New owners of site of Rotorua's Rainbow Springs Nature Park consider new tourism venture 

Following their acquisition of the site of Rotorua's Rainbow Springs Nature Park, a spokesperson for the new Māori owners has advised that it is considering a new tourism offering on the site.

A collective of Ngāti Whakaue entities - comprising the Pukeroa Oruawhata Trust, Ngāti Whakaue Assets Trust and Ngāti Whakaue Education Endowment Trust - have agreed to purchase the land which Rainbow Springs used to operate on.

In March 2022, Ngāi Tahu Tourism closed Rainbow Springs citing substantial operating and maintenance costs which, combined with Covid uncertainty, meant that Rainbow Springs was not financially viable as a business.

The Ngāti Whakaue collective have purchased the underlying land, while the assets fixed to the land will also transfer to the collective as the new landowner.

Ngati Whakaue collective negotiator David Tapsell told the NZHerald "the immediate objective of the Ngāti Whakaue collective was to get the whenua (Māori land) back for Ngati Whakaue.

“We will now take some time to consider the future use options for the whenua. Given its proximity to Skyline, and being strategically located at the northern gateway to Rotorua, a new tourism offering makes sense and we will look at a range of options.

“Although the tourism market has been less than ideal over the last three years, it is definitely starting to rebound.

“We were also conscious of the immediate opportunity to secure this whenua for Ngāti Whakaue now, rather than risk it being generations before our iwi had the chance again.”

Delighted with the acquisition, Andrew Wilson, Chief Executive of the RotoruaNZ tourism promotion agency, stated “it’s fantastic for Rotorua that the Ngāti Whakaue collective have been able to secure this site.

“Ngāti Whakaue have a solid reputation in business and have other tourism interests including the iconic Te Puia | NZMACI and the game-changing Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa set to open on the lakefront next year. I’m really excited to see what the Ngāti Whakaue collective have planned for the site in the future.”

Ngāti Whakaue collective and Ngāi Tahu have agreed that Ngāi Tahu will remain on site for up to a year to enable them to fully re-locate the National Kiwi Hatchery to the Agrodome site. Once this has occurred, a formal transfer ceremony will take place at a date to be agreed next year.

Image: Rainbow Springs closed its doors to visitors in March this year, citing a combination of costs and Covid uncertainty.