How to beat the summer heat in Rotorua

Rotorua has had an amazing summer so far with some really hot days – the temperature has regularly hit 27 to 29 degrees and it looks as though this is set to continue through February and March. Rotorua has so much to offer in regards to making the most of this fantastic weather.

The Blue Lake
20 minutes from Rotorua is the Blue Lake which is a great place to go to beat the heat. You can walk around the lake (approx 5Km) under the forest canopy so there’s plenty of shade and there’s a couple of great beaches where you can stop to and have a swim. At the end of the walk, pop into the Blue Lake Holiday Park shop, buy an ice cream or cold drink and enjoy another dip in the lake.

Lake Tarawera
Lake Tarawera is about another 10 minutes down the road from the Blue Lake – stop off en route and visit The Buried Village where you can take a walk through the village and see the excavations and artifacts from the 1886 eruption of Mt Tarawera. Enjoy a cold beverage at the Landing Cafe on the shores of Lake Tarawera and you can swim at the beach directly opposite the cafe. If you have a boat, cruise out onto the lake and head off to Hot Water beach here you can enjoy the contrasting hot and cold water. You can also take a water taxi to Hot Water beach and for those who want to spend more time on the lake, Clearwater Cruises offer lake cruises with fishing and jet skiing available. A new walking track has just opened which starts from just before The Buried Village and goes through the bush and along the shores of Lake Tarawara to Hot Water beach- it takes approx 5 hours walking to get there and then you can get a water taxi back to the Landing Cafe.

Rotorua Duck Tours is a cool way to experience both the Blue Lake and Lake Tarawera. The Duck is a converted WW2 amphibious landing craft that travels on both land and water. Rotorua Duck Tours have really interesting and fun tours suitable for the entire family that ‘splash down’ on both lakes.

Lake Rotoiti
Rotorua has many lakes where you can go to cool off – Lake Rotoiti is great for fishing and has many hidden beaches and bays. Pure Cruise offers private charter cruises on board their custom built luxury catamaran – Tiua, which can include fishing, BBQ lunch or dinner and visit to Manapuria hot pools.