The gondola ride up Mount Ngongotaha is expensive but good. Definitely worth doing as a special treat if you can afford it. There are amazing views over the whole Rotorua area from the top and you also have the option of doing the luge which is great fun for both kids and adults if you like to have the wind through your hair and have no fear of speed! Age and height restrictions for doing the luge alone apply (5 years and under / under 110cm must travel in tandem with an adult). An additional height restrictions applies to the advanced luge track for 6+ year olds travelling alone (must be 135cm or over). See here for more details. There are no restrictions for kids doing the luge with an adult.

Ideally you’d do this activity when the sky is blue and sun is shining BUT it can be done in most weather conditions (it has to be quite extreme rain or snow for the Luge to stop operating and very high wind or lightening for the Gondola to stop). The best advice is to dress for the weather bearing in mind that it could be wetter/colder at the top. If you’re doing the luge, consider wearing waterproof coat and pants if you have them and hats and gloves are good during the autumn and winter months. There’s a cafe that you can warm up in at the top, serving hot drinks, quite expensive but a good place to be if you need to escape rain or to wait if you’re not doing the luge.

There is also mountain biking, a Skyswing and Zoom zipline at this location and the biplane has also been recommended by Facebook followers. Have you tried mountain biking or the Skyswing here? Let me know if you have so I can add details….