Rotorua

Race @ The Lakes is a new Dragon Boating event, held at Lake Tikitapu, Blue Lake Reserve on Sunday 6th October 2019. And you’re welcome to join! The legendary “Bay Dragons”, an…

Mayor of Rotorua the Hon. Steve Chadwick is an activist with patience.

Rotorua is known as the ‘geothermal wonderland’ of New Zealand. Two focus editors decided this would be a great destination for an ultimate girls’ day out.

One Sunday mid-July, focus writer Millie Freeman arrived in Rotorua, pre-dawn, to watch a little-known sporting event taking place in the Kaingaroa Forest near Waiotapu, and chat with a Tauranga woman who is totally hooked.

After exploring so many of New Zealand’s famous places over the past two years, we felt that it’s time to highlight the beauty of our own little slice of heaven.

Our region is a bonanza of natural beauty and it makes sense to get outside with the family and enjoy. There are many free activities and we have pinpointed our five family favourites.

Loaded Tough Guy and Gal Challenge, New Zealand International Film Festival, Groundswell and other events not to be missed this month.

Celebrating its 50th birthday on 15 December, 2017 and in need of a face-lift, the Ōpōtiki library has seen better days.

Boys want to be pilots, girls want to be flight attendants? Rachel Button left that old-fashioned stereotype for dust! Her goal was only ever to be firmly in the driving seat. From accompanying her dad on his flights all over Canterbury when she was a child, to solo White Island tours – this Rotorua-based pilot shares a story of her childhood dream coming true.

Meeting Kaz Weatherley, you quickly get the feeling she has that ‘just do it’ philosophy on life. Once she sets herself a new challenge, she jumps right in, and if there are barriers in her way, she’ll knock them down or find a way around them.