Welcome to Rotorua. Thermal Wonderland of New Zealand

Rotorua is a city on the southern shore of Lake Rotorua in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand, and Rotorua District is the encompassing local authority area. It is 60 km south of Tauranga, 105 km south-east of Hamilton and 82 km north-east of Taupo. The District is divided between the Bay of Plenty (61.52 percent of its land area) and the Waikato (38.48 percent) Regions. Rotorua’s suburbs are Ngongotaha, Fairy Springs, Kawaha Point, Western Heights, Mangakakahi, Utuhina, Ohinemutu, Hillcrest, Glenholme, Fordlands, Springfield, Fenton Park, Whakarewarewa, Tihiotonga, Lynmore, Te Ngae, Owhata, Hannahs Bay, Holdens Bay and Rotokawa.

Rotorua is well-known for geothermal activity. There are a number of geysers, notably the Pohutu geyser at Whakarewarewa, and hot mud pools located in the city, which owe their presence to the Rotorua caldera.

Rotorua is connected to the north by State Highway 5, to the east by State Highway 33, to the west by State Highway 30, and to the south by State Highway 5. Increasingly though travellers to Tauranga are selecting the newly commissioned State Highway 36 via Ngongotaha, Kaharoa and Pyes Pa.

Rotorua Regional Airport provides daily flights to Auckland International Airport and Wellington International Airport via turbo-prop services and Christchurch International Airport using turbo-props and a daily jet service. Plans are afoot to increase the runway length to allow trans-Tasman flights.Rotorua is also connected to the rail network with a branch line from Putaruru to the north, currently disused.

Heading south from Rotorua takes you to Taupo, a similar town on the side of New Zealands largest lake. North takes you to Te Puke, Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty coastline, a nice place to soak up the sun. West leads to Hamilton, Waitomo or Raglan and east into the sparsely populated, and ruggedly beautiful Urewera National Park and East Cape.