New Zealand
Rotorua
Full Day Tour
March 6, 2008
Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve Maori Arts Institute
Rainbow Springs Nature Park
Agrodome Farm
Description & Accessibility
This was a full day tour of the Rotorua area.
The first stop was at the ‘Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve & Maori Arts Institute’, unique in some ways as it is the first time we have been to a Thermal area.
There is also a wood carving school
Mud Pool
Geyser
Next we stopped at Rainbow Springs Nature Park. It was a nice park but we where rushed through it and even our tour guide mentioned that the office did not allow enough time at this stop to really see it properly. That can be a problem sometimes with packaged tours in that they try to impress by doing a lot but there is times that not enough time is allotted at each stop.
Our last stop was at ‘Agrodome Farm Tour’ This was a nice stop, the highlight was the show which included a sheep shearing demonstration
Accessibility:
Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve & Maori Arts Institute…
Most of it is accessible, there is a show in the building to the left and is also accessible (see ramp on the right), we where allowed to enter by the ramp before the rest of the audience entered by the stairs.
Rainbow Springs Nature Park…
Yes with some limitations, there was an upper trail and started via a series of steps making it not accessible for that section so I do not know what was in that section nor do I know if there was any route around those stairs (I never saw an alternative route), the lower section area was accessible. Plus not enough time was allotted in the tour to really see it properly.
Agrodome Farm Tour
Was accessible
The tour vehicle did not have roll on capabilities but as long as your mobility device was foldable or could quickly come apart, it could be carried with you in the vehicle as long as you could transfer in and out of the vehicle.
By: Donald Kerr