Okere Falls
Encyclopedia
Rotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
and Tauranga
Tauranga
Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...
on the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The town is a popular spot for fishing & rafting and is known for its beautiful lakeside and waterfalls. There are commercial rafting companies and holiday park accommodation within the town. A seven metre high waterfall lays claim to being the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world.
The Okere River is a site of significant Māori cultural and spiritual values. Okere River meaning "the place of drifting", is an 11 km stretch of the Kaituna River
Kaituna River
The Kaituna River is located in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the outflow from Lakes Rotorua and Rotoiti, and flows northwards for 45 kilometres, emptying into the Bay of Plenty near Te Puke...
. A well-formed bushwalk with scenic lookouts over Okere River and its spectacular waterfalls can be found on Trout Pool road.
Okere Falls was the site of an early power station which brought electricity to Rotorua in 1901. The Okere Falls power station was the first power station built by the New Zealand government, and it remained in operation until 1936.
Okere Falls on Television
In the Fifth season of CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
The Amazing Race
The Amazing Race
The Amazing Race is a reality television game show in which teams of two people, who have some form of a preexisting personal relationship, race around the world in competition with other teams...
, The teams had to make their way to the Rotorua
Rotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
Museum
where their next clue was a detour. From there they had the option of Clean or Dirty,
teams that chose dirty had to search for their next clue at Hell's Gate while others who chose clean got to go whitewater river sledging at Okere Falls.
For the Second series of Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie
Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie
Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie was a British reality Television series on ITV2, series 1 focused on Jack Osbourne's globe-trekking six-month quest to get in physical and mental shape to climb the rockface of California's El Capitan mountain, the show documents Osbourne running with the bulls in...
.
Jack Osbourne
Jack Osbourne
Jack Joseph Osbourne is an English media personality, best known as the son of musician Ozzy Osbourne and music manager Sharon Osbourne, and brother of Aimee and Kelly Osbourne.-Early life and family:...
can be seen trying the white-water kayaking as a part of the show's challenge before making his way to Japan.