To read about our Waitomo leg of the trip, click here!
Following a short 2-hour drive from Waitomo, we arrived in Rotorua! After being on the go for the past few days, we spent 4 relaxing nights and 5 days exploring the town and its many attractions.
Quest Apartments
Although we enjoyed our stay at the Holiday Park, it was with relief that we checked into our spacious 1-bedroom apartment with its creature comforts and amenities. Miss K is prone to eczema flare ups when she gets too hot, so controlling the temperature of our environment (as much as we can) is important.
The living, kitchen, dining, and laundry area are combined in a single space with the bedroom and bathroom separate. The kitchen is fully equipped and the laundry contains a washing machine and dryer. Inside the bedroom, there is a lovely queen bed and ample space for a cot. Both rooms came with their own air conditioning unit. The bathroom was small but sufficient and the shower head was detachable, which I found useful showering Miss K.
The location of the apartments was fantastic. We were on the main strip with many restaurants, cafes, and, stores on our doorstep. 10 Minutes walk took us to Rotorua’s Central Mall. We were about 10-15 minutes driving distance from most of the main attractions in town.
Since we had a car we paid for parking. We weren’t able to get undercover parking so we had to park outside behind the apartments. Parking was tight and I still have no idea how all the cars were able to get in and out as some of them were blocking each other! Nevertheless we were glad to have our designated spot!
Around Town
Compared to Waitomo, which only had a single main road running through it, Rotorua seemed huge. Driving into town, it looked and felt quite industrial. While the town itself is spread out the city centre is relatively small with only a few main streets.
There are a few eateries and cafes, fashion and other miscellaneous stores, and the most wonderful secondhand bookstore. A short driving distance away is their main shopping mall with a decent food court. Behind it is a large Countdown, where we stocked up on groceries.
Before having kids, my husband and I would have explored all of the different eateries on offer including the intriguing sounding Eat Street. However with a toddler in tow, what’s convenient and fast worked best for us. With a few exceptions, we made simple meals at Quest or visited the food court.
Whakarewarewa Forest – The Redwoods
A short 10 minute drive from Quest are what the locals call The Redwoods. A gorgeous, lush green forest with the most amazing native and exotic giant trees. There are many activities on offer such as mountain biking, hiking, and ziplining. However, we were keen to do the Redwoods Treewalk.
The Treewalk is a half-kilometre long walkway between 22 giant 100-year old Redwood trees. Each tree is connected by a wooden suspension bridge. At each tree there are decks where you can take a seat and soak up the view. Amazingly, each deck has been specifically designed so that they would adapt to the rapid tree growth without causing any harm.
Before going on the Treewalk, we wanted to make sure that it was baby friendly and found out on their website that there are special baby strollers provided that have to be used. For safety reasons, babies and infants can’t be carried at any stage of the walk. Likewise, young kids have to be able to walk unaided.
I couldn’t find any pictures of the baby strollers online, but thought that we’d go anyway and check it out. Worst case scenario, we would just walk around and enjoy the scenery!
After a simple breakfast at Quest, we headed straight to The Redwoods and arrived there in no time. Onsite there’s a medium sized carpark and as we stepped outside of the car, you could already feel the wonderful atmosphere of the giant trees. It had been raining and you could smell the damp wood in the air.
On the way to the ticket booth there are a number of pleasantly clean portable toilets available. The Treewalk takes on average 40 minutes to complete with no shortcuts down, so something to note before you begin the walk. There are only 4 special baby strollers available with a first come, first served basis and when we arrived there were 2 available.
The special pram baby strollers are essentially car seats fixed on a specially made wooden wagon that is pushed. As there are steps on and off the suspension bridges, it requires 2 people to maneuver it (one at the front and one behind). Since there were 2 strollers available, we had the option of having Miss K sit up or reclined. We chose reclining so she could see the treetops or have a snooze if she got tired.
After a short safety briefing, we were finally on our way! To start, we headed up a long spiral ramp up to the first tree, 25 metres from the ground. At the first deck there’s a gigantic cross section of a Redwood tree, which gives you an idea of how large these majestic trees are.
The suspension bridges are narrow but sturdy and I felt quite safe pushing Miss K along. As we pushed her across the bridge, she loved holding her hand out and letting them run through the ropes. She was very quiet during our walk and seemed to enjoy the quiet serenity of the forest.
As we had to push the stroller and pick it up and down at each suspension bridge, it was a bit of a workout and we spent a bit of time resting at each deck. Although it was a bit repetitive, we really enjoyed our walk amongst the trees. During our walk we stopped to take lots of pictures and around mid-point, my husband took a separate staircase to climb to the highest point before re-joining us (you can continue on a higher altitude before re-joining the main walk, however we weren’t able to do this due to the stroller).
We spent over an hour walking amongst the treetops and spent some time back on the ground taking pictures on the forest floor. While I would have loved to explore the hiking trails, we left to feed Miss K lunch and get her down for her afternoon nap.
Te Puia
Rotorua is known for its geothermal activity and there are several geothermal parks that you can visit. While they all offer slightly different things to see, we wanted to see a naturally occurring geyser so we chose to visit Te Puia. As with all the other attractions around town, Te Puia was a short drive from our apartments. We went there straight after breakfast, so we were able to beat most of the tourist buses and crowds.
There are several add on ticket options that include a steambox lunch tour and Maori cultural experience, however with Miss K in tow we wanted to keep things simple, so we purchased the basic day pass. There are also free guided tours but we decided to explore the park on our own.
The park is easy to navigate with signs pointing to the next attraction and advising whether it’s wheelchair accessible. Miss K was in the travel pram, so we stuck to the wheelchair accessible pathways.
We followed a big loop around the park, first through the Kiwi House, and then past the different types of geothermal landscapes such as bubbling mud, different coloured pools of boiling water, and the main attraction, the geyser! We arrived at the tail end of an eruption, so Miss K and I went ahead while my husband stuck around for the money shot.
After seeing the geyser, there’s an option to quickly head back to the front of the park or take a longer path to loop back around. We were feeling adventurous so we took the longer way back and saw a beautiful lake and other geothermal wonders. Word of warning though – if you have a pram, the only way to get back to the front of the park is to take several flights of stairs down or go back the way you came from (avoid the tunnel up ahead as it leads to staff parking and a locked gate)! The following path is dirt gravel and uphill so not very pram friendly either.
It was a bit tricky but as our travel pram was quite lightweight, my husband was able to carry Miss K down in the pram and did most of the pushing uphill. In hindsight, I would have much preferred taking the shorter route back!
By this time, it was almost noon and Miss K ended up falling asleep on the way back to the front of the park. Bumpy pathways have always helped her to fall asleep so we took a leisurely walk back and managed to squeeze in a light lunch from the cafeteria before she woke up! Te Puia also offer a buffet with traditional Maori dishes for those looking for a culinary cultural experience.
Polynesian Spa
The last time I visited Rotorua, I visited the Polynesian Spa and had a wonderful afternoon relaxing in their hot pools. Since I was pregnant I wasn’t able to go, so I encouraged my husband to have a relaxing night at the spa after Miss K went down for the night.
There are various packages and my husband chose the Deluxe Lake Spa that includes 5 mineral hot pools overlooking Lake Rotorua, geothermal recliners and deluxe changing rooms with lockers. Children are allowed, however since he went after 7pm there were no kids at the time and it was relatively quiet.
Although my husband wasn’t super keen on going at first, he really enjoyed his time there and left near to closing time! He gave it 2 thumbs up!
Private pools for minimum of 2 adults and spa treatments are also available.
Skyline Rotorua and Buffet Lunch at Stratosfare Restaurant and Bar
As I was looking for other things to do in Rotorua on Trip Advisor, the Skyline and buffet lunch at Stratosfare Restaurant and Bar came highly recommended. We bought a package deal online and booked in for a late lunch to hopefully coincide after Miss K’s late morning nap. Fortunately for us, the stars were aligned for us that day!
After a short 10 minute drive from Quest we had ample time to enjoy the gondola ride up Mount Ngongotaha, which is a dormant volcanic dome overlooking the town and lake. When we arrived at the top, we had enough time to enjoy the breathtaking views before sitting down for our buffet lunch.
Stratosfere offers a lunch or dinner buffet with floor to wall window panoramic views of the town and lake. Seating is on a first come and first served basis and we were lucky enough to be seated by a window. While the views and service were outstanding, unfortunately I wasn’t very impressed by the selection or quality of the food.
Other than enjoying the views, there are other activities available such as mountain biking, ziplining, skyswing and trails for the more adventurously inclined.
Kuirau Park
A short 5 minute drive from Quest was a lovely park with a large playground area for big and small kids alike, picnic and BBQ area, crater lake, mud pools, geothermal vents, and free thermal (man-made) foot baths.
During our stay, we visited the park twice. The first time was to check it out. We spent some time at the playground where Miss K enjoyed her time watching an older child play. He was very intrigued by her and followed us wherever we went! After some time, we left to take a short walk to see the rest of the park.
Just across the playground is the large crater lake and there are warning signs around the edge not to get too close! A short walk along the pathway across the lake you’ll see plenty of small geothermal activity that’s been fenced off for safety reasons. Even though we’d seen our fair share of geothermal activity at Te Puia, it was still fascinating to see it naturally occurring in a local park!
Continuing along our walk we came across the public thermal foot baths. There were 2 medium sized pools – one covered and the other uncovered. Both were full of people dipping their feet in and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the water was nice and clear. The edges of the pools were wet but I’d come prepared with 2 towels – one to sit on and one to dry my feet off later.
It was snack time for Miss K, so while my husband fed her nearby I enjoyed a hot feet soak under the sun. It was so lovely and I ended up going back there a second time on the way home from our buffet lunch while Miss K took an unexpected late afternoon nap in the car with her daddy!
Rainbow Springs: Rotorua Wildlife and Nature Park
On our last day in Rotorua, we decided on a whim to visit Rainbow Springs Nature Park. Just like every other place we’d visited, it was a short 10 minute drive from Quest and located opposite Skyline Rotorua.
There are 3 main day pass options: Lite Pass, Essentials Pass and Ultimate Pass. As we were there for a short casual visit, we bought the Lite Pass which includes park entry and optional guided tour, Taonga experience, Kiwi Burrow and Nocturnal House and 1 ride on the Big Splash.
When you first enter the park there’s a mandatory touristy photo booth that you have to go through. It was unexpected and frankly a bit annoying but we did our poses and finally entered the park. I’m not a fan of guided tours and with a toddler I like the flexibility of doing our own thing, so we explored the park on our own.
Our first stop was the Kiwi Burrow and Nocturnal House, which is also a kiwi hatchery. Rainbow Springs has been hatching kiwi chicks since 1995 and is now the largest and most successful hatching facility in the world. Inside the Kiwi Burrow, there are interactive screens and information boards about kiwis and their conservation. From the Kiwi Burrow, there’s a door that leads into the Nocturnal House where you can spot a few kiwis on the way out.
Following our kiwi experience, we followed the guided path to explore the rest of the park. The park itself was lush with greenery and there was plenty of things to see. Miss K was particularly enamored with the giant fish swimming in a circle in the water! Overall we spent about 2 hours there and we had a lot of fun pointing out animals for Miss K to see.
While we brought our pram with us, she was mainly in the baby carrier so she had front row seats to everything!
On the way out we had to go through the gift store and the obligatory photo collection booth. Although I’m not a fan of these touristy photo setups, we ended up purchasing some online photos in the end as they turned out pretty well so I guess the touristy ploy worked in the end!
Next stop: Taupo!
Marie xo