Rotorua e Hobbitown – NZ

Nossa segunda parada foi na cidade de Rotorua, um local com mais parques. Cidade tava bem tranquila e quando reservamos o passeio em grupo estava vazio e fizemos somente nós mesmo. O nome dos parques estão no video também.

Sobre o passeio para Hobbitown acho que vale a pena sim!

Vale a pena reservar um tempo e um dinheiro especial para Hobbitown, se você for fan dos filmes, claro.

Free Walking Tour : Não fizemos. Melhor comida : Um restaurante chines! Melhor “o que fazer” : Andar pela rua sem saber aonde vai dar e se programar para Hobbitown Hidden Gems : A rua de restaurantes é charmosa, mas nada muito elaborado. Have a beer: Lá em Hobbitown, peça mais de uma! 🙂

Rotorua é uma cidade da Nova Zelândia , situada na ilha norte. Tem 53 000 habitantes, dos quais um terço são maoris . Essa cidade é conhecida por estar localizada numa área de grande actividade geotermal, com muitos gêiseres (Pohutu geyser, em Whakarewarewa, com 20m), fumarolas , nascentes termais de água quente e lagoas da lama quente.

Rotorua tem um odor característico devido à grande concentração de enxofre originada do vulcão próximo, que segundo alguns nativos ainda está em atividade. O pH dos lagos quentes em torno desse vulcão varia entre 2,7 e 7,8.

Rotorua ( Māori: [ˌɾɔtɔˈɾʉa] [5] ) is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand’s North Island . The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua , from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District , a territorial authority encompassing Rotorua and several other nearby towns. Rotorua has an estimated resident population of 58,400, making it the country’s 12th largest urban area , and the Bay of Plenty’s second largest urban area behind Tauranga .

Rotorua is a major destination for both domestic and international tourists; the tourism industry is by far the largest industry in the district. It is known for its geothermal activity, and features geysers – notably the Pohutu Geyser at Whakarewarewa – and hot mud pools. This thermal activity is sourced to the Rotorua Caldera , in which the town lies. Rotorua is home to the Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology .

The name Rotorua comes from the Māori language , where the full name for the city and lake is Te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe [ citation needed ] . Roto means ‘lake’ and rua means ‘two’ or in this case ‘second’ – Rotorua thus meaning ‘Second lake’. Kahumatamomoe was the uncle of the Māori chief Ihenga , the ancestral explorer of the Te Arawa . [6] It was the second major lake the chief discovered, and he dedicated it to his uncle. It is the largest of a multitude of lakes found to the northeast, all connected with the Rotorua Caldera and nearby Mount Tarawera . The name can also mean the equally appropriate ‘Crater lake’. [6]

The area was initially settled by Māori of the Te Arawa Iwi in the 14th century. During the early 1820s Ngapuhi led by chief Hongi Hika launched a series of raids into the Bay of Plenty as a part of the Musket Wars , in 1823 a Ngapuhi raiding party led by Hongi Hika attacked Te Arawa at their Pa (Fortified settlement) on Mokoia Island defeating them. The first European in the area was probably Phillip Tapsell who was trading from the Bay of Plenty coast at Maketu from 1828. He later married into Te Arawa and became highly regarded by them. [7] Missionaries Henry Williams and Thomas Chapman visited in 1831 [6] and Chapman and his wife established a mission at Te Koutu in 1835. [8] This was abandoned within a year but Chapman returned in 1838 and established a second mission at Mokoia Island . [6] [8]

The lakeshore was a prominent site of skirmishes during the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s. A “special town district” was created in 1883, to promote Rotorua’s potential as a spa destination . The town was connected to Auckland with the opening of the Rotorua Branch railway and commencement of the Rotorua Express train in 1894, resulting in the rapid growth of the town and tourism from this time forward. Rotorua was established as a borough in 1922, elected its first mayor in 1923, and declared a city in 1962 before becoming a district in 1979. [9]