The Rotorua Questions Thread

[pink poodle]

Arrived here last night. Got out on Redwoods today. already don't want to leave!

Pink P, I took the windy road and spent most the journey stuck behind a convoy of b-doubles. Bollocks to that on the return journey. Also so many roadworks!

Not much advise I can give right now but the Irish bar Hennesey's is closed down however there is an awesome deli next door that's become a pop-up bar for Hennesey's whilst their renovations are on the go.

It's got good food, a decent selection of beers and a chilled atmosphere.

All the backpackers where I am staying are boring fuckers. No late night parties. Nary a cask of goon to be seen.

You need to bring the party...unlimited drinks for the ladies, 1 drink for the boys (helps prevent you looking too creepy).

That windy road can fuck a goat. Don't expect much excitement in Hamilton on the way home. There is a date along this route, can't remember the name or town! It is themed along the lines of their love of jokes and pulling people's leg. Fuck I wish I could remember! Anyway turns out the staff don't have much of a sense of humour...

 

[PINT of Stella. mate!]

So Rotorua tips so far...


Bring glasses with clear or low-light lenses - it gets all Blair Witch Project in the late afternoon.

The set-up at Redwoods car park is awesome. No need to weigh yourself down with a whole days worth of food and spares. Pretty much anything you'll need is available from the kiosk and bike shop.

Thursday's night market is great for cheap quick eats

If you're staying in a place with a hot natural spa and relaxed drinking policies, don't go overboard on any duty free Whisky you may have brought in whilst languishing in said spa after a long days riding. It will knock you on your arse and the resulting dehydration-fuelled hangover is so much worse the next morning



Rotorua holiday (and really anywhere) question:
How much dirt, mud and grease can you smear over the inside of a rental station wagon before the hire company crack the shits?

 

[pink poodle]

So Rotorua tips so far...


Bring glasses with clear or low-light lenses - it gets all Blair Witch Project in the late afternoon.

The set-up at Redwoods car park is awesome. No need to weigh yourself down with a whole days worth of food and spares. Pretty much anything you'll need is available from the kiosk and bike shop.

Thursday's night market is great for cheap quick eats

If you're staying in a place with a hot natural spa and relaxed drinking policies, don't go overboard on any duty free Whisky you may have brought in whilst languishing in said spa after a long days riding. It will knock you on your arse and the resulting dehydration-fuelled hangover is so much worse the next morning



Rotorua holiday (and really anywhere) question:
How much dirt, mud and grease can you smear over the inside of a rental station wagon before the hire company crack the shits?

Really depends on the company and what time you return the car...I did a dirty road trip through NZ a while ago. Windscreen covered in foot prints, juice marks on all the seats, various body parts printed on back windows, car reeked of dirty times. 4am rushed drop off and no questions asked.

 

[frank_n]

Who is the rental company, Rent-a-dent, James Blond ? They might be more lenient. Check your rental details - probably says something about return conditions


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[PINT of Stella. mate!]

Rent-a-dent. It's an old shitty wagon but it was clean when I got it.

Off to Skyline this morning. Should be sick!

 

[frank_n]

Skyline is fun although some of the tracks are slippery as when it is damp


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[crae]

Hey guys i just got back from my trip to roto last night. We had an awesome time. Great weather and pretty quiet. Tracks were running well although i found them very well used and it doesnt appear much maintenance occurs (maybe i was there at the wrong times). Even so I feel such a better rider from riding there. I really pushed myself as I rode with 2 Canadians who were used to the gnarly drop downs and root sections. First time I've really had experience with these types of features. In Qld we dont have a lot of that stuff to ride regularly.

Rode for 3.5 days straight. Did over 100 kms all up and over 2kms of climbing. Did 4 shuttle runs across Friday PM and Saturday AM. Sat AM was pretty busy compared to Friday. Legs gave away after Saturday PM so decided to have a rest day and clean up prior to heading back. We rode pretty much everything we could link up (logging near checkpoint 7 has closed some of corners trail and others nearby) easily didn't get to do Rocky Horror, Riff Raff, Damit Janet, Frankin Furter, Time Warp or trails "out the back".

I didn't really have a favourite trail but eagles v shark and Billy T were pretty hard to top. K2 was awesome but very steep and technical. Eastern spice and Hot x Buns I found difficult first time down but after a few goes I liked them. Green & blue runs were flowed well and anyone could attempt them i reckon. Climbing along the fire roads was ok when you found your legs. Expert runs I found challenging and not for the faint hearted I walked down a few sections first time down but after that i bombed down these sections holding on for dear life. No injuries and no mechanicals so was an awesome trip. My Norco Sight 7.2 killed the ups and downs plenty of travel and handled the conditions great. Some of those jump tracks are intense!! I only attempted the katori jump track but only hit the first 3 jumps after that i was out of my league..:twitch: Mates did the pidgeon jump trail and said the gaps were massive.

Great times :happy:

 

[Capt.Gumby]

Booked a week in Rotorua in November. Couple of questions to those who have been.

Staying at the Rotoura Thermal Holiday Park, do we need a car to get around while there? Don't particularly want to pay for one if we will not use it. More than happy to ride around to grab food, beer etc if its only a few minutes.

Riding gear? Long sleeve jerseys required or will it be warm enough for short sleeve?

Don't really want to take two helmets. Have a light weight Met Parachute full face that I plan to ride everywhere, over kill for Redwoods?

Thanks in advance

 

[frank_n]

You do not need a vehicle if all you plan to do is ride the forest )
(5min ride from park) and go to Skyline park(~40min ride). You can easily ride to Rotorua town to eat/drink/be merry(15min). It is also only a NZD taxi ride each way.
There is a supermarket within walking distance and a couple of take-away restaurants. Not sure what weather is like now. I'd take a long sleeved riding jersey (or under garment) along with your short-sleeve shirt and a rain-jacket. I'd chuck in a pair of over-pants.
Parachute will be okay.


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[casnell]

Booked a week in Rotorua in November. Couple of questions to those who have been.

Staying at the Rotoura Thermal Holiday Park, do we need a car to get around while there? Don't particularly want to pay for one if we will not use it. More than happy to ride around to grab food, beer etc if its only a few minutes.

Riding gear? Long sleeve jerseys required or will it be warm enough for short sleeve?

Don't really want to take two helmets. Have a light weight Met Parachute full face that I plan to ride everywhere, over kill for Redwoods?

Thanks in advance

Have a massage from Lara at the front of the holiday park , she's fantastic!

 

[Capt.Gumby]

Just spent 10 days in Rotorua and cannot recommend it enough. Had a blast.

I will post a detailed account of our trip, experiences etc when I get a bit more time.

 

[SF Trailboy]

No one going to Rotorua anymore?

Any updates from recent trips?

How many shuttles for 1 day- two people?

Bike hire still at the park and the Specialized shop?

 

[frenchman]

No one going to Rotorua anymore?

Any updates from recent trips?

How many shuttles for 1 day- two people?

Bike hire still at the park and the Specialized shop?

Trails are running very fast. Plenty of hidden trails as well. Bottom half of eagle vs shark has been logged but everything else seems to be holding up well.

Shuttles for one day purely dependant on how much you want to climb. 3 shuttles if you’re happy to turn each lap into a trail ride. Probably ride 30-40km with 1000m+ climbing. Good loop is climb up to top do Tuhoto Ariki into Hatu Pat, climb up Moerangi road then do Kung fu walrus, back up moerangi road into Te AhiManawa and back to bottom car park for water and food. 20km with 700m climbing.

Bike hire is as you’ve said.

 

[SF Trailboy]

Thanks @frenchman great info

 

[alrsv1]

Heading there next week for week. Intending to do 1 day at Woodhill, then a few days at Rotarua and then 1 day at 440.
Never been to the North island before. Did Queenstown last year which was pretty great. So looking forward to it.
Some great info on here, thanks.

My mate booked accommodation without much research, so we're staying at Four Canoes which doesn't seem to be very MTB orientated, or t all.
So, should be fun.

 

[frenchman]

Heading there next week for week. Intending to do 1 day at Woodhill, then a few days at Rotarua and then 1 day at 440.
Never been to the North island before. Did Queenstown last year which was pretty great. So looking forward to it.
Some great info on here, thanks.

My mate booked accommodation without much research, so we're staying at Four Canoes which doesn't seem to be very MTB orientated, or t all.
So, should be fun.

If you can I’d say skip woodhill and spend an extra day at roto or head down to craters Mtb park in Taupō. Woodhill is sand based and there hasn’t been much rain lately so it’s hard work and the tracks aren’t great at the best of times.

 

[alrsv1]

If you can I’d say skip woodhill and spend an extra day at roto or head down to craters Mtb park in Taupō. Woodhill is sand based and there hasn’t been much rain lately so it’s hard work and the tracks aren’t great at the best of times.

Thanks frenchman, appreciate the advice.
We'd already sorted accommodation right outside Woodhill so kinnda had to ride it.
Having no point of reference it was still pretty decent and we still rode enough good trails to enjoy it, and it was still better than being at work.

Having now rode Rotarua for the last 3 days though I now see what you mean, this place is incredible.

We were supposed to do 440 tomorrow but its going to be raining apparently and we're told it's not good in the wet.
Supposed to be raining here at Rotarua as well.
Are there any trails around that cope well in the wet?

Or since we rode pretty hard the last 3 days might just skip the last day, my legs are pretty trashed anyway.

But yeah, Rotarua is something else. Loved it.