Rotorua
The biggest surprise for this trip: Rotorua! Although the city itself did not impress much, the range of activities made for our time here the most tightly packed of the trip and we loved all of it!
We arrived in Rotorua in the afternoon and checked in to the holiday park and headed out to the shops to look for supplies, cooked dinner at the camp kitchen and settled down to pick our activities for the next couple days. First up, rafting a 7m waterfall with Rotorua Rafting (this one took a bit of convincing on my part but was SO awesome). We also booked to go to the Tamaki Maori Experience, and in between we managed to squeeze in a walk at the Redwoods Forest and a visit to Hamurana Springs (and lunch at Burger Fuel).
Our day started early with the rafting, which in itself was a big highlight for the trip. After lunch we went to the Redwoods forest, and to Hamurana springs, which was awesome even in the rain, with the clearest and bluest water ever and lots and lots of happy ducks. The day finished with dinner at the Tamaki Maori Village experience. The next day we had a lake cruise booked in Taupo, which is just a short drive, so we visited Rainbow Mountain (if you go here DO NOT trust Google maps trying to find the parking) and Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland on the way. Not a moment of downtime in Rotorua with all the amazing stuff there is to do!
If you go to Rotorua, make sure you have plenty of time there so you don't miss out on what you want to do and see.
