One of the highlights of visiting Rotorua is getting up close and personal with the natural geothermal features across the region.
Whakarewarewa Valley is an active geothermal area with hot pools, boiling mud and geysers. Māori people have lived here for centuries, co-existing in harmony with the geothermal forces that lay beneath their feet.
In Māori myths and legends it is said that when Te Hoata and Te Pupu (Goddesses of Fire) travelled from Hawaiki in the form of fire to relieve their brother’s chills, they created New Zealand’s volcanoes, mud pools, geysers and hot springs. Their path through Te Whakarewarewa Valley remains alive and visible to this day.
Take advantage of your time at Whakarewarewa and explore the geothermal landscape that makes the Village so unique. There are multiple ways to appreciate the geothermal treasures that live beneath the ground at Whakarewarewa, whether you want to be mesmerised by the boiling mud, or, learn more about the geological forces created Whakarewarewa over millennia.