Rotorua

Rotorua accommodation sits on a geothermal field, where hot pools, mountain bike trails and Te Arawa marae are all minutes from the centre.

Two days go easily from a holiday home here: riding or walking under the redwoods at Whakarewarewa Forest, an evening of hāngī and kapa haka, a long soak to finish. Summer moves onto the lakes, with swimming and trout boats on Rotoiti and Tarawera. The sulphur smell stops registering by the second morning.