Rotorua - Good Winter Holiday Destination?

[enb]

Well, as the tittle says, is Rotoroa a good relaxing winter holiday destination? Not interested in skiing but more like walking and cycling. Good food and weather would definitely not go amiss. Any other suggestions more than welcome!

[victoria24]

its real nice if you're into sulphur

[Sam B]

Good destination any time of year. Lots of walking and brilliant mountain biking trails. Weather is cold in winter.

[IanW99]

Well, as the tittle says, is Rotoroa a good relaxing winter holiday destination? Not interested in skiing but more like walking and cycling. Good food and weather would definitely not go amiss. Any other suggestions more than welcome!

Do you mean Rotoroa or Rotorua?

If it's the former do you mean Lake Rotoroa or Rotoroa Island?

Ian

[enb]

I don't mind cold as long as it's clear blue sky. Give me -10c anytime with clear skies instead of +10c with grey cloud cover and it wins hands down each time, honestly! There's just something invigorating about cold clear crisp days )

[Kanga]

enb- do you mean Rotoroa Island or Rotorua, town famous for geysers and stench?

I've no idea about the former but if you're asking about the latter you won't be disappointed summer or winter. A perfect day in Rotorua would look something like this for me: morning luging (great fun!), lunch in Fat Dogs (drool), afternoon walking up rainbow Mountain (leave enough day light in winter- it's only a couple of hours stroll but wonderful views and aptly named ) followed by a long starry soak in the Polynesian Spa (does life get any better than soaking walk-weary limbs in the Priest Spa with your best friend under the Southern stars on a crisp winter night?) and then a beer in the Belgian Bar before bed. We've had that day, but not on the one day as we stayed with and without our kids- so plus or minus the adult spa and beer!

[enb]

Oops, Rotorua - the smelly place

[IanW99]

Oops, Rotorua - the smelly place

I've changed the title of the thread, just in case anyone is confused

Ian

[Ally Bally Bee]

My 2 cents worth is it's a great destination any time of year. If you're there on a dry day go up the gondola and ride the luge. My husband and I bought an annual pass as we always seem to be going to Rotorua (and now we're moving there).

Mountain biking is awesome but if you're into road cycling why not bike the lake (40km), or ride to Lake Rotoma and back (a bit hilly).

So much to see and do, I can't wait for our move (a week on Saturday yay).

[Kerry and David]

We have just returned from a weeks break down there. My husband is working there so we joined him. We were on a very tight budget so didn't do all of the tourist attractions (which could add up to a small fortune). Instead we did lots of walking and explooring.

We went to the Redwoods which was stunnning - good walking tracks and excellent views.

http://www.redwoods.co.nz

We went to the Blue & Green Lakes

http://www.rotorua.nz.com/blue-green-lakes.aspx

There is a huge selection of Motels and Hotels, plenty of bars and restaurants and they do seem do have quite a few deals.

We stayed here in the cottage and IMHO it was great with the added bonus of the hotpool (which to be fair a lot of places have)

http:
//www.eastwesthomestay.co.nz

We went to Taupo for the day which took us just under an hour and although we didn't ski we did go to the monuntains which was a two hour drive from Rotorua. We just wanted to see the snow and throw a few snowballs

The weather was cold and clear when we were there so we were lucky to get out and about in the dry.