WOW! this was by far the best experience I've had in NZ. There are so many things to do in tapau,…read morebut I would recommend this as number one must do for any locals or travelers. I felt very safe and had so much fun on all the obstacles. I honestly screamed like crazy on the swing but it was so worth it and the owner was so friendly and helpful allowing me to take my time. Great experience!!!

From the owner: Rock'n Ropes caters for everyone from 5 years old and up and from adrenline junkies to those with a…read moregenuine fer of heights. Come along and have a go high wire activities and have an awesome adventure!

There's something cool about a gondola ride, and the Skyline Gondola in Rotorua takes you high…read moreabove the city for unparalleled views. You're above lush forests, treated to panoramas of Lake Rotorua, and the geothermal landscape. Once at the top, we took a nature walk on Mount Ngongotaha. The scenery was remarkable. The views seem to stretch forever. For anyone who loves being high up and surrounded by nature, this is for you.

This was the top attraction that we wanted to do while we were in Rotorua…read more Skyline offered a host of different activities starting with just a round trip gondola ride, zip lines, luge, walking trails, mountain biking course and beautiful views of Rotorua. Due to our time constraints, we decided on the three ride luge and gondola ride. It was a perfect day. For the luge, we headed right after exiting the visitor center. We had to grab a helmet but we spent some time rummaging to find one that did not smell so bad. Staff scanned our ticket on each run and quickly went through the ride instructions before letting us choose our starting track. We rode three different tracks and enjoyed the speed and scenery. Our luge was easy to control and being early there was no one else on the tracks so we ride as fast or as slow as we wanted. At the bottom of the track, we got out of our cart and had to push it forward until it attached itself to the bottom of the chairlift. It took about 10 minutes or so to get back up to the top. Eventually more people showed up and kids as well as grandparents joined the luge ride down showing that any age could ride!

I was saving something really special for my 100th review, and OGO Rotorua is it!…read more Although my experience with Ogo was a few months ago, it's as if it happened yesterday. I had been wanting to go zorbing for so many years after seeing it for the first time on some TV show, and finally a dream trip to New Zealand became a reality, which means I was finally going to get to hurl myself down a hill inside a giant inflatable plastic sphere filled with water! Totally normal dream, right?! Before arriving in Rotorua from California, I did a lot of research on zorbing. Ogo's online reservations were easy and their website was very helpful, unlike another zorbing company who never even replied to me after I contacted them through their website twice AND emailed them directly once. Ogo's customer service was by far superior! The amenities onsite were also great: changing rooms with blow dryers, cubby holes/shelves to store bags, clothes, and personal items, hot tubs and heaters to keep you warm before/after your "ride," and lots of couches, chairs, and beanbags to relax in and watch your friends or other people roll down the hill! They even give you a GoPro camera to use if you want or need one, which allows you to film yourself going down the hill. We ended up purchasing a DVD with our photos and video, which were very reasonable priced as well. Since it wasn't too busy the day we were there, and we had so much fun going down the zigzagging trail separately, we decided to buy another round and go down the straight track together in one Ogo ball...SO. MUCH. FUN!!! Zorbing with Ogo Rotorua was literally the highlight of our 10-day trip to New Zealand, and trust me, we did a lot of fun and adventurous stuff there! I still remember how much my cheeks were hurting from smiling so much, and how sore my abs were from laughing the whole way down the hill! What an amazing experience...Highly recommend!

Super fun! We did the newer course that makes you go airborne briefly. It's a wet ride, not…read moreavailable dry. We didn't know that because it doesn't mention it online so we didn't bring our bathing suits. We rented shorts and a shirt for $7 each. The ride lasts for around 60 seconds and was $85. So it's pretty steep. The view is beautiful although you don't get to enjoy it while you're in the ball because you're rolling around and it's kind of foggy. It's really fun and I just kept laughing the entire time. There are hot tubs you can sit in afterwards and that was great because there were 3 of us taking individual rides so we could wait on the others in comfort. I would recommend forming out the extra money to do more than 1 ride. It's pretty expensive for something that's so short lived but we all thought it was worth it. The staff was super nice and friendly.

Free outdoor and natural hot springs to enjoy. Go to the Spa Thermal Park to get access to the…read moreOtumuheke thermal stream that feeds into the Waikato river. From here, you can also do an easy hike to Huka Falls (50 mins one-way) or Aratiatia Rapids (2 hrs one-way). There's a car park at the intersection of Spa Road and County Avenue, but to get closer to the thermal stream, you can continue down County Ave to the end and park at the car park inside the park. From there, you'll do a short 10 minute walk down to the thermal stream. You'll see a bridge with the main pools near the river. This is where most people will be, but if you up a little further uphill, you'll hit a second bridge where it's more private. This area is fenced off though, so it's probably not encouraged to bathe in this part of the stream, although a lot of people still do. The water is pretty hot, so make sure to bring a towel, water to stay hydrated, and a change of clothes for afterwards. Note that there are toilets at the car park, but no changing facilities near the thermal stream itself. Even if you aren't interested in visiting the thermal stream, Spa Thermal Park is well worth a visit to see the stunning scenery of being high up a hill looking down on a large, curved river.

Tons of people, but don't let that discourage you! It's a must-visit free natural hot stream with a…read morebeautiful view/swim of the river. The park's been beautifully designed for enjoying the stream, which is a nice hot 38-39C right under the bridge, and pools down to cooler temperatures further down. It's a great place to relax in a natural setting and meet some people!

After a tire blowout the day before on our NZ cycling adventure, we hobbled our way from Taupo to…read moreTurangi and made it to the Thermal Pools on Christmas Day when it was closed. So never actually made it into the pools, but walked around the area, saw the bubbling thermal ponds. The best part was deciding to take a swim in the cold river below. Once we found a thermal hot spot, it's a relaxing place to sit and relax on the borderline of the river and hot spot. Be careful when walking along the edges of the thermal hot spots, the mud becomes very hot and will burn your feet. I had the idea of giving myself a mud bath, took the thermal hot mud and started covering my body. Definitely have to be careful picking up a handful of the hot thermal mud.

Steam holes, and one bubbling mud steam pool... Yes and a very nice nature stop…read more Visitor will encounter other similar locations, and we recommend a visit here

Get back in your car and go to Wai-O-Tapo Thermal Park near Rotorua instead. Seriously, this place…read morewas such a disappointment. There's a gravel path, sometimes a wooden path, and some steam vents. A "mud pool" that is as dry as a bone. There is absolutely no shade, and it takes about 45 minutes to walk around the short loop. I wish we'd turned back after 10 minutes cos it didn't get any better. Wai-O-Tapu has spectacular vents, mud pools, incredibly colored water. Just so much better than this. It's only $8 to get in this place, but in my opinion it's just not even worth that. Don't say I didn't warn you!

We were looking for an easy and inexpensive way to enjoy Rotorua's geothermal activity and this…read moreplace popped up in our search. We were so happy we stopped by for a brief viewing because it's a nice little walk along the lake and was another fantastic and free NZ tourist spot. There are several places to park along the road and then you can walk along the lake and enjoy the geothermal steam, little bubbling holes, and the fantastic aromas! Be warned if you are particularly sensitive to sulfur and eggy smells you may want to skip the geothermal adventures in NZ. The steam rises from the scenic lake and beautiful birds are positioned everywhere you look. There is one spot along the road with little rocky craters with bubbling water and a touch of the beautiful colors that is classic to geothermal Rotorua attractions. It's a great stopping point and doesn't take too long to enjoy and snap a few photos before you continue on your way.

It's a good spot for some striking photos in various directions. There's water and spits of land…read moreand city skyline and various fairly photogenic birds around. The black swans with red bills are great. You drive all the way through the garden to the end of the road to get here, and there's a parking lot with plenty of parking (unlike the rest of the park, at least when we were there--we actually ended up at the point as we looked for parking to crack out the gardens but couldn't find any). Itdoesn't smell any more sulphury than anywhere else, and less than in some places in the region. There's not anything to do other than take pictures, including hiking or even much walking, so it's more of a place to drive out to, hop out of the car, and hang out for 15 minutes or so. But the views are nice so it's not a bad place to do that.

This is the best free thing we did in New Zealand. Its a natural hot water river, creek, stream,…read moreor whatever you want to call it. Jump in and chill. Get a free massage from the waterfall or strong current. My only mistake was not bringing some beer and wine. Otherwise its wonderful! It sure beats paying $15-25NZ for one of the spas. It does require about a 20 minute drive south of Rotorua, a short drive on a gravel road(1km?), and a very short walk from the impromptu parking lot. Its so worth it!

An enchanting natural hot spring water fall. Short hike through beautiful wooded area next to the…read morestream and small water falls along the way. The waterfall is nestled in a cozy wooded open area. Sit and enjoy the water rushing around you at the top of the water fall area, or climb down into the warm/hot water below. It is hot at first, hotter than the reviews I read. You can walk up to the water fall at the bottom, but be careful it does dip down and the soft dirt below does not give you much grip to hold your balance. This is a magical beautiful place not to be missed. As you drive onto the dirt road you will see the green pool lake to your left and a small pull off to the right. Pull off and you will hear a rushing waterfall in the woods. You can hoist yourself up the trail not too bad of a climb and come to a small waterfall area with a plank. It is not hot, this is a cool one we did not swim in. Further down the road is Wai-O-Tapu hot spring, but decided not to wade in it because of the warning sign, see pic in review.

You can pay $28 to go prawn fishing! We did not end up doing it because we arrived later in the…read moreday. I think it would be worth it if you spent a majority of your day here, but I wasn't all that interested. This would probably be a great place to go if you have kids. When we got there, we got to see the largest prawn caught that day. 43 cm! We did buy a bucket of golf balls to hit. It was nice, but I'm glad I was not trapped into coming here. I would gladly spend $28 on a dish, but not fish for prawns.