Rotorua

Rotorua

Rotorua (from Māori: Te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe, "The second great lake of Kahumatamomoe") is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns. Rotorua city has an estimated permanent population of 56,200, with the Rotorua district having a total estimated population of 68,900[3]. The city is in the heart of the North Island, just 60 kilometres (37 mi) south of Tauranga, 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Taupo, 105 kilometres (65 mi) east of Hamilton, and 230 kilometres (140 mi) southeast of Auckland.

Education

Tertiary:

Rotorua is home to the main campus of Waiariki Institute of Technology, which provides a range of Certificate, Diploma and a limited number of degree-level programmes. The largest programmes on offer are nursing, forestry, business, computing, tourism and hospitality. Waiariki Institute of Technology is the largest tertiary education institution in New Zealand outside of the University towns and cities.

Secondary:

Rotorua has five secondary schools:

• John Paul College, a co-educational, state-integrated Catholic school for Years 7-13 with about 1000 students
• Rotorua Boys' High School, a state boys school for Years 9-13 with about 900 students
• Rotorua Girls' High School, a state girls school for Years 9-13 with about 950 students
• Rotorua Lakes High School serving the eastern suburbs. A co-educational state school for Years 9-13 with about 650 students
• Western Heights High School serving the western suburbs. A co-educational state school for Years 9-13 with about 1500 students

Chapman College is a Christian school (similar to Tauranga's Bethlehem College) which currently offers primary (years 0-6), intermediate (years 7-8) as well as secondary education up to Year 10 but intends to move into full secondary education in the future.[9] Rotorua also has two Kura Kaupapa Maori (Te Reo Maori-medium) schools which serve the full primary and secondary school years (Years 0-13).

Other activities

Rotorua is also home to botanical gardens and historic architecture. Known as a spa town and major tourist resort since the 1800s, many of its buildings hint at this history. Government Gardens, close to the lakeshore at the eastern end of the town, are a particular point of pride. Another of Rotorua's attractions is mountain biking. Whakarewarewa Forest has been described as 'the Disneyland of mountain biking'[citation needed] and includes mountain bike trails, where the UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships were held in August 2006.

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