so a considerable number of sailboats were in the harbor and marinas. February here in the Antipodes was their summer so many people were wearing shorts and tee shirts; the sun was blazing. The city of about a million people had a prosperous look; it was a going concern.

You can’t see a city in a day or even our two and a half days there so I am no expert on Auckland. My days in Auckland included pleasant walks along K Street, the seedy red light district like London’s Soho. On my morning walk along K street I saw approaching a broad hulking six foot Maori warrior who was wearing no shirt or shoes, only a pair of jeans and who was nursing a hangover from too much firewater on Saturday night. All around the city I encountered a few other people walking barefoot along the sidewalks.

After K Street my walks took me to Queen Street, the central street that starts at the top of a hill and runs rather steeply down to the harbor, and along the harbor quayside. A musical was playing at one of those new performing arts complexes that are springing up everywhere.

The city has a very high space needle that gives you a breathtaking view of city. It has small, very thick glass panels that you can walk on and look miles down below to the street. It’s a scary feeling. On the ground floor of the needle is a large casino where a robotic, plodding group of gamblers, mostly of Asian descent, went through the motions of contributing money in an eerily lit atmosphere.

In the coming days as I traveled around New Zealand I found the people were, for the most part, good looking, outdoorsy, boatsy, fit-looking, and the words yeomen and yeowomen sprang to mind as I looked around. The place had a bunch of sturdy, stalwart and loyal farmers or people descended from farming families.

Everyone I met seemed to be proud of the country, and people were genuinely contented with their lives. I think everywhere you go in the world the malcontents avoid tourists on general principles. Who is going to seek out a tourist and say, “I hate this bleeping place.” ? But Auckland and New Zealand do seem to impress visitors as good places to live with a citizenry that is genuinely proud of their home. They didn’t mind being called Kiwis, but were not thrilled if you called them fruits. Kiwis, I found grow on vines over arbors like grapes. And often you would find Kiwis and grapes growing close to one another.

Some fellow tourists said that they thought the place was beautiful, that the people were friendly and contented, but that the country seemed unexotic and prosaic and the people bland. What do these hypercritical tourists want? Massacres in the streets? Bitching locals with pitchforks raised in anger? Many tourists love to look for the negatives. They’ve read too many Brysons and Therouxs. When we meet people who seem to like where they are, who they are, and what they are doing, maybe we should try to emulate them rather than verbally tar and feather them.

In Auckland I sat in a Starbucks Coffee shop and watched people in ropes and harnesses scaling and rappelling the sides of a hotel in a busy square down at the foot of Queen Street next to the harbor. Backpackers and hikers on the way to ferries stopped to gape at the climbers. Almost everyone in the land of Zed seemed to be engaged in some physical enterprise, staying in shape, enjoying the out of doors, keeping fit and communing with nature. I heard a lot of stories about ecology battles taking place with the country having a fierce ecology-minded faction. The large, noisy, militant, green faction of tree huggers and flora and fauna fanatics apparently was easily roused.

Often I watched as Kiwis went through their setting-out exercises, readying themselves for some full day of outdoor activity. They checked their stock of water bottles, tied and retied their sturdy thick hiking boots, fastened and refastened all of the hundreds of straps on their brimming knapsacks, arranged their expeditionary caps, scratched themselves, applied their sun screen, smiled and set out. Their first stop seemed to be a Starbucks, and they spent a great deal of time consulting and conferring with others, examining various maps and then refolding the maps methodically and properly. I got worn out just watching their preparations. I take very long walks, but I just do it; the prepping would spoil the fun of it for me.

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