Having done the treewalk at day and night, this post will give you:
- the details you need before you enjoy them for yourself
- the pros and con
- my thoughts on if the day or night walk is better
Proof that I’ve been on the walk
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DETAILS ABOUT THE ROTORUA TREE WALK
Rating?1
If I was to give each a rating, I’d give the day time walk a 4.5/5 and the night time walk a 2/5.
I really enjoyed the day time tree walk that spans 700 metres across 27 swing bridges and 28 platforms while you’re 9 metres above the ground. Safety is paramount, and at no issue did I feel in danger (and it was a wet day). The information boards are well done, being readable, and well explained.
The price point of $30 for adults is a little on the steep side, but I feel like it’s pretty standard for an NZ tourist attraction.
When2: June 2020
Distance3: The swingbridges total ~700 metres.
Price4: I paid $30 for the day walk, which included free entry for the Nightlights walk too. Scroll down on this link for the latest prices.
Booking: You can book online on the official site if you’d like. But you should be okay buying tickets on the day at the i-SITE. Unless it’s a nice summers day, or a public holiday. Alternatively, you can find discounts from time to time on BookMe.co.nz.
Difficulty5: Easy. You’ll need to climb some steps to get to the canopy, but other than that, no problems, provided you’re okay with hights.
Incline6: The canopy walk is 20 metres above ground level.
Duration7: It took me about 30 minutes to walk through in the day, which included reading all the signs and taking in the surroundings. When I asked the staff members, they all said most people will be finished within 40-minutes. If it’s super busy, it could take a few minutes longer.
HOW TO GET THERE
The Redwood wood, up close
The Redwoods i-SITE, where the tree walk is located is less than 5km from downtown Rotorua.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
You can catch the #3 bus to the start of Long Mile Road, and walk the final 10-15 minutes from there to the i-SITE.
DRIVING
On Long Mile Road there are a tonne of carparks available roadside. Depending on how far away from i-SITE you have to park, you still might have a 10-minute walk to get there.
WALKING
It’s possible, plug in to Google Maps and you’ll be there in about an hour. It’s not a nice walk, you’ve got to follow the highway for a while.
RIDE SHARING APPS
Ola, Uber, or YourRide ARE NOT available in Rotorua at the time of writing.
ROTORUA TREE WALK REVIEW
WHAT I LIKED
- The information boards are useful
- The canopy is really well built
- The staff are all consistent on their advice
- There are other activities that are free in the park (a.k.a. the walks)
- You can buy your tickets at the Redwoods i-Site (and on BookMe.co.nz)
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
- The nightlights opening time started before it was really dark and the lights took effect.
- There’s minimal food and drink options in the immediate vicinity
- You don’t get a nice ticket to use as a souvenir, it’s just a receipt
MY ROTORUA TREE WALK EXPERIENCE
Having visited the Redwoods Forest over summer (I walked the Pohaturoa Track), I was stoked I waited for the tree walk. There were a lot fewer people when I visited in June because of the closed borders. And yes, I know it’s not great for business.
At the time, there was a deal going where you could buy the nightlights tour for $30 and they’ll include the day walk for free. Essentially a 2 for 1 deal.
I decided to do the Tokorangi Pa Track walk first. With the sunset scheduled for just after 5pm I decided it’d be easier to stay in the Redwoods precinct and do the day and night walk in one trip.
If it was summer when the sunset is a lot later (after 8 pm etc), it’d be way more practical to do the day walk, leave/have dinner etc. and come back to do the nightlights.
Anyway, it was super quiet when I purchased my tickets and I went straight up the canopy just after 3 pm after being given a quick run down by the staff of what you can/cannot do.
It’s pretty straight forward, and once you’ve climbed the stairs to get you 9 metres above the forest floor it’s just a matter of following the swingbridges
If you’re afraid of heights, you might take a few minutes to adjust but the suspension bridges are super sturdy and they’ve put in place a maximum number of people on them at one time at 8. Between the swingbridges are circular platforms that are built around the trunks of the Redwoods. As the team wants to protect the Redwood trees, they use a special harness system you learn about on the walk.
You’re passing straight through the middle of the Redwoods, so that’s an obvious attraction but keep your eyes peeled as there are a couple of decorations. You might see some people walking/running/cycling on the tracks below.
With a total of 700 metres of swing bridges, you’ll be surprised how long the walk takes. All the staff said most people take around 40 minutes, which if it’s busy makes sense.
I found it took me about 30-minutes which was at a cruising pace. I made sure to take in everything, read the information, and enjoyed my time.
About 2/3 of the way through you’ve got a choice, take the stairs up to a higher canopy 20 metres above the ground, or continue along the swingbridges at the existing 9 metre height. There was no clear best option, but you can’t do both as the staff don’t want people walking against traffic on the swing bridges. As long as you’re okay with heights, go with the higher option. Either way, both options meet up again before I arrived back where I started 30 minutes later.
You walk in a big anti-clockwise loop. After a quick look at The Giant near the entrance, it was time to relax until 5 pm when the nightlights walk started.
The NightLights
With sunset just after 5 pm, I waited a few minutes until I begin the nightlights walk so it was darker. But as I got started, I quickly realised it was going to take a while for the darkness to kick in to get the best experience. In hindsight, I feel like they’d do everyone a favour by opening the nightlights walk 15 minutes after sunset at the earliest. Ideally, you’d go at least 1 hour after sunset for the best experience (in the winter it’s open until 8 pm).
Lanterns in the night
Anyhow, I moved slowly along the swingbridges waiting for the pitch black of night to kick in. Other than the odd bit of chatter in the distance it was cool to be high above the canopy floor in silence. The lights along the bridges were starting to take effect, and the lanterns began to illuminate (p.s. speaking of lanterns, I love the Macpac Mini lantern for travelling).
The pictures give you an idea on what to expect but honestly, I was disappointed with the nightlights walk. I had seen photos like this on Instagram so was expecting some real crazy lighting.
I waited for like 20 minutes for the night to get really dark, and even then, the lights were okay, but they really didn’t wow me. The swingbridges are lit up, there are lights on the forest floor, and you’ll see a few owls projected on trees, along with the 30 lanterns lit up. But it didn’t wow me. If you only came for the NightLights, you’re missing out on the beauty of the forest in the daylight.
It’s a smart idea by the company to open up this experience to increase customer value and opening hours. But, I liked the day walk in the Redwoods much better.
If you’re undecided, maybe a discounted entry fee from BookMe.co.nz will help.
RECOMMENDED READING
Tarawera Ultra Marathon
A review from from 2020 Tarawera experience cover all 102km
Mount Maunganui Summit
The Mount Maunganui summit is a real highlight in the Bay of Plenty
New Zealand Waterfalls
A quest to see them as many as possible
Hey, it’s Jub here. I’m the guy behind Chur New Zealand, helping you have the best time hiking, trekking, walking…whatever you want to call it…in NZ. I’m based in Queenstown and am always out and about exploring trails, old & new. If you have any questions, reach out.