Rotorua Private tour with Hotspring

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Sarah M.

November 14, 2025

We went on the Nocturnal Glow Worm tour with Stephen mid-November. It is a small group night hike through a little known forest outside of Rotorua. Steve will pick you up and return you to any centrally located lodging or the Visitor Center. On the drive out of town, he stops first at a viewpoint for a stunning sunset. As the drive continues, once off the highway, he stops to point out unique trees to New Zealand as well as a couple creatures we happened upon along the way. When we reach our destination, he passes out a couple torches to each participant, one with white light and one with red. The night hike proceeds along a forest trail which eventually winds along a creek and ends at a waterfall before circling back. It should be noted the trail is not paved, has an uneven surface with numerous tree roots crossing it. It drops off into the creek in places. I mention this as you need to wear good shoes and consider if you have balance issues. With the two torches in hand, you cannot use hiking poles. Steve stops several places to show us the flora and fauna and when we get to the areas where there are gow worms, to explain just how they glow etc. It is AMAZING. Steve has a wonderful talent for explaining some fairly complex Glow Worm nuances as well as a wealth of knowledge about the area, the Maori culture and just about anything participants asked. As the group exited the forest, he pointed out constellations and even starlinks! Rotorua is known for over commercialized attractions. This tour is like the company's name 'Real Rotorua'. Strikingly refreshing!

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ACT

November 05, 2025

This glow worm experience with Real Rotorua was, well, REAL! Stephen took a small group of us way out into the country and into the forest at night for an amazing, personalized walk with flashlights to explore NZ plant life as well as glow worms. He has perfected places and (flash)lighting for special photo opportunities. Stephen's knowledge of NZ plants, animals, and geology is stunning, but his knowledge of glow worms is that of a biologist! We were shown not just the sparkle of glow worms in the forest when we turned off our flashlights, but Stephen let us examine glow worms up close where we could see their tiny twig-like bodies (1/2" long) and even the nearly invisible threads that the extend down along their bodies with sticky droplets to trap their tiny prey. He later sent us photos of what we saw as well as our own "glowing" portraits in the darkness. It was our favorite NZ tour! Real Rotorua is an extensive and fascinating experience that you can access from downtown Rotorua instead of driving for hours to zip through a darkened cave. Stephen even provided a hot drink and homemade shortbread at the end! You can tell that his passion is to share this amazing and unique experience with others, and he clearly derives enjoyment from that. I decided not to share the close-up photos of the glow worms; go on the Real Rotorua tour and see them for yourself!

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Lisa

October 06, 2025

I went back and forth on which glowworm tour to choose during my New Zealand trip (something informative, unique, more authentic vs touristy, etc) and this tour was perfect! Stephen was very knowledgeable and shared all kinds of information plus had fun stories about how he formed this ideal tour (so many torches he went through). The fact that the tour was so small made it feel very personalized and Stephen was very accommodating with pickup/dropoff location if you were in central Rotorua. And if you wonder how many glowworms you see on this trip let me just say at one point in the woods you look up and see stars and then you look back down at the cliff face and you could swear you are still looking at stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️