Attractions in Rotorua

Wai-O-Tapu

Located 25km from Rotorua, Wai-O-Tapu is a park with geysers and geothermal pools. It is similar to Yellowstone National Park in US, although not as big or majestic.

Lady Knox geyser

Champagne Pool

Geothermal pool

Redwoods

Whakarewarewa forest, or simply known as "Redwoods", is a man-made forest park only 5km from Rotorua. Its name originated from the California Redwoods that can be found there.

How did a tree native to US came to be in NZ? In late 19th century, the NZ government was looking for trees that can be grown for commercial forestry production. The government experimented with several species, planting them here in Rotorua, to see how well they can grow in NZ environment. Ultimately, Radiata Pine (another native California tree) was chosen as the best suited for NZ climate. Today, most NZ wood production comes from pine.

For some reason, they did not cut down these Redwoods, and now it's a public park. There are many walking and mountain bike trails in the park.

An American Redwood in New Zealand