Tropicana Magazine Mar-Apr 2016 #106: The Active Issue

New Zealand is not all about sheep, men with tattooed faces
or Lord of the Rings. It is also the land where glaciers and
volcanoes rule the region with a slew of epic selfie spots
that you will remember to the end of Middle Earth. Top
that with ponds of sulfur featuring magnificent geysers due
to geothermal activity, which is what you will discover at
‘Te Rotorua-nui-a-kahumatamomoe’ or, in easier terms,
Rotorua, located three hours away by car from Auckland.
Here lies the ‘Arikikapakapa’ Rotorua Golf Club, which is
touted to give you a unique geothermal golfing experience.
Sitting prettily in the picturesque Whakarewarewa
geothermal village inside the city itself, the Rotorua Golf
Club is a full 18-hole, par 70 course that provides variety
and challenge with many holes played over and around both
dormant and active thermal areas. This is an all-weather,
links-style course with easy walking and an excellent
golfing layout where you may just come across hearing the
sound after which it was named, Arikikapakapa – meaning
‘the gentle sound of popping mud’.
The club was established in 1906 and had three homes
before finally settling on the Arikikapakapa Reserve in
1912. The Reserve, especially set aside for recreational and
medicinal use for its hot springs, was gifted to the British
Crown by the representative of Ngati Whakaue – the local
Maori clan that belongs in Rotorua.
On the course, golfers can test their skills using four different
colored tees: red, yellow, white and blue. The course’s
variety of sui generis playing features is highly protected
and well-maintained by its members with a strong sense of
pride, making it one of the most well-known international
golfing destinations south of the world.
This would be one of the courses where the caddie would
tell you that at the left of the 9th hole green, there are a
number of bubbling mud pools and steam vents that should
be avoided, while it would take a bit of skill to maneuver
the odd-looking sulfur mound located on the right. Widely
written about by golf writers around the world, it has even
been featured on New Zealand’s postage stamp.
The spectacular 14th hole brings a bigger surprise, guarded
by a monster geothermal crater - one that is forbidden to
descent into. Opened in February 2001, golfers love to
view it as a signature hole and a par here will be a pleasing
story you can brag about back home.
90 TM | MARCH/APRIL 2016