Before describing Rotorua in a more objective way, I’d like to write about my personal experience of this town. Rotorua is a very touristy place which is filled with tourist attractions, most famous being the geothermal phenomena. If you don’t like crowded places then Rotorua is not for you, but you still absolutely have to get there if just to visit some of it’s thermal areas. Visiting Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonder was a one-in-a-lifetime experience for me. I was overwhelmed with abundance of colours and forms of different thermal activities there. One more thing that I’d like to point out for the backpackers – it has a great YHA hostel which is surprisingly cheap for such a touristy place, and it is also very nice, homely and conveniently located. And now for the more “official” description of Rotorua.
Rotorua is a town located in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island. It lies on the southern shore of Lake Rotorua. The most known feature of Rotorua is the geothermal activity in the area. There are quite a few geysers and hot mud pools located right in the city. Another attraction which lies nearby is Buired Village (Te Wairoa). It got it’s name after it was buried by the eruption of Mount Tarawera on 1886. Kuirau Park located in the west part of Rotorua is renowned by many hot bubbling mud pools filling the air with their distinctive smell. Rotorua region has seventeen lakes making water activities such as fishing, swimming and waterskiing a huge attraction in summer. All of those lakes formed from the craters of extinct volcanoes. Mountain biking is another Rotorua’s famous attraction. The Redwoods Forest (Whakarewarewa) is often described as Disneyland of mountain biking and has many excellent mountain bike trails.

The Rotorua district has a multi-cultural population of approximately 68000 people, 35 percent of which are Maori. Rotorua attracts about 2.9 million visitors annually. Rotorua city centre has over 250 shops including specialty department stores, fashion stores, pharmacies, arts and crafts, book stores and others. Rotorua has more than 50 restaurants which offer a wide range of casual and fine dining options. Mexican, Korean, Japanese, Mediterranean, European, Indian restaurants abound. But I would suggest trying a traditional Maori hangi.
Weather in Rotorua (daytime temperature values):

Dec – Feb 21 – 29 Degrees Celsius
Mar – May 15 – 26 C
Jun – Aug 9 – 16 C
Sep – Nov 13 -21 C

Related posts:

1. Rotorua – Wai-O-Tapu – Champagne Pool