New Zealand
Whakarewarewa State Forest

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    • Day 120–121

      Geothermals & Redwoods

      March 13 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

      Today's early 10am adventure was a short distance away from Taupo to watch the first of four daily water releases, creating the amazing Aratiatia Rapids 🌊. Priority stop on the way was at a cafe for good coffee. The date scone & carrot cake spoke to us and we had to buy them 😋. We agree with a review that this ultra-nutty carrot cake is the best ever! Maybe they'll share the recipe?

      Fun fact: Aratiatia Rapids was the location used in The Hobbit trilogy for the barrel and rapids escape scene. It took a bit for the upper pool to fill as the spillway gates were only partially open, then the torrent commenced 🥳 Before long the water began to ebb, and we decided to walk to the end of the viewing path and back.

      A couple hours up the road we stopped at the Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland. Again another repurchased ticket online provided some savings 🎫👍. This tourist location can get a very busy in summer, but mid-week early in Fall time was more relaxed. We witnessed some pretty amazing geothermal wonders. We didn't arrive early enough to see Lady Knox Geyser, as it's a triggered event once a day and not necessarily much of a spectacle. The LOTR director recorded the sounds of the bubbling mud in a sink hole for the sounds of Mordor. There was also plenty of sulphur and moisture in air 🤢 to keep us moving quickly at times.

      Finally arriving in Rotorua, we stopped for a snack at a sushi express before continuing on around the block to walk through the Redwood forest. VERY. BIG. TREES 🎄😍 Sweet smells of the forest were refreshing especially after the thermal aromas (Sulphur).

      Late afternoon found us at our evening accommodation where we got a free upgrade to a larger room with a private bathroom. We freshened up and went to explore dinner options. The Eat Street restaurant area was excessively loud and busy, so we opted for a walk to a quieter area across town and enjoyed a Mexican sampler platter for two. We were hungry, but the serving was large enough for three or four!

      The owner's seven year old son was hanging out. He was playing a bit, but was curious for a visit. It didn't take much to engage him in a conversation and learn a bit about a local's perspective from a young mind. The owner apologized for his interruption, but we quite enjoyed it.
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    • Day 70

      Whakarewarewa Redwood Forest

      February 18, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

      As mentioned in the previous blog, we are staying 7 driving minutes away from the centre of Rotorua (away from the sulphur smell). And just down the street from us is one of many trails leading into the Whakarnewarewa Forest.

      This forest is one of the oldest ‘exotic’ forests in New Zealand. It was originally planted in the early 1900’s with 170 different species of trees. Today, only a handful of those original trees remain – but a 6-ha stand of Californian Redwoods continue to grow and they are huge. In the 1970’s, the forest was opened to the public for recreation.

      After our tour of Rotorua, we had a few hours to kill before dinner so walked into the forest and followed signs for the Mokopuna Trail. It took us about 1 hr to do the walk as it was 3.6 km long. It is well used and we met people riding their bikes, walking their dogs and just taking a quiet stroll through the woods. Our kids and grandkids would love it.

      About halfway around the loop, we came to a Visitors Centre. We had heard about an expensive
      night time canopy walk through the redwoods, but we were delighted to learn that we could come back at dusk and do the walk for $30 NZ each. Well, $25 Cdn sounded reasonable to us and it sure looked intriguing! We decided to go.

      This award-winning, eco-tourism walk is 700 metres long, has 28 suspension bridges and 27 platforms and takes about 40 minutes to complete. With the height of the walkway ranging between 9-20 metres, we were presented with a magical, birds’ eye perspective of the forest below and treetops above.

      I felt that the whole experience was amazing. A light artist from Napier , David Trubridge, had been hired to build and install 30 gorgeous lanterns in the forest and to set up a light show in the trees. Our first wow moment was when we walked on a suspension bridge and were surrounded by ‘fireflies’. An amazing effect. But then, we had many more wow moments.

      It was all very amazing and pretty spectacular. We would recommend this walk to anyone who is in the area. I don’t think that the photos will do it justice.

      P.S. Chris found a hat!!!
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    • Day 24

      Redwoods – Whakarewarewa Forest

      February 23 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

      Wald in Neuseeland, das sind Riesenfarne, uralte Kauris und knorrige Pohutukawa-Bäume – eben typischer neuseeländischer Busch. Sieht toll aus, kennt man. Wer nach ein paar Wochen in NZ meint, ihn könnte waldtechnisch nichts mehr überraschen, der sollte einen Abstecher nach Rotorua machen.Read more

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    Whakarewarewa State Forest

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