Rotorua - the good bits

Phil operates wine tours around Auckland New Zealand.

The city centre is patchy – lots of food outlets and souvenir shops, mixed in with chain stores. There is a general atmosphere of economic slowdown – with some abandoned shops, unrepaired signage etc.

Of course there are many unique features of the Rotorua region that warrant a visit.

Anyway, we can recommend two very good cafes where the food was fresh and the espresso strong: Capers 1181 Ererua St, and another called Lime - Corner Fenton and Whakaue Sts.

Having been to Rotorua many times before, we skipped some of the obvious tourist spots like Whakarewarewa thermal village area and the Polynesian Pools.

We were impressed by the Buried Village exhibit and park. Te Wairoa was literally buried in the 1886 eruption of Mt. Tarawera. Volcanic ash preserved many of the buildings and other features of the village and visitors today can get a rare insight into 19th-century NZ life. Over 150 people died in the 4 hour bombardment of ash and mud and rocks. It is a moving experience that is put into context by displays in the Museum of Te Wairoa. The site of the village – an ironically peaceful and beautiful 12-acre park is filled with tall trees, meadows and native birds. The waterfall walk is spectacular and not to be missed.

The Rotorua Museum of Art & History is another don’t miss. Formerly a Victorian era bathhouse and health spa, it features an exhibit – Taking the Cure from its heyday as a Southern Seas spa, where visitors from all over the globe came to soak in hot water and be subjected to various quasi medical therapies.

The building itself has been restored and features a Victorian take on Elizabethan architecture, with many ornate marble sculptures and elegant wooden interiors.

At the time also there was a large exhibit of the Maori Battalion, featuring B Company of 28 Maori Battalion and its epic battles in Greece, Crete, North Africa and Italy during World War II. B Company were volunteers drawn from Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, Taupo and Thames-Coromandel.

Also there is a permanent exhibit – the Te Arawa Gallery, which traces the ancestry and migration of the Maori Te Arawa tribe from 20 generations ago when they left their northern Polynesia home of Hawaiki.

So - don't give up on RotoVegas - maybe just don't stay overnight.