Tours put sole back into city

The launch of the Rotorua Walking Tours saw more than 30 people enjoying local history. Photo / Ben Fraser

Spitting rain did not deter more than 30 people from enjoying the first Rotorua Walking Tour.

The free guided tour, which began yesterday, is an initiative by locals Roger Martin, Vivian Cooper and Heather Vail.

Ms Vail was surprised at the turnout for the 90-minute tour, which began at the i-Site, made its way through the Government Gardens, and finished at the museum.

"This is way more than we expected, we are thrilled and chuffed," Ms Vail said.

The initiative had received a lot of interest from its inception, Mrs Cooper said.

"We have been training guides, about 14 turned up after our first advertisement," she said

Local guides were able to infuse the tour with local knowledge, Mrs Cooper said.

"One of our guides has lived in Rotorua since he was 5 years old, so he provides a lot of local, inside knowledge. We want to empower the city to add value to visits. People can spend time to get to know the place," she said.

Ms Vail agreed.

"There is a wealth of history that is untapped, things you can't find on Google," she said.

Guides spoke from a script written by Roger Martin, who owns Happy Ewe Cycle Tours.

He referenced the archives of the late Rotorua historian Don Stafford, he said.

Sydneysider Michael Dwyer was in Rotorua for 24 hours and said he enjoyed the tour.

"I just stumbled on it 10 minutes ago, one of the organisers told me what they were doing and I thought: why not?

"I really like it, it's great," Mr Dwyer said.

"The whole of Rotorua has been a nice little surprise really. I'll be selling it when I get back to Sydney," he said.