Rotorua & Taupo

Rotorua is one place where the turbulent forces that formed New Zealand are most evident. This city, on the Volcanic Plateau, has one of the world’s most lively fields of geothermal activity.

Skyrocketing geysers, hot springs and boiling mud pools all tell you that this place sits squarely on the Pacific Rim of Fire. Rotorua is also the ancestral home of the Te Arawa people who settled here more than 600 years ago and their presence offers the visitor numerous cultural experiences. See the clear blue waters on a summer’s day and Lake Taupo can appear the most beautiful and tranquil place in New Zealand. Appearances deceive. Taupo is more than a lake. It is a volcano with no top – a top that was blown off in one of the largest and most devastating eruptions ever seen on the planet. Visit the Craters of the Moon and you will see evidence of its fiery birth in the geysers, steaming craters and boiling mud pools.

Whilst Rotorua and Taupo may be famous for their geothermal attractions, the golf in the area is also of the higest calibre, making it one of New Zealand's premier golfing destinations. The two main courses on most golfer's bucket lists are Wairakei and Kinloch. Wairakei is located within a nature sanctuary and has been referred to as the Augusta of the Southern Hemisphere. Recent developments to a number of holes has elevated Wairakei to the next level and it currently sits just outside the top ten courses in the country.

Kinloch is New Zealand's only golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus and attracts visitors from around the world every year to enjoy this wonderful and challenging course. Kinloch is currently rated as New Zealand's fourth best golf course by Australian Golf Digest and is a "must play" for golfers on a New Zealand break.

Handily located in the centre of the North Island, Taupo is a great stop off point on a trip south from Auckland, heading towards another famous golfing region - the Hawke's Bay.