Velocity Valley Rotorua Review

Last Updated on 15th April 2024

This Velocity Valley Rotorua review contains affiliate links.

When we first talked about going to New Zealand for the start of our trip around the world, I desperately wanted to ensure that we had the best travel experience possible.

I’m talking about daily activities, long hikes, day trips and all the adventures you could possibly imagine.

So when my mum and dad very kindly bought us tickets to Velocity Valley in Rotorua, New Zealand, I was so excited to try my hand at some incredible, albeit absolutely terrifying activities.

If you’ve got a trip planned to the North Island anytime soon, then I’d highly recommend paying a visit to Velocity Valley; here’s everything you can expect from the adventure park in Rotorua!

Situated in the suburbs of Rotorua, Velocity Valley is just an hour and a half drive from Katikati in the Bay of Plenty, or two and a half hours from Auckland.

We visited on a Thursday and as it’s winter here in NZ, the park was virtually empty apart from myself and Matt and maybe five other people! If you can, I’d definitely suggest visiting during the week as I imagine weekends can get pretty busy, especially in the height of summer.

Matt and I were on the VIP package at Velocity Valley, which meant that we had access to five different ‘rides’; the Shweeb Racer, Agrojet, Freefall Xtreme, Swoop and the Rotorua Bungy. These uniquely named rides were a combination of fun, thrills and plenty of adrenaline and our day at Velocity Valley was without a doubt one of the best things we’ve done since we got here! Check out some of the rides below to see what you can expect from a fun-filled day at Velocity Valley, Rotorua!

Shweeb Racer Rotorua

The Shweeb Racer was our first ‘ride’ of the day and it was certainly the one to get our hearts racing and muscles working!

It’s dubbed as the ‘world’s first human-powered monorail racetrack’ and the racing pods can reach speeds of up to 50km per hour; that is, if you’re an Olympic-trained athlete, but still!

Although we decided that the Shweeb Racer was our least favourite activity of the day (the rest of them were just so adrenaline-inducing!), it was still so much fun and a fantastic way to start the day!

Unfortunately for me, Matt sped ahead and completed his laps much quicker than I did; you have to pedal pretty hard to gain traction but once you do, you’ll be whizzing around the track!

It was also such a unique ride and neither of us had ever experienced anything like it before.

Agrojet Jet Boat Rotorua

agrojet jet boat velocity valley rotorua

Known as ‘New Zealand’s fastest jet sprint’ as well as achieving various otherworldly accolades, the Agrojet reaches 100km per hour and 3Gs of force; it’s safe to say that it was just a tad fast.

Our driver, Callum, was so funny and friendly and ensured that we whizzed around the manmade ‘lake’ at full speed. It’s compared to a Ferrari on water and I can definitely vouch for that; we were zooming around the course seemingly at the speed of light!

The Agrojet takes you around the course three times, each lap increasing in speed until you hit the astonishing speed of 100km/ph! The footage of our faces while on the Agrojet is an absolute sight to see; you can tell we were just a little shocked and impressed at how fast it goes!

Another funny little story for you: when we got off the Agrojet, we went and stood in the ‘splash zone’ to watch two (out of five in the whole park…) people enjoy their race around the track. Little did we know that by ‘splash zone’, it literally means SPLASH ZONE.

We literally got drenched from head to toe; I tipped my boot upside down and water just poured out! So if you’re thinking you’ll get a good video while standing in the splash zone, I’d advise against it and just stand a little bit further back!

Freefall Xtreme – Velocity Valley Rotorua review

The Freefall Xtreme was something that I didn’t think would be too scary at all but I was definitely mistaken!

While it was such a rush and so cool to experience, it was still also slightly terrifying; climbing over a net with many, many holes above a giant fan that blows at 220km/ph up to another thin net with huge gaps around the top.

Fun, but also sh*t scary!

We were put into a special flying suit which isn’t particularly flattering but it felt pretty cool nonetheless. After a few brief safety instructions and a couple of practices laying on a small table to see how good our flying positions were, we headed outside into the deafeningly loud wind tunnel!

It was such a crazy sensation to ‘fly’ and the wind blasting in your face is pretty overwhelming but the feeling of being able to float in the air while spinning 360 degrees is so much fun!

Swoop Rotorua

Our penultimate activity at Velocity Valley was the Swoop; a giant swing that pulls you up 40m into the air and then you pull a cord and go whizzing down from 0-130km/h in 1 second!

The Swoop can be enjoyed by one, two or three people at a time and is a super fun way to see how well you’d cope with the height of the bungy platform!

You swing so close to the ground and for a second you genuinely wonder if you’re going to plummet towards the ground but naturally, you don’t! The thrill of the Swoop swing is immense and even though I’ve seen videos of similar things before, nothing compares to the real thing!

Rotorua Bungy – Velocity Valley Rotorua review

bungy jump rotorua velocity valley New Zealand

The Rotorua Bungy Jump was something that’s been on my travel bucket list for a long time and even though I was truly terrified, it was also one of the best experiences of my life!

At 43m high, it’s pretty high up and the crane journey up to the top is rather nerve-wracking. The guys who take you up and assist you are so kind and really help to try and calm your nerves.

Walking to the edge of the crane’s platform is thoroughly petrifying as you really feel like you’re on the edge of the world; 141ft is a long way down when you’re only attached to a rope by your ankles…

Those few seconds before you jump are truly the scariest and then the next thing you know, you’ve done it; you’ve jumped off the edge and are soaring through the sky at terminal velocity.

If you saw my Instagram post, you’ll know just how much I screamed but the adrenaline rush you get when flying down towards the ground really is phenomenal and it’s so worth the terror you feel beforehand.

As you can see from the picture above, I was pretty delighted with myself and so proud that I’d managed to achieve it. It’s a feeling I’ll never forget and one that I’m sure I’ll recreate one day!

Our time at Velocity Valley was honestly so incredible and we made so many memories that we’ll both treasure forever. If you’re ever in the North Island of New Zealand, I’d definitely suggest making the trip to Rotorua to go to Velocity Valley; it’s something that you’ll remember forever!

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Have you ever been anywhere that’s like Velocity Valley? Would you ever do a bungy jump? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter at @imjustagirl_16.