Explore a thriving center of breathtaking thermal activity and traditional Maori culture during this scenic, full day visit to the historic spa town of Rotorua.

Head to Te Puke, the world's largest kiwifruit growing region. Stop at the Agrodome to watch the country's best-trained champion rams parade on stage, and a sheep-shearing demonstration. The highly trained sheepdogs will finish the show with a display of sheep mustering.

Drive past the Rotorua lakefront where you may see a variety of waterfowl as well as several local landmarks before arriving at the Skyline Gondola terminal. Here, you’ll embark one of the aerial gondolas for a breathtaking ride up the side of Mount Ngongotaha, enjoying panoramic vistas of Lake Rotorua, the city and surrounding areas. Arriving at the top of the mountain, the Skyline Restaurant with its unparalleled views is where you’ll be treated to a buffet lunch while a local Maori “Kapa Haka” group entertains you.

Visit Te Puia, the home to the internationally renowned spouting Pohutu geyser and boasts silica terraces, pools of boiling mud and dramatic steams vents. Your guide being a Maori is keen to share the fascinating local lore and legends of this wonderful country. A strong sulfur smell, a product of the intense thermal activity, will fill the air. Remember to bring your cameras on this exciting geothermal experience.

View the reserve's fascinating re-creation of an early Maori village, and also have time to purchase souvenirs in the gift shop, including traditional Maori carvings. At Te Puia's Maori Arts & Crafts Institute, where for the past 45 years visitors have enjoyed this unique journey into the Maori's rich heritage, their mission is all about preserving the ancient skills and rich culture of the Maori. To that end, young people from across New Zealand are selected as apprentices. Here, the students learn skills ranging from carving to weaving, along with creating flax skirts and patterned bodices, and you will see all this at close hand.

OVERVIEW

Discover the wonderful world of truffles and enjoy a tasting at a farm that harvests these highly prized fungi. After a panoramic drive through Tauranga, you will head into the country to a truffière or truffle grove. In hopes of growing truffles, the owners planted hundreds of oaks and hazelnuts and inoculated them with the spores of Perigord truffles, as these trees often develop a symbiotic relationship with truffles. As you will discover, their experiment was a success. You will watch the farm dogs sniff out the truffles, which must be carefully extracted from the soil to prevent damage. It is a methodical process that reflects the value of truffles. You will also be treated to a sampling of truffle-infused products such as cheeses, honey and ice cream, all thoughtfully paired with beer or wine. Afterwards, you will drive along the coast in the shadow of the dormant volcano Mount Maunganui.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Tour a truffle farm and learn how the owners encouraged truffles to grow there.
• Watch trained truffle dogs sniff out the truffles that grow beneath the oaks and hazelnuts.
• Sample a selection of truffle-infused delicacies paired with local wine or beer.
• Behold Mount Maunganui, a dormant volcano that is sacred among the Māori.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

Kayak across serene Lake Rotoiti, a sheltered waterway with abundant wildlife and natural geothermal pools along its scenic shoreline. After a briefing on how to get the most out of the adventure, you will ease into a double kayak and paddle off. Lake Rotoiti is wonderfully picturesque, in part because a lowland forest borders much of it. Pohutukawa, known as the Christmas tree for its crimson flowers and greens, also grows there. You can expect to spot wildlife along the way, especially water birds such as black swans. Once you reach the mineral-rich Manupirua hot pools, you will have the opportunity to soak in the soothing waters. The springs are of varying temperatures, so you can surely find one to your liking. You will also paddle through a cave softly illuminated by glow worms. It is quite the natural phenomenon.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Kayak along the shores of Lake Rotoiti, a natural paradise with plenty of wildlife.
• Relax your muscles by soaking in the mineral-rich hot pools along the lake’s coast.
• Paddle through a cave illuminated only by glow worms.

HELPFUL HINTS
• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

Enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour of a working dairy farm before visiting New Zealand’s largest mainland sanctuary, an oasis for indigenous flora and fauna. The Red Barn farm showcases what rural life was like in this region centuries ago. Days start early, and the work continues pretty much nonstop. Before sitting down to a hearty country-style lunch at the farm, you will watch a demonstration of traditional butter-churning. A drive across the volcanically formed Kaimai Mountains will bring you to Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari. One of the world’s longest pest-free fences surrounds the ancient forest that blankets the mountain to keep out invasive species. As you wander along the forest trails, the naturalist guide will point out indigenous species that may include endangered birds, tuatara reptiles and giant wetas, a type of massive insect whose name means “god of ugly things” in the Maori language. You may also climb a tower to observe animals living in the tree canopy.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Visit the working dairy farm Red Barn for a glimpse into rural life centuries ago.
• Enjoy a hearty farm-to-table lunch at the Red Barn.
• Walk through an ancient forest that a protective pest-free fence surrounds.
• Observe indigenous species of flora and fauna that thrive in the sanctuary forest.

HELPFUL HINTS
• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

OVERVIEW

Zip around a geothermally heated lake in a jetboat and get an even closer look at the power and heat below the earth’s surface at Hell’s Gate. The collapse of a volcanic magma chamber thousands of years ago created a caldera that became Lake Rotorua once it filled with water. As you cruise along the shoreline, you will notice clouds of steam, sulfur in the air and an unusual greenish-blue tint to the water. They are all the result of the geothermal activity that continues today beneath the surface. The entire surrounding region sits within the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the world’s most active geothermal fields. That volcanic activity is even more apparent at Hell’s Gate. While walking through this reserve, you will see billowing steam, bubbling pools of warm mud and even a hot waterfall. Hell’s Gate is also a spa of sorts, as its nutrient-rich mud baths have natural healing powers.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Explore an exceptionally active geothermal area within the Pacific Ring of Fire.
• See clouds of geothermal steam rising from Lake Rotorua as you race across it on a jetboat.
• Walk through a hellish landscape of hissing steam vents and bubbling mud bathes at Hell’s Gate.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

Discover the historic sites of scenic Tauranga during this half-day orientation tour of the city.

Travel through the lovely cities of Tauranga and Bethlehem on your way to visit a local Ngati Ranginui Maori Marae. Arriving at this intimate Maori village, you'll be greeted by a local Maori guide and taken on a cultural journey into the heritage of the Maoris and early New Zealand settlers. Well known for their hospitality, the tangata whenua, local people, will make you feel at home as they graciously show you around and give you a wealth of information about traditional and contemporary Maori life.

During the course of your visit, you'll have an opportunity to view craft-making and cooking and to experience the Maori's oral tradition of storytelling. Before leaving the village, your hosts will treat you to a refreshing tea.

Continuing on, your tour makes its way to the Minden Lookout. From this excellent vantage point, you'll have stunning views over the eastern Bay of Plenty. During favorable conditions, you can even see the plumes of wispy smoke and steam arising from volcanic White Island to the east.

OVERVIEW

Admire the gorgeous panoramas while riding up Mount Ngongotaha in a window-walled gondola and delve into the world of sheep and sheepdogs at the Agrodome. You will get a good look at the area’s natural beauty on the way to Rotorua, as you will pass orchards of kiwifruit and Lake Rotorua. Still, the ultimate view of the sprawling city and shimmering lake will be from the Skyline gondola as you ascend the mountain. The higher you go, the more spectacular the vistas. Upon reaching the summit, you will dine at a restaurant that offers yet another perspective of the beautiful scenery below. Your attention will turn to sheep at the Agrodome, a real working farm. The show includes prize rams parading across the stage, sheep being sheared at jaw-dropping speeds and farm dogs using their prodigious skills to herd sheep – and even ducks for good measure.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Ride an enclosed, window-walled gondola up to the summit of Mount Ngongotaha.
• Enjoy a literal bird’s-eye view of the city of Rotorua, its namesake lake and mountains beyond.
• Gain an understanding of rural life at the Agrodome, a large working farm.
• Watch a sheep-shearing demonstration and highly intelligent farm dogs herding sheep.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

OVERVIEW

Become immersed in the culture of the Ngāti Mākino while visiting this Māori tribe’s fortified settlement, known as a pā. As the tribal members show you around their seaside village, you will walk along the defensive ramparts and see how traditional life is embraced. An eel-fishing demonstration will deepen your understanding of the lifestyle as will watching your lunch being prepared to steam-cook in a hāngī, a traditional earthen pit oven. The ingredients are typically wrapped in flax leaves and placed on hot coals in the bottom of the hāngī and left to cook for several hours. Oral storytelling plays a prominent role in Māori life because the Māori didn’t have a written language until the first Europeans arrived. As you will discover, storytelling is more than narration; it’s an emotionally moving performance that involves dancing, singing, chanting and praying. As a gesture of kinship, you can help plant a native mānuka tree on the tribal grounds.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Gain an understanding of traditional Māori life in a tribal village.
• Watch demonstrations of eel fishing and cooking.
• Enjoy lunch cooked in a hāngī earthen pit oven.
• Listen to Māori storytellers recount ancient legends.
• Help plant a tree to commemorate the experience.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

Discover the historic sites of scenic Tauranga during this orientation tour of the city.

Your drive takes you across Tauranga Harbour to Tauranga, the principal city of the Bay of Plenty. Tauranga's founders, a group of 19th-century missionaries, left a legacy of well-planned parks and gardens for the benefit of future residents and visitors. You will pass by the Monmouth Redoubt en route to the Elms Mission House, built in 1847 by Archdeacon Brown. Upon arrival, you will take a guided walking tour through this historic Georgian-styled home and surrounding gardens.

Enjoy a scenic drive through Tauranga and past Gate Pa, where the last major battle between the British and Maori people took place in 1864. From the Minden Lookout, you will take in panoramic views and photo opportunities over the Bay of Plenty.

Explore a thriving center of breathtaking thermal activity and traditional Maori culture during this scenic, full-day visit to the historic spa town of Rotorua.

Depart the pier for the drive south from the early-1900s town of Tauranga to Te Puke, the world's largest kiwifruit growing region. This small furry fruit, once known as the Chinese gooseberry, has done a great deal to boost the area's prosperity.

Passing through Rotorua, you’ll next find yourself at Te Puia, home to the internationally renowned spouting Pohutu geyser’ Te Puia also boasts silica terraces, pools of boiling mud and dramatic steam vents. During your visit, you’ll see young Maori apprentices being taught the ancient art of carving and weaving before discovering the Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve, Rotorua's largest and best known thermal area. Exploration of the site is on foot as you pass boiling mud pools and the soaring Pohutu geyser. This incredible display of nature's raw force provides insight into the awesome natural forces at work below. Then, enter the sacred marae and enjoy a Maori performance, including the famous 'haka' war dance, before making your way into the Wharekai for your hangi-inspired lunch.