Rotorua and Taupo are two fairly small towns in New Zealand’s North Island, both surrounded by natural beauty. Whilst there are lots of activities you can pay to do in the area, there are many natural attractions that you can visit for free. Below is a list of free things to do in Rotorua, Taupo and the surrounding area. Where relevant, I’ve also mentioned the similar paid attractions that you could do as well (or avoid now you know how to experience it for free!).
Okere Falls
Okere Falls is actually two waterfalls in one: Tutea Falls and Trout Pool Falls. Follow the trail along the river to see both falls and learn all about the history of the area on various information boards. Tourists have been visiting the site for over 100 years. You can also see the remains of the hydro electric plant, built in 1900. Next to one of the waterfalls there is a small series of caves. The steps down to the caves are very narrow and parts of the caves are very tight so if you get claustrophobic I would suggest avoiding this. Supposedly glowworms live in the caves but we sadly didn’t see any on our visit – I don’t think it was dark enough! If you do want to see glowworms in New Zealand, I would recommend visiting Waitomo Glowworm Caves. Waitomo is around a 2 hour drive from Rotorua.
The trail around the falls is free. White water rafting trips occasionally take place on the falls too.
30 minute drive from Rotorua
Redwoods Park
Redwoods Park is on the edge of the large Whakarewarewa Forest. It has five main walking trails mapped out, ranging from 30 minutes to 3.5 hours. The trail we took – the Quarry Lookout Trail began in the trees then ventured into an old quarry and swampy hot springs patch. This took us less that 1.5 hours.
The walking routes through the forest are free, just park up and head in. There is a visitor centre but you don’t need to purchase a ticket there. There is the option of a treetop walkway, tickets cost $37 and can be purchased at the visitor centre.
10 minute drive from Rotorua
Kuira Park
Kuira Park is a free city park in the centre of Rotorua. The park is built on top of a geothermal area so has plenty of hot springs and hot mud pools. Many of the natural pools are behind barriers so you can’t enter them (I don’t think you would want to anyway, they’re far too hot), but you can observe from a safe distance! If you do want to take a dip, there is a foot bathing pool that is geothermally heated. When we visited there was a local man there who was keen to chat. He gave us a lot of recommendations for the area (some feature in this list!) and told us lots of stories from his travels in Australia. He mentioned that he lives locally and likes to come down to the park to chat to people so you might bump into him there too!
There are a few other geothermal parks in the area that have an entrance fee. Many of these are bigger than Kuira Park and may have extra features like geysirs. We also visited Whakarewarewa Living Maori Village which offers a geothermal walk and a village tour. Entrance costs $30 for the geothermal walk and $40 for the village tour. Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland is another geothermal park which is also home to a geysir. This is a little further south of Rotorua, towards Taupo. Unfortunately we weren’t able to visit this park as it is closed three days a week, although that seems to have changed now and they’re website says they are open everyday. Tickets are $32.50.
Rotorua
North Island Travel Posters
Rainbow Mountain and Crater Lake
Rainbow Mountain walking trails are on route to Taupo so if you’re driving from Rotorua, it’s a great stop off point. There are a few trails you can do. The shortest is just 15 minutes up to Crater Lake, a dazzling turquoise-blue lake with a mountain backdrop. I will warn you the name can be a little misleading, don’t expect to see all colours of the rainbow on the mountain. It’s more of a green, white and rust-coloured mountain.
20 minute drive from Rotorua
40 minute drive from Taupo
Kerosene Creek
Keresone Creek is gentle river heated with geothermal energy. Take a dip in the stream or sit by the little waterfall for a natural hot tub experience. The water is a perfect warm temperature without being scolding. The scenery around the creek is lovely too with lots of trees and ferns. Whilst Kerosene Creek can get fairly busy, there is still plenty of space and it maintains the hidden, rustic vibes. The road leading to the creek is a dusty dirt track and there are almost no facilities there. Just one drop-toilet which can also double as a changing room.
Many spas in the area have taken advantage of the geothermal activity and charge for entry to hot springs. If you would rather go somewhere with more facilities, try Hell’s Gate Geothermal Reserve and Mud Spa, this is a 20 minute drive from Rotorua.
25 minute drive from Rotorua
45 minute drive from Taupo
Aratiatia rapids
Aratiatia rapids isn’t exactly natural but it is very unique to New Zealand. The rapids are next to a large reservoir and hydro-electic dam. Four times a day in the summer (at 10am, 12pm, 2pm and 4pm) water is released from the dam to rush into the rapids over a 15 minute period. When I first heard about this, I naively imagined a huge rush of water immediately flooding the stream. In reality it is much more gradual. The water filters into one pool before overflowing into another and then another before cascading down the rocks. It is still very cool to see and it is actually the filming location for the barrel scene in The Hobbit. The filmmakers placed 20 barrels in the rapids each time it was opened over the course of a two days and filmed the sequence multiple times. The actors were added later with CGI.
If you’re a fan of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings in general, then Hobbiton is a must-visit! The film set is around an hour drive from Rotorua. Tours start from $89 and should be booked in advance.
There are two different viewpoints from which you can watch the rapids fill, as well as the bridge across the dam itself. It can take around 10 minutes to walk to the view points so arrive with plenty of time to scope out a good spot.
12 minute drive from Taupo
Haku Falls
Haku Falls is a huge waterfall along the same river as Aratiatia rapids. Unlike the rapids, large amounts of water flows over the falls all day everyday so you aren’t restricted by time.
10 minute drive from Taupo
Where to Camp in Rotorua (for free!)
If you are travelling in a campervan there is a great free camping site to the north of Rotorua, right on the lake. The Hamurana Reserve Campground is free for self-contained and non-self-contained campers. There is a toilet and water tap on site plus a cold water spring nearby. The campsite is quite small and can fill up so don’t get there too late. You can stay for two consecutive nights so plenty of time to explore the area!
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