It's not all doom and gloom for Rotorua
As the morning mist cleared from Mt Ngongotaha¯ on Tuesday morning, I heard a strange sound emanating across our rohe, the sound of dozens of local doomsday business operators choking on their cereal as they read the cover of the Rotorua Daily Post revealing our events outlook is “better than it has been in years”.
What a shock it must have been to dozens of locals to discover that Rotorua isn’t just a hellish backwater fit for nothing more than a dumping ground for unhoused people - but instead it’s a place where tens of thousands of people are planning to visit to attend events far into 2023.
A trip to an overflowing carpark at Waipa along with bars and restaurants humming on the weekend proved just how enticing it still is for people to visit
Rotorua.
While there’s no doubt Rotorua has some issues to address, it’s incredibly positive to see the events calendar filling up again bringing with it jobs and opportunities for locals.
Let’s hope the gloominess starts to clear as we look to a brighter future in Rotorua Ryan Gray
Rotorua
Clean the mess
I had an enjoyable ride today along Te Ara Ahi cycle trail - except for the mess such as various takeaway food and drink containers.
Some were quite degraded so I wondered when it had last been cleaned up. It is a very bad look for Rotorua and today is the very day that international tourism can restart in earnest.
I don’t know what organisation has responsibility for this. Rotorua Lakes Council because it is in Rotorua? The Trails Trust because it is part of the Forest Loop or Waka Kotahi (because it is along a State Highway.
Please can someone ensure this is cleaned up? I think it needs to be done regularly - probably at least once a month.
Brian Pickering
Rotorua