Boat Plane Ride over Rotorua and Mount Tarawera

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 Looking at Mount Tarawera and the amazing surroundings of Rotorua and beyond from above is an experience you will never forget.

You may therefore wonder why I am NOT going to recommend it?

Well I am and I am not. 

I thoroughly recommend doing it but NOT in a boat plane or any small fixed wing aircraft.

Instead use a helicopter option, perhaps the one now available at the Agrodome?  http://new-zealand-north-island.blogspot.com/1991/02/agrodome-rotorua.html

Why?

Because the turbulence in such an aircraft can make you feel so incredibly sick it detracts from the enjoyment of the flight. I know this may not affect everybody in the same way but there were 4 of us on the flight and it made us all feel really ill. Although funnily enough we all tried to be heroes during the flight saying we were having a wonderful time. It was long after we landed before everyone confessed how sick we had felt.

There's another good reason to opt for a helicopter over an aircraft and that is the fact that a helicopter usually gives you better visibility for photographing the ground and a wider panoramic view.

From memory I think the only reason my father did not opt for the helicopter was that, with his long engineering background, he always insisted that according to the laws of physics a helicopter should be unable to fly and was therefore unsafe. He swore he would never fly in one.

Being somebody who has enjoyed a helicopter flight, although not over New Zealand, I know which gave me the smoother ride. When we next return to Rotorua a helicopter would be first choice.