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Rainbow Springs
Rotorua
Highlights
Adventure in Rotorua
Adventure Photos of Rotorua
Photos
of Rotorua
Rotorua
Details
By
Richard Moore
 We
hadn't been to Rainbow Springs Nature Park in Rotorua for a few
years and boy has it changed.
It
used to be - and still is - a peaceful spot in a busy tourist city,
but it has added a number of attractions that make it even more
attractive to families.
The
most obvious change is The Big Splash - a nine-minute trip through
the ecological evolution of New Zealand.
You
hop in a boat and head off through state of the art animatronics
and projection technology that takes you back to the time of the
dinosaurs, the now-extinct flightless giant moas and the massive
Haast Eagle.
At
the end of your fun education you race down the rails into the water
creating a huge splash that will almost certainly result in being
damper than usual!
 The
cost of The Big Splash is included in your entry to Rainbow Springs
and you can take the journey as many times as you want.
Also
new(ish) to Rainbow Springs is The Bird Show.
This
is really fun for both kids and adults as some very cool parrots
entertain with some excellent skills and tricks.
The
show is held in its own outdoors area and is dependent upon the
weather.
You
need to be sensible at the show and you are instructed to remain
seated as the birds do fly low over your heads and the last thing
you want is a large cockatoo between the eyes.
The
show is very funny - and educational - and there is always humour
if someone cops a bit of poo on the shoulder.
It
is really worth taking the time to see.
 Rainbow
Springs is also beaut because you can reflect while watching trout
going about their lives in large pools, check out a number of native
birds - including kiwis - and walk along ferny paths and among giant
redwood trees.
Rainbow
Springs is built around bubbling fresh springs that push out some
two million litres of pure water every day.
 It
sure sounds nice and it must be as the fish in the springs are wild
and can swim off any time they like. They include rainbow trout
- the most common type of trout in the North Island of New Zealand
- as well as brown trout, North American brook trout and tiger trout.
Between
May and September the fish swim upstream from Lake Rotorua to spawn.
After their breeding duties many of the fish realise they are on
to a good thing and stick around Rainbow Springs instead of taking
their chances in the wild.
At the entrance to the Rainbow Pool is New Zealand's longest fish
ladder and if you are lucky you can see the trout leaping from pool
to pool as they head towards the main water area.
 Native
New Zealand birds are also on show and they include the songbird
tui, the red-crowned parakeet, or kakariki, the cheeky kea and the
large parrot, or kaka.
Speaking
of large - Rainbow Springs must have in its brood the biggest, fattest
pigeon I have ever seen in my life. The thing must have weighed
a bazillion kilos. If you don't believe it then check out the picture!
And
while Rainbow Springs has arguably the largest pigeon in captivity,
it also has a dinosaur. Well, sort of.
Rainbow
Springs has tuatara, medium-sized lizards that date back to the
Triassic Period of about 225million years ago. These guys are cute
- in a lizard-sort-of way.
 For
most tourists to New Zealand the fauna highlight would be catching
a glimpse of the national bird, the kiwi.
Kiwi
are flightless and nocturnal and they are nigh-on impossible to
see in the wild.
Rainbow
Springs has a save-the-kiwi programme and you can see them in the
kiwi house and then pop across the road to catch them in a Kiwi
Encounter where you'll learn heaps about the creature and see a
hatchery and nursery in action.
August
is the start of the kiwi-breeding season and eggs found in the wild
are brought to Rainbow Springs for care and incubation.
While
you wander around Rainbow Springs you can follow an audio tour in
English, German, Japanese, Mandarin and Cantonese. Ticket prices
include the use of an MP3 player and headset.
 Rainbow
Springs Nature Park Opening Hours
Rainbow
Springs 8.00 am - 11 pm daily Rainbow Springs Shop 8.00 am - 11
pm daily
Rainbow Cafe 9.00 am - 4.00 pm daily
Admission
Prices
Click
for prices
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