UNIQUE NIGHT LIGHTS

Rotorua is the only New Zealand destination to feature on the latest New York Times Places to Visit list. From hundreds of submissions from readers, “Sulphur City” was placed at 45 out of 52 places on the list.

I have been a guide to a group of 10 Americans on a day trip from Auckland to Rotorua and I have to say, they were not too impressed. There were no marked paths in Whakarewarewa, the largest of the thermal parks around the city. Billed as a ‘living Maori village’, it was expensive to enter and the attitude of the hard-to-locate staff was less than friendly. My group was also aware of the danger of falling into a boiling pool while we were trying to find our way back to the safety of the entrance. read more