# Rotorua, lake taupo things to do



## Lsung (Oct 27, 2013)

Heya my husband, 4 year old and mum are going on a 3 day road trip to Rotorua and Lake Taupo, the weekend before labour day. Super excited.

Anyways the plan is to leave Auckland very early on Saturday and head to Rotorua, spend the day and night there, Sunday morning head to lake Taupo to take the day and night there, then Monday morning head to waitomo caves before heading back to Auckland.

I'm looking for good things to do whilst we are there.

We want to do the Huka falls jet, we also want to do some hot springs but there are quite a few and I am not sure which ones are the best? I've been told Te Puia is good, is this also worth a try? What about Tamaki Maori Village? They looks pretty pricey though.

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks



Te puia


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## escapedtonz (Apr 6, 2012)

Lsung said:


> Heya my husband, 4 year old and mum are going on a 3 day road trip to Rotorua and Lake Taupo, the weekend before labour day. Super excited.
> 
> Anyways the plan is to leave Auckland very early on Saturday and head to Rotorua, spend the day and night there, Sunday morning head to lake Taupo to take the day and night there, then Monday morning head to waitomo caves before heading back to Auckland.
> 
> ...


Rotorua.
Must do is Skyline Rotorua Gondola, Restaurant & Luge. It's pretty pricey but it's a fantastic view from the top on a good day and there's a tourist shop, a sweet shop and a really good restaurant.
The Luge itself is brilliant....probably suit your hubby more  I was like a kid again and had lots of goes racing a friend. There are 3 run types, from sedate to crazy but all good fun if not completely dangerous ha ha! I even took my 2 year old on the "family" run with me and it get's pretty fast and he loved every minute of it.
Can waste a good few hours there no problem.
Right next door there's Rainbow Springs, which is a water play centre I think and also a wildlife park, however we've not been in there yet.
Also a short walk further out of Rotorua on the same road past the above attractions, on the same stretch there's another Maori village called Mitai and again not done this one.
The Zorb's are also a tad further down the same road, which are big rubber balls that you climb into and get rolled down the hill....Why I dunno, but may float your boat.

Also, while you are in Rotorua, have a walk round Kuirau Park just outside the centre as there are steaming vents and pools fenced off that are quite interesting.

On the way from Rotorua to Taupo on SH5 there's some mud pools and a hot river that you can go and have a look at for free. A place called Waiotapu. You can stop and do the Waiotapu Thermal Track and have a walk around the mud pools and go to a lookout at the top end. On the drive out on the Waiotapu Loop Road you will come to a small bridge over a river. Get out here and walk down to the meeting of two rivers - one is very hot and the other is lukewarm. There's a big pool where they meet and many people get in and bathe here. You can move yourself around to bathe in whatever temperature you like. No ducking your head under as there's a risk of meningitis. Take a towel and your togs. Pretty amazing if you go there and no-one else around 

Taupo.
Great place.
Have a walk round Huka Falls. Maybe a visit to Wairakei Terraces where there's also some spa pools fed from the Geyser there. Not that expensive and seldom very busy.
As you head into Taupo there's a lookout on your left hand side - Huka Falls Road which has good views all over Taupo and the lake towards Mt Tongariro etc. There's a board there that explains the view.
Good one for your husband....... Across the road from the junction of Ferry Road and Tongariro St, Taupo there's a hairdressers that does wet shaves for men for $10. So relaxing. Not cut-throat but better than doing it yourself. They also have some cool chairs in there for kids and a DVD player to keep them happy.
We went to De-Bretts Spa while we were there which was pretty good but we got in for free and discounted spa treatments as we were staying there on the campsite.
Another must......for the hubby, is the Taupo Golf Hole in One Challenge. Its on the banks of the lake across from the shops/cafe's along the front and basically its trying to hit a tiny green out on the lake with a 9 iron/pitching wedge. Great fun....not that you'll get anything for getting a hole in one which would be pretty difficult anyway. I hit it around 10 times but it didn't go in 
Really good park / playground in the centre with a train on at the weekends. Other than that I've not done much there only eat, drink, gold and race the motorbike at the Taupo Motorsport track. Loads of watersports if that's what you're after and there's also the shrimp/prawn farm.


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## Kimbella (Jul 4, 2013)

Lsung said:


> Heya my husband, 4 year old and mum are going on a 3 day road trip to Rotorua and Lake Taupo, the weekend before labour day. Super excited.
> 
> Anyways the plan is to leave Auckland very early on Saturday and head to Rotorua, spend the day and night there, Sunday morning head to lake Taupo to take the day and night there, then Monday morning head to waitomo caves before heading back to Auckland.
> 
> ...


Lucky you!!! 

We did a week in Rotorua and surrounding areas the summer of 2012, and I LOVED it! We did jet-boating, but with a different company (Hamilton Jets I think they were called), and it was great!! And we also did Tamaki Maori Village, and the hot springs that ETNZ mentioned. The Maori village is expensive, but I think it was worth it. They pick you up, and if you're lucky, you'll have a super fun Maori driver who will engage the whole bus--our did Q&A with guests, and lead everyone in sing alongs of songs from whatever nation they were from! Once you are there, it's a bit like a mob after the powhiri ... there will be a few hundred people there, and the village recreation is a bit small, so seeing the different areas that they have people demonstrating traditional Maori techniques can be a bit of a scramble to get a good place to stand and watch. Plus, it goes by pretty quick... I think we had 30 or 45 mins to see the village stuff, then were led into a marae for a beautiful, traditional song and dance ceremony--I LOVED that part!. Afterwards was a buffet style hangi meal -- DELICIOUS!! Best I've ever had! At some point during the walk-about we were shown where they were cooking the hangi, and we got to watch as they retrieved it from the steaming pits. There were 5 of us total in our family group, and I'd pay to do it again, but, I really love that sort of stuff. 

The jet boating is awesome and exciting -- it's over too fast!! But, definitely fun! My husband promptly returned home and began doing what he calls "Hamilton turns" in our jet-boat. If you go, you'll figure out what that is. The Huka Jetboat roared up to the falls when we were there, and it sure looked like it would be amazing! The falls themselves are unimaginably lovely! If the weather is nice, consider taking a picnic and some drinks and hanging out for a while ... we didn't stay long enough to satiate my appetite to explore!

The free things we did that we all LOVED, was the hot springs, inside the city limit as ETNZ noted below, and the walking/hiking tracks in Whakarewarewa Forest (Redwood Forest). That was actually one of my favorites... easy tracks and incredibly beautiful! The water was the clearest I've ever seen in my life, and the entire area was just gorgeous! The hot springs in the city are fun, and the walk through them is a nice, casual amble. 

You might also consider carving some time into your schedule to check out the botanical garden and glass house at the Auckland domain -- well worth it, if you like flora and fauna. The museum is also awesome, and as "locals" you can get in with a donation, instead of paying the full fee. It's huge, and filled with some really superb stuff! It's probably one of the nicest museums I've been in, at least compared to those in California.

Rotorua also has a museum we went to, smaller, and we might have had to pay... I can't recall. It was a mixture of history about the building housing the museum, and the area itself (eq's, volcanoes, etc). I'm sort of neutral on the place ... it was fine and interesting, but small, so if we paid, I'd probably not go again, but if it was a small donation, it's fine to fill some time in. 

The gondola and luging is an absolute kick!! Again, worth it, but it will be pricey... you'll be buying more tickets to go down the track a few more times!  We did Rainbow Springs, I liked it, thought the price was fair (I think we might have gotten a family deal of some sort). The "roller coaster" there is the only one I've been on since arriving in NZ .. it's small and cute. 

Cheers, and have a great time!


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## Lsung (Oct 27, 2013)

Hey guys thank you so much for the fantastic ideas from both of you. We are thinking we gonna do the luge/cable car and the Maori experience . Then the huka falls jet. Super excited and can't wait.

Thanks again.


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## Lsung (Oct 27, 2013)

Hey kimbella and escapedtooz....did you guys have food in the rotorua skyline? Can see they do an offer of all you can eat buffet for dinner. Was considering doing this. 

Thanks


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## escapedtonz (Apr 6, 2012)

Lsung said:


> Hey kimbella and escapedtooz....did you guys have food in the rotorua skyline? Can see they do an offer of all you can eat buffet for dinner. Was considering doing this.
> 
> Thanks


Yeah we had something to eat there but just went in on spec as it wasn't that busy the day we were there.
The food was pretty good and quite reasonable if I remember correctly.
I'd personally go for the buffet so you can try everything


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## Kimbella (Jul 4, 2013)

Lsung said:


> Hey kimbella and escapedtooz....did you guys have food in the rotorua skyline? Can see they do an offer of all you can eat buffet for dinner. Was considering doing this.
> 
> Thanks


We must have eaten there, as we were there for several hours, but we must have just purchased food from the food-bar/cafe.


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## inhamilton (Jun 10, 2011)

How did the trip go?


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## Lsung (Oct 27, 2013)

Hey we not been yet...we leave tonight. Super excited


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## sweepy1900 (Nov 3, 2014)

If you are thrill seekers, then a skydive in Taupo is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!


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