Driving to work, there is a blanket of white over the grass belonging to neighbouring houses. To my right, wreaths of misty cloud snake around the hills, and the city is cold and quiet.
Rotorua in winter is no less exciting than in summer; there are still plenty of options for any visitor. With a growing range of adrenalin activities, Rotorua is fast becoming known as an adventure destination. The adventure products are all-weather activities, and with that in mind, I headed out earlier this winter to try the world-renowned Zorb.
One of the city’s most popular attractions, the Zorb was invented in Rotorua. Riders can zoom 200m downhill in a Zorbit, where they’re secured with a harness. This ride provides maximum G-force for riders, who experience a sensation of weightlessness each time they reach the top of the Zorb.
Visitors who don’t mind getting wet can try the Zydro – a cross between a waterfall and a roller coaster – solo or with up to two friends. This option, affectionately known as the ‘wash cycle’, is the one we opt for.
Freshly changed into our ‘Zorbonaut’ shorts and t-shirts, we face a cold wait for the ‘Zorbmobile’ to collect us from the bottom of the hill, and amuse ourselves watching people emerge from each Zorb as it rolls to a stop a few feet away. They say it’s like being reborn, sliding out of the small hole that constitutes the entrance to a Zorb. Each person appears feet first, shivering, their hair wet and bedraggled, but their faces grinning from ear to ear. It looks like fun.
The Zorbmobile (everything revolves around the word Zorb here) pulls up in a cloud of dust and we nervously clamber in.
“Hang on, it’ll be a bit bumpy,” the driver warns us, a split second before he takes off. We slide around on the plastic seats and scramble for hand holds to keep from bouncing into the roof.
Deposited at the top, we’re left standing eyeball to eyeball with our Zorb, and I realise how big the clear plastic balls are - and how small the entrance hole I’m expected to dive through is. A staff member told me once how an Asian woman missed the hole at this point, and visions of doing the same thing have haunted me ever since. But I manage, and have just enough time to disentangle myself from my friend before our third rider falls through the hole on top of me. A few shouted words from our instructor on the outside, and we’re off.
The Zorb course is 150m in length, and depending on conditions riders can reach speeds of up to 50km/hr. I have no idea how fast we go but I quickly become disoriented and lose track of whose limbs are whose as we tumble around each other.
Light-hearted fun it may be, but Zorb riding is an extreme sport: staff are all trained accordingly and strict safety measures are followed.
Dry clothes and towels are available for purchase on site.
Justine Southwick
Justine Southwick is the media advisor for Destination Rotorua Tourism Marketing