5 Best Sights in Rotorua, East Coast and the Volcanic Zone

The grounds here are home to silica terraces, mud pools, and the Pohutu Geyser (the largest active one in the southern hemisphere). Te Puia also contains the New Zealand Māori Arts & Crafts Institute, where you can watch skilled carvers and weavers at work. Don't miss the Nocturnal Kiwi House, where you might spot one of New Zealand's beloved national birds. Day passes include a guided tour; packages with extras like a cultural performance or hāngi feast are also available.

Heading south from Lake Rotorua takes you to the Government Gardens, which occupy a small peninsula. The Māori call this area Whangapiro (fang-ah-pee-ro, "evil-smelling place"), an appropriate name for these gardens, where sulfur pits bubble and fume behind manicured rose beds and bowling lawns. The high point is the extraordinary neo-Tudor Bath House. Built as a spa at the turn of the 20th century, it is now the Rotorua Museum but currently closed to the public for seismic strengthening (reopening dates are still not confirmed). However, free daily garden tours are still offered at 11, 1, and 2 weekdays, 11 and 2 weekends.

This public park is a local hot spot—literally. Mud pools and hot springs sit alongside the flower beds, which at times are almost hidden by floating clouds of steam. You can wander around or join the locals soaking their weary feet in shallow warm pools. Because this thermally active place can change overnight, keep to the paths.

A short walk north from the Rotorua lakefront brings you to the Māori pā (fortress) of Ohinemutu, the region's original Māori settlement. It's a still-thriving community, centered on its marae (meetinghouse) and St. Faith's, the lakefront Anglican church. The interior of the church is richly decorated with carvings inset with mother-of-pearl. Sunday services feature the sonorous, melodic voices of the Māori choir. The service at 9 am is in Māori and English. Visitors looking rather than attending a service pay a modest admission fee.

For an introduction to Māori life, visit this authentic village. On a guided tour you'll see thermal pools where villagers bathe, boiling mineral pools, and natural steam vents where residents cook. You can add on a cultural performance and hāngi meal to complete the experience. Arts and crafts are available at local shops in case you want to take home a memento.