Getting there:

Sleeping:

Rotorua has a huge amount of accommodation from campsites, cabins, motels, hotels, B&B’s. The Thermal Holiday Park or the Alpin motel, are popular and cheap options close to the trail network. Bookings can be made directly or through the Information Centre in the centre of Rotorua. If you’re staying for more than a few days check out Bookabach – an internet based booking service for holiday homes – often fully equipped with BBQ, kayaks etc. For Rotorua accomodation deals try Wotif.

Eating:

There are loads of cafes, takeaways and restaurants. A lot of riders hang out at Zippy Cafe on Pukuatua St, also check out Abracadabra for Morrocan styles, Lovely India for wicked Indian, Seismic for Pizza and Burger Fuel for top notch burgers and kumara (sweet potato) fries. For an authentic Maori culture night book into the Tamaki Maori Village or Mitai Beauty by Night (this is a must do!). To eat in there are four big supermarkets to pick from.

Bars and Clubs:

There are plenty of options to keep you busy in the evening. Check out the Pig N Whistle for an English style pub, the Lava Bar is popular with backpackers and the Pheasant Plucker for Belgian beers and a taste of Rotorua’s microbrewed Croucher Ale.

Bike Shops & Bike Hire:

There are 7 full service bikes shops in Rotorua, Bike Culture is close to Zippy Cafe and stocked with Santa Cruz bikes and two of New Zealand’s best mechanics – Rob Smail and Mike Metz. Bike Vegas has a huge range of stock and hire out full suspension GT trail bikes, Kiwibikes makes custom frames and does steel and alloy welding repairs onsite, Cyclezone are the Specialized dealer and have a range of full sus hire bikes $150/day, Bike Fix are the Trek dealer and the Outdoorsman are a bike and premium outdoor gear shop – the only one open year round on a Sunday. Planet Bike are located at the Waipa Carpark trail head and hire out hardtail bikes, sell great coffee and offer bike servicing.

Helmet Cameras:

You can hire Oregon, Vio, GoPro & VholdR helmet mounted video cameras to record you fun, $40/day from Descent NZ.

Internet:

There are a couple of internet cafes in town, the public library has a few internet terminals, Starbucks and most hotels have wireless hotspots. Vodafone and Telecom NZ are the two phone networks in NZ with good coverage throughout the city.

Bike Trail Map:

Waterproof full colour maps are available for $5 from the bike shops and the information centre. It’s worth asking the bike shop to draw on any new trails built since the map print. The map includes 3 suggested loops that will allow you to get comfortable with the forest layout and you can mix and match from there. you can veiw the map for free on the Rotorua NZ website here. Also you can download a free map of just the shuttle trails here

Car Hire:

If you’re staying in town, and only riding in the Whaka forest, you won’t need a car. However if you want to venture further afield to Whirinaki, Taupo or to the surf beaches at the Mount or Papamoa, you can hire a car from a dozen or so companies. The only one that includes a towball mounted bike rack is Pegasus Rentals. For a group Action Adventure Rentals hires 10-12 seater vans.

Other Activities:

There are 4 companies running white water rafting trips on the Kaituna River and while you’re out there check out the Okere Falls cafe. Skyline Gondola has luge tracks. There is great trout fishing on the Rotorua lakes. If you’re into history check out the Rotorua Museum and The Buried Village - a Maori village partially buried by the 1886 Mt Tarawera volcanic eruption. It’s also worth checking out the geothermal mud pools and geysers at Te Puia or Waiotapu. For a hot swim check out the Polynesian Spa or ask a local where the free hot swim spots are. There is Indoor Rock Climbing & a Movie Theatre at The Wall.