I've been here a number of times with my 3-year-old and he never tires of this playground (and we…read morenever tire of him tiring himself out at this playground). If you are in Tauranga or The Mount area, this is a great place to bring the little ones for a run around. You can also walk over the beach or around Mount Drury if you're done at the playground. It's also within walking distance of a number of shops and cafes along the beach and in the central part of the area. I'd say this playground is more for the 2-3 years-old and up sort of kid age range. There aren't too many options for the real little ones, but there is lots of open space nearby for them to toddle around or for you to kick a soccer ball, throw a rugby ball or Frisbee around. I'm also happy with the fact that there are a fair number of benches available and public toilets right there at the playground. All in all, we've been a number of times and we'll be back plenty more times in the future.

This is an animal sanctuary/petting zoo. It is a small but awesome place. The main attraction is…read morethe daily lion feeding. Their goal is to promote healthy mating, a safe and secure place from poachers, and to educate people about the endangered species. After you see the lions being fed, you can walk the grounds as long as you like. You can purchase food to feed a lot of the animals. They have goats, pigs, sheep, deer, ducks, wallabies and the Ngongotaha valley stream runs right through and you can see trout happily swimming the waters. They have some beautiful birds that just love their caretakers. It's a beautiful place. Feeding the animals was fun and they let you pet them and to just touch some of the deer antlers and goat antlers was a first for me. The animals are used to humans but will push each other out of the way to get to you if you have food! They have lots of room to roam and their caretakers truly love these animals. A must see if you are in the Ngongotaha Valley area.

A blend of outdoor fish ponds, huge and beautiful rainforest trees that go up for miles and so much…read morelush vegetation. Part of a tour stop, it's a nice place for an hour of peace and reflection. Take some time to take a turn. Never know what kind of fishes you will discover. I watched a duck dive in for some small bites at the bottom of the water during my watch.

As a vegan (which is about animal rights and environment as much as it is about food), I have mixed…read morefeelings about animals in captivity. However, and despite being a commercial run entity, Rainbow Springs does an excellent job of presenting native flaura and fauna, and there are no large animals in captivity (which NZ hasn't had native versions for hundreds of years). We went here just after opening, and it was pretty quiet - just a few people in the park and a few tour groups. We got to walk around the plants and see much of the park before joining the Kiwi encounter - a must see if you care at all about NZ wildlife - and since there were only 6 of us on that tour, it was pretty good - and we got to see junenvile kiwis with their raising program. We did also the water ride, and although fun, I really felt like it could have done a better job of presenting NZ's prehistory, since that is a pretty interesting topic by itself, but it was still fun. We rushed off early morning to see the show at the Agrodome, not having seen everything, but being able to come back until 10pm. When we did come back around 7pm, the place was strangely deserted - it turned out we were the only visitors in the park, and had the run of much of (some of it's closed after dark) for ourselves for the best part of an hour! So we got to revisit some parts we'd skipped, and went on the playground and the flying fox (zip line) all by ourselves. Who else has been to a theme park all alone? All in all, an essential park of the Rotorua experience. Hardly a comprehensive look at NZ's ecology, but interesting neverthless.

This is a unique experience and glad we stayed an extra day to experience the Redwood Forest and…read morethe Glow worms.

Welcome to Serenity only elevated. The Redwood Treewalk in Rotorua is a perfect way to connect with…read morenature. We walked the tree walk amongst the Californian Redwoods. Suspended high above the forest floor, the walk takes you across a series of swing bridges and platforms. So fun. Adventurous and relaxing all at the same time.

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!

If you love kiwi birds and want a guaranteed opportunity to see them in person, then this tour is…read morefor you. We did the Behind the Scenes Exclusive tour, which is more expensive than the regular tour they offer. However, all the money goes towards this organization's kiwi conservation efforts, and we were allowed to see one of the kiwis up close and personal while they got weighed, as well as take photos and videos of this kiwi. Throughout this guided tour, we saw six kiwis total (five babies and one adult), and a kiwi egg. We were able to see a couple kiwis in the nocturnal house, as well as in an incubation room. The guide and worker we interacted with were very knowledgeable and friendly, and we learned various facts about the kiwi. Come visit this place and support the kiwis!

This tour in Rotorua delivers on its promises. During the short, 45-minute tour you will get to see…read morea kiwi! As long as you accept you're paying for exactly that, you won't be disappointed. The National Kiwi Hatchery is a New Zealand government effort to restore the wild kiwi population. The tour begins with a guided walk through their kiwi exhibit. We were lucky enough that the usual designated tour guide(s) were unavailable, so were led through the place by one of their actual kiwi veterinarians. We learned about the type of kiwis, and where and how they live. Then you go through the hatchery sections, starting with an egg room. It is here that you learn how they do what they do. You'd think, like I did, that they actually breed kiwis here. Apparently, that's not usually the case. What they actually do is monitor wild kiwi populations in nearby forests, and when they know a kiwi has produced an egg, they go in and steal it from the birds and bring it here to incubate. To me, that seems a little cruel. I'm not trying to start anything by pointing this out, I just thought it should be mentioned. The result ensures the kiwi's survival in the most vulnerable part of its life, when it leaves the nest just a few days after birth. While we were there, a kiwi egg was in the process of hatching, which was cool to see! You then get to see the room where they keep the baby kiwis, and they arrange for one of the staff to bring out a baby kiwi, measure it, and allow the tour to see it -- all behind glass of course. This is a cool moment, and the baby kiwi is very cute. The tour ends after you pass through the dark kiwi habitat, where you can see any kiwis that will soon be re-released to the wild. During our tour, there was only one in the habitat, so it was difficult to see with a dozen people huddled around one small section of window. If you're interested in kiwis and kiwi conservation this is a worth stop. If not, meh?

This was one of our favorite parts of visiting Rotorua! We were laughing the whole time and it's an…read moreabsolute must try activity if you're into adventure! Expect to get wet so bring a towel and swimwear. They have changing facilities on site. We also enjoyed the spa to warm up in between runs. It's also nice that they have a van shuttling guests up hill so you don't have to walk. So FUN!!!!

Did I think I was going to die? Hard yes. But did I have the best time? Absolutely!…read more We came at the very beginning of August, which is winter in NZ, and we were a little worried about how cold we were going to be. I think I it's the best time to go! There was one other party of two there, so check in was super quick. The changing rooms had heaters in them, which was so nice! And they have hot tubs at the top and bottom of the hill for you to jump into. We did the package with two rides. The straight down, and the one with the switchbacks. We were given the option of going in our own balls, or going together. We opted to ride together for both and I'm glad we did! There is water inside the ball with you so you do NOT flip over head over heels, it's like a hamster in a ball. You stay upright. They let us bring our phone inside and we recorded our second ride and watching the video back is so freaking funny. The staff were all kind and helpful and we had the best time!

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.