2 Welcome to Rotorua
Rotorua is the most visited tourist destination (1.2 million visitors per year) in New Zealand and its lakes are prized for recreation and fishing. Lake Rotoiti is said to be the second most important lake for trout fishing, and is important for trophy fishing. The district is 2708 square kilometres with a population of around 69,000 (European 65%, Māori 30% and other 5%).
Rotorua has a mild climate with an average summer temperature of 24.7 and an average winter temperature of 12.5 degrees Celsius respectively. The rainfall is an average of 1421 millimetres annually with the wettest months in June, July and August.
The city and district of Rotorua take their name from the lake that dominates them. Rotorua is a Māori word that means second lake (roto: lake and rua: two). The full name given to the lake is Rotorua-nui-a-kahu, the Big or Great Second Lake of Kahu. It was the second lake to be discovered by Ihenga who named it after his father-in-law, Kahu-mata-momoe.
The countryside around Lake Rotorua was originally settled around AD 1350 by the descendants of the Polynesian voyagers, who came to New Zealand from the traditional homeland of Hawaiki, in a canoe called 'Te Arawa'. Their principal settlements were at Ohinemutu and Whakarewarewa.
With European settlement Rotorua became a destination for visitors wanting to relax and improve their health in the mineral waters that 'bubbled' from the ground, although these benefits were well known to the first settlers. Now, host to some of the world's most incredible earth forces, Rotorua boasts an array of 'icon' experiences, which together encapsulate the spirit of this remarkable country.
With the Europeans came more intensive agriculture and much of the area around the lakes now boasts some of the most productive and efficient sheep and dairy farming in the world. Sadly, it is this intensification of land uses, together with urban, and tourist development, that is now causing the problems for the lakes that is the focus of this report.
Even so, there is still enveloping warmth, an undeniable spirit and a deep sense of history that comes from the Māori experiences and their close relationship with the land and the lakes. This sensation, called manaakitanga, is both a challenge and a responsibility for all of us. It charges us with guardianship over the land, the lakes, the treasures, and all of the people.
