Redwoods Forest, Rotorua Overview

A range of diverse forests, the Whakarewarewa forest, also known as the Redwoods Forest in Rotorua, is one of the greatest natural treasures that offer a variety of recreational opportunities, panoramic views and exotic species. It is located only 5 minutes away from Downtown Rotorua and is an award-winning attraction. So if you’re waiting for an outing in one of nature’s best creations, this 55,000-hectare forest awaits you.

This forest is unique for its routes and walkways, including storyboards containing forestry information and Redwoods i-Site centre, which is the starting point for many walks, especially the Redwoods Treewalk. What's more, the Redwoods Forest, a part of the Whakarewarewa trails, is considered one of the world's top eight.
The biking and hiking trails range well-maintained with signposts and cool names such as North Face, Gunna Gotta and Check it out.

Best Time to Visit

Tourists mostly visit Redwood Forest during the summer, that is, July. the park sees around 75000 visitors during this time due to the pleasant dry weather as opposed to December when the cold weather causes around only one-fifth of the turnout. The summer season in Rotorua is from mid-May to October. Therefore, it is ideal to visit Redwood Forest in July in order to have the best experience. However, peak season also causes a lot of traffic. As opposed to that, the weather is mostly humid and wet from October through April.

Redwoods Tree Walk

There are a number of things that people can do this forest but the Redwoods Treewalk is one of the must-do activities for visitors. This is a 700-metre long walk which includes 22 suspension bridges across 100-year old trees. Visitors can also indulge in regular hiking and walking in the forest considering there are an endless number of interesting trails to explore. What’s more, mountain biking is a huge sport in this area, Mountain Bike Rotorua and Planet Bike offering a range of bike hires.

Flora

The Redwoods forest has a variety of flora and fauna. One can majorly find a number of ferns such as eucalyptus, canopies of redwoods, larch trees, Radiata, Palm Leaf fern or Kiokio, Wheki or Rough tree fern, ponga or silver tree fern, Mamaku or black tree fern, pittosporum, spleenwort, coprosmas and other native regrowths can also be found here. In terms of wildlife, you may find a number of animals, birds and insects that help in maintaining the ecological balance of the forest. These include “devil’s darning needle” or “Uropetala carovei”, Ruru or Morepork, Tui, Kereru (native pigeons), Bellbird, Cuckoo, Harrier Hawk, deer, wild pigs, possums and many more.

History

This forest was established in 1910 as a project that focused on experimental planting to test the suitability of native and exotic forest species for commercial purposes. The forest was initially a part of the lives of the Maori tribe in New Zealand and was protected by them. In the late 1900s, however, the restructuring of the Forest Service led to the “Forest Park” designation being removed, making it an unprotected territory prone to endangerment. Nevertheless, the Rotorua community was soon restored and its recreational access was retained. Today, the Redwoods Forest is known for being one of the top walking, biking and horse riding destinations.

How To Reach Redwoods Forest

Redwoods Forest is located in Rotorua. The closest airport to this attraction is Rotorua Regional Airport which is around 11 minutes away by car and around 28 minutes away by bus. If you’re taking a car, you will see a sign that says “The Redwoods” on Long Mile Road which is the visitor’s centre. For those who are walking or cycling, they can use the shortcut from the forest research tree trials and can get to the parking centre. Visitors can also take the Cityride bus service from Pukuatua Street from the city centre and can get down at Tarawera Road and can locate the “The Redwoods” sign.