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Rotorua is among the prime locations on the North Island of New Zealand for good motive! We spent two days exploring family-friendly locations on the town together with the gorgeous Polynesian Spa and the Redwoods Treewalk.
We’re visiting New Zealand by campervan because it’s one of the simplest ways to see the nation. We rented a motorhome from Wilderness Motorhomes. We rented from Wilderness again in 2018 throughout our first go to to this beautiful nation and arms down, they’re the most effective rental firm within the nation. (Additionally on the planet…Europe take word!)
Geothermal Exercise
Rotorua is a *literal* hotbed of geothermal actions. There are pure scorching swimming pools, creeks, boiling mud, and each kind of geothermal pool you possibly can think about. The city itself is constructed in the course of all of it, giving a sniff of sulfur in all places you go.
The factor to do is soak within the therapeutic waters of the world. Throughout our first go to to Rotorua in 2018, we went the pure route, strolling down scorching streams and soaking in questionable heat waters. This time we needed to search out one thing family-friendly. There are numerous distant, romantic scorching swimming pools the place you possibly can soak, however kid-friendly ones are a lot tougher to search out.
We selected the Polynesia Spa for its kid-friendly swimming pools. We made a reservation for a non-public lake-view pool and received passes for the household swimming pools as properly.
There may be motorhome parking—free and in a single day—proper throughout the road from the Polynesia Spa, so we arrived early within the afternoon and stayed in a single day. This was the proper setup to have the ability to bathe, change garments, and head house for the evening.
The non-public pool was good and scorching and the children had been allowed in with us. The water was slightly too scorching for them, however fortunately there was a small ledge of clean stones the place they might sit and splash. The non-public pool reserving had a timer, so after an hour, we headed over to the household swimming pools. There have been three swimming pools—two shallow swimming pools and one giant pool with a slide. The slide made it so enjoyable and the pool was divided right into a deep and shallow part so Ellie may stroll across the shallow space.
Redwoods Treewalk
This was one in every of our most memorable nights throughout our first go to to New Zealand and one place we needed to return to within the mild of day.
The Redwoods Treewalk is the longest treewalk on the planet. It’s a sequence of over 20 bridges and platforms suspending you excessive within the treetops. It’s a lovely approach to expertise the forest and a novel expertise for the household. All ages are welcome to benefit from the bridges, however you aren’t allowed to hold kids. The workers will present a particular stroller. They’ve a number of choices relying on the age of your kids. It wasn’t too troublesome to maneuver on the tiny bridges and it stored our 18 month previous secure.
After we explored the treetops, we went to floor and hiked a number of the stroller-friendly trails by way of the forest. It was excellent climate, stunning surroundings, and a good way to spend our morning.
The place to Keep
Being such a preferred vacation spot, there are a lot of vacation parks close to Rotorua. To remain on the town, we parked on the Hinemoa Avenue Carpark. There have been many spots within the lot for campers, but it surely stuffed up quick. We arrived round 3 PM and the parking zone was getting near full.
There are avenue lights and trash within the lot and it’s proper subsequent to a park. We simply walked by way of the park into the downtown space. There have been so many eating places on the town to select from. We discovered a comfortable Mexican restaurant with out of doors seating and scrumptious tacos that I’m nonetheless pondering about…
If you will get a spot, we extremely suggest parking on the free lot on the town with the intention to simply entry every part the city has to supply.