Hells Gate Excite Experience & Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland

Experience a land where myth and legend come to life, where the earth boils, mud heals, and steam disappears into the clouds above. The drive from Auckland to Rotorua is a very common North Island route planned into New Zealand itineraries for visitors exploring by road. The travel time to Rotorua takes about 3 hours from Auckland city. While driving from Auckland to Rotorua takes a few hours, the trip will fly by with these awesome stop-offs - plus the drive from Auckland to Rotorua is also filled with amazing scenery! New Zealand's most colourful geothermal attraction - just a short drive from Rotorua. 

An area in which the landscape has been sculptured by geothermal activity and where unique volcanic features can be viewed from well-defined tracks. More than just a place of myth and legend, this land has the power to heal and excite anyone who meets it, just as it’s done for centuries. Come and discover New Zealand’s most unique geothermal experience. Experience this land like our ancestors have done for centuries. Discover its beauty, its healing properties and its awe-inspiring power.

Thermal Wonderland is a series of brightly coloured geothermal pools, stinky sulphur mud baths and explosive geysers, directly in the middle of this volcanic zone. Our first destination is Wai-O-Tapu - Thousands of Years in the Making... "One of the 20 Most Surreal Places in the World" 

Explore spectacular nature at New Zealand's most colourful natural volcanic park. Walks through this unique geothermal area take between 30 and 75 minutes and provide a wide range of amazing photo opportunities at unique features including the world famous Champagne Pool, naturally coloured hot and cold springs, devil’s bath, bubbling mud, steaming ground, expansive vistas, huge volcanic craters and sinter terrace formations. 

The natural bush setting, the Lady Knox Geyser erupting daily at 10.15 am and the nearby ever active "Mud Pool" add other dimensions to the experience, the distinct sulphur smell, similar to that of rotting eggs will accompany you throughout your visit to this fascinating natural wonder.  

Within a short drive we move to our second destination –Have a devilishly good time at Hells Gate excite experience. Come along and you’ll soon discover why Hell’s Gate is New Zealand’s most unique and active geothermal reserve and mud spa. 

• Where the Earth Excites and Inspires
• Naturally-heated waters with invigorating properties
• Mineral-rich mud bath to soften your skin for weeks

Enjoy this thermal wonder land with our interactive guided or self-guided tour before relaxing in the geothermal muds and sulphur waters. Get down and dirty in a mud bath or unwind in a Sulphur spa overlooking a spectacular geothermal landscape, before cooling off in a beautiful spring-fed waterfall and plunge pool. Featuring hot-water lakes, New Zealand’s largest mud volcano and the largest hot water waterfall in the Southern Hemisphere, the Hells Gate Valley is the place to be for an indulgent experience that is almost sinful. With the only geothermal mud baths in New Zealand, the Hell’s Gate Spa is a highly therapeutic experience. You can slather yourself in the warm geothermal mud before jumping in the sulphur pool – with minerals that help to clear and detoxify.

This amazing landscape will captivate your imagination as it bubbles with heat and history. The complimentary Maori carving area lets you leave with a little piece of Maori culture. We hope you enjoy experiencing all the Rotorua geothermal attractions.