Welcoming the launch of Rotorua Ziplines

As April approaches, we're all hands on deck preparing for the highly anticipated launch of Rotorua Ziplines.

After a dream that sparked in 2019, a two year planning process, Sam Sutton & Ōkere Adventures were granted consent and began the journey to develop what we know will be a pinnacle of sustainable tourism.

Rotorua Ziplines' dream is, and always has been, to inspire a better world through an exhilarating educational adventure that connects our guests to Papatūānuku (Mother Nature) whilst embracing the cultural identity of our guides and our history, leaving abetter, Ōkere, a better New Zealand and better planet for us and the generations to come. 

Rotorua Ziplines is located in the Ōkere Falls Scenic Reserve with six lines that send you flying through towering native trees and atop of thundering waterfalls at speeds of up to 80kph. The  tour will have a strong focus on the cultural significance of the Ōkere awa (river) whilst connecting guests with activities and insight on how we can better the planet together. 

Experience a two-hour journey that will have you soaring above three waterfalls on a total of 4 ziplines, one bridge, interacting with a forest on a series of boardwalks, sipping on ancient teas and becoming a part of our reforestation mission. Guided by two passionate locals, you will fall in love with the best part of Aotearoa; Okere Falls.

Due to the unique environment within the Okere Falls Reserve, the course is designed to utilise the natural topography.

The layout of the course is designed to have as little impact as possible with lines high above the river to ensure both river users and public view points aren't impacted.

The Ziplines are anchored using soil nails which have a 60-millimetre diameter and are drilled deep into the ground which reduces the footprint and enables flexibility to eliminate any damage to root systems. The cable then runs through a 200mm post that is just above the ground to stop the wire from cutting into the earth.

Perhaps the best part, we can leave no trace with the ability to remove all infrastructure. 

Rotorua Rafting & Rotorua Ziplines have been working as one to set a benchmark for sustainable tourism.

Some of these sustainable practises look like;

• Proudly supporting Predator Free Ōkere Falls in trapping rats, mice, and possums. We currently look after two trap lines in the Ōkere Falls reserve.
• Working with the Te Arawa Lakes Trust and the ‘Catfish Killas’ in the eradication of catfish in Lake Rotoiti, by checking, clearing and monitoring the nets, to keep these     pests out of our waterways.
• Creating the "Monday Clean Up" initiative. Where staff & community donate an hour every Monday to pick up rubbish around the Kaituna River & Ōkere Falls     area. At the Rotorua Rafting base, we have taken this one step further, minimising our waste by recycling, composting and have reduced our waste to landfill from three bins per week to just one.
• Educating our tamariki (children) about the importance of Kaitiakitanga (guardianship and protection of the environment) and the work we do as a community to     conserve & care for our surroundings. Together, with our school rafting trips, we plant native tree seedlings that will be replanted into the reserve.

In preparation for Rotorua Ziplines, we've also cleared 12’000 square metres of surrounding farmland of blackberry and gorse and have replanted 2000 native trees. Our goal is to plant another 10’000 native manuka trees on the river edge, enabling us to rid 90% of gorse from the area.

This investment into sustaining our backyard will later bring restoration to our surrounding native forest and in time we hope to create a bird sanctuary to bring the native kiwi back to Ōkere Falls.

Creating the best zipline in New Zealand, whilst also creating a benchmark in sustainability that will stand out above the rest will be no easy feat. But our commitment to leading the way in epic adventures & sustainable tourism means we're already one step ahead.

Rotorua Ziplines is already shaping up to be one of NZ's must-do activities. We recommend keeping your eyes peeled for more updates to come. This is going to be EPIC.

You can keep up to date with the Rotorua Ziplines Launch process by visiting the Rotorua Ziplines Website, Facebook, or Instagram