October 27, 2011

Kia Ora !*FIRSTNAME*!,

Kia Ora,

It was lovely to see you at the MEETING ON THE GREEN event on the 30th September at Kooindah Waters. What a magnificent day!

We hope you were able to enjoy a massage and a glass of bubbles at the Rotorua Convention Bureau and Air New Zealand 'tee #16'. Lynn Simmonds, Air NZ & Kathy Nicholls, Rotorua Convention Bureau certainly enjoyed meeting you all at the tee.

Meanwhile, I tried my hand at a little golf..... tried being the operative word! Luckily I had fabulous team-mates who mentored me through the day and I have to say I was quite proud of my golf skill at the end of the day!

As you know Air New Zealand now fly direct into Rotorua out of Sydney on a Tuesday and a Saturday. This service is perfect for a 3 night/4 day or 4 night / 5 day program. Air New Zealand offers a wonderful service across the Tasman! Please contact Lynn Simmonds for more information lynn.simmonds@airnz.com.au

Rotorua as a region has been busy busy in the Australian market with MEETINGS 2011 earlier in the year, three rugby world cup matches and the Australian Society of Travel Writers heading over at the end of this month. There are also some new products emerging that we would like to share with you:

Pure Cruise

Rotorua's multi-award winning sailing charter company, Pure Cruise, has developed two outstanding new combo products in partnership with Tapuaekura Marae and Multi-Day Adventures.

Introduced this summer, Voyage of Discovery includes sailing to the lake-edge Tapuaekura Marae on Lake Rotoiti on the 53ft sailing catamaran Tuia for a visit to a real living community marae (meeting place). Visitors are welcomed by local Maori with a powhiri and kapa haka performance.

Or, a full day adrenalin fix , the Forest Trails and Trimming Sails combo includes spending the first half of the day exploring Rotorua's world-class Whakarewarewa Forest mountain bike trails on a custom-designed tour (with all gear supplied) suited to individual riders' ability and fitness level.

Trails are replaced by sails following a transfer to Okawa Bay for a Pure Cruise sailing adventure on the sparkling waters of Lake Rotoiti with light afternoon tea included. With both combos there are also opportunities to soak in a natural lake-edge thermal pool, catch and cook a trout, swim off the yacht, take the helm and truly get a feel for the lake, the land, the people and the history.

Tamaki has created a Marae overnight stay experience package

Make your stay in Rotorua a memorable one by staying overnight in Tamaki Maori Village's newly built Maori-themed marae accommodation.

The two new intricately carved wharemoe (sleeping houses) tell stories of the area and are nestled in the fringes of an ancient tawa forest.

Arriving in the afternoon, overnight guests will receive a traditional Tamaki Maori Village welcome, and become fully immersed in marae protocols. They'll also make their beds, and learn a waitata (song) before enjoying the award-winning Tamaki Maori Village evening hangi and concert experience. This is followed by storytelling sessions around the marae fire pit at the end of the night and afterwards guests retreat to their sleeping house for a communal overnight sleeping experience before enjoying a shared breakfast.

Black Swan - new boutique lodge

Following a year-long refurbishment and revitalising process, Rotorua's newest up-market accommodation, the Black Swan Lakeside Lodge Boutique Hotel, is due to open in December 2011.

The lodge has a fabulous location - nestled on the shores of Lake Rotorua looking back over the city and just a seven minute drive from the CBD.

The extreme makeover is a modern interpretation of an English country estate and includes modern new bathrooms, complete with under-floor heating, monsoon rain shower and freestanding stone soaker bath, in every guest room. The lakefront premium rooms feature large floor-to-ceiling windows affording spectacular lake and city views.

The public areas are being enhanced with a new lobby, a revitalised dining area, a conservatory overlooking a wonderful garden abundant with roses, a club lounge and library. The existing pool has been heated for year-round enjoyment, an outdoor fire-pit, fitness area and valet parking area created, and a reflection pool added to bring lake elements to the arrival experience. Existing features being retained include the garden grotto for romantic dining, helicopter pad, floatplane jetty, croquet lawn, petanque terrain and sauna.

Mokoia Island functions

Mokoia Island, located in the middle of Lake Rotorua, has been the sacred home of the Te Arawa people of Rotorua for more than 700 years and Wai Ora Experiences welcomes visitors to embark on two different experiences for C & I groups.

On an eco-cultural guided tour guests can learn the historical and cultural stories of the indigenous tribes on the Island and also the imporatance of the island as an endangered wildlife sanctuary with many native birds including the Tieke (North Island Saddleback), the Weka (North Island Wood Hen), and the most famous of all the North Island - the Brown Kiwi. Enjoy the unique greeting of these birds with their beautiful song.

With nine natural geothermal pools bordering the island, there is also the option to bathe your feet in the incredible phenomenon where beautiful 40°C waters sit less than a metre away from the cold Rotorua lake.

Guests also have the option to enjoy a relaxing Mokoia Island Cruise across Lake Rotorus, a delicious dinner incorporating indigenous herbs and spices from the island and a spine tingling Maori cultural concert with a unique view of Rotorua city, from the middle of the lake.

Please feel free to touch base if you would like to hear more about what we have to offer as a conference and incentive destination and/or catch up here in Sydney anytime!