The Big Splash now open
Rainbow Springs, Rotorua last week opened The Big Splash, its $10m thrill ride. Described as a family-friendly eco-experience designed to entertain and educate visitors about conservation and sustainability, The Big Splash ride features a 12-metre waterslide. Guests ride in of a fleet of eight-seat boats departing at one-minute intervals, passing through a native forest canopy, past a Maori
pa settlement and a European timber mill town. Life-sized moa, Haast eagle and dinosaur models inhabit the dense 1ha forest planted with 7000 native trees and plants to represent ancient Aotearoa New Zealand.
An onboard commentary interprets the arrival, and later destruction, of native bird and plant species as the land is settled and exploited by the human settlers arriving from the Pacific Islands and Europe. The gentle boat journey ends with a 12m drop on the waterslide. Access to the ride is included as part of the Rainbow Springs admission price, and it operates daily between 9am and 5pm.
