New Zealand is a country of diverse natural beauty and offers a large range of adventure activities making it an ideal destination for business conferences and team building events. The North Island boasts such unique landscapes as snow capped volcanoes, picturesque bays and rolling green fields providing the perfect backdrop for any event. Choosing the North Island of New Zealand for your next corporate function will ensure it is an exciting and original event. Think outside the square and go beyond Auckland for your business conference, as there are many beautiful cities in New Zealand, all with their own unique charm.
Rotorua is located on the Volcanic Plateau and has one of the planets most active fields of geothermal activity. Bubbling mud pools, sky rocketing geysers and hot springs are scattered throughout the town and are evidence that Rotorua is situated directly over the Pacific Rim of Fire. This unique landscape can add another dimension to your conference providing excellent opportunities for day trips and break out activities including visits to thermal spas, or adventure activities such as zorbing or luging. There are many hotels in Rotorua offering conference facilities, along with purpose built conference venues. Hotels are always a good option as they provide an all in one service including accommodation, catering etc. Rotorua accommodation is plentiful and varied due to the town's popularity as a tourist destination, so accommodating your delegates within your budget should be easy to achieve. Rotorua has a high volume of tourists, meaning there are a good number of tour operators and service providers for services such as transport and entertainment.
Hamilton, just over an hour south of Auckland is another ideal location for corporate events with its easily accessible position and unique features. There are a great many hotels, motels and lodges offering Hamilton accommodation and conference facilities, many dealing with corporate functions regularly. Hamilton is New Zealand's fourth largest city and boasts stunning parks, gardens and walks. Nearby Matamata is the home of the purpose built Hobbiton Movie Set, used for the making of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy and is an interesting day trip. Waitomo Caves, a short drive from Hamilton, is a maze of underwater rivers and cave systems with walls covered in a galaxy of glow worms. The caves can be explored by foot or the more adventurous way of blackwater rafting, where participants, crawl, swim and float through the caves on rubber tubes. Team building activities such as these help to create an event that guests will never forget. Other activities include horse riding, hiking and the nearby Maungatautari Ecological Island Reserve that offers a rare insight into some of New Zealand's native flora and fauna including daily feedings. The Otorohanga Kiwi House offers close-up experiences including guaranteed sightings of New Zealand's iconic Kiwi bird in specially created nocturnal houses.
Another town worthy of consideration is Palmerston North, a lively university town in the Manawatu region with a good range of hotels offering conference facilities and Palmerston North accommodation. The Manawatu Gorge provides options for conference activities such as scenic walks and jetboat tours. A conference in a Palmerston North hotel is likely to be better value than one in larger cities, if budget is a concern, and has unique activities and scenery to make it an event to remember.