I'd give it 6 stars if I could. For anyone wanting to learn the ancient art of the Blacksmith or just have a fun day and go home with something you've made and a great story to tell, this experience is well worth it. Rob is always willing to pass on his wealth of knowledge and experience. His enthusiasm for the craft is contagious and the full day experience is honestly not enough for any avid fan of crafting glowing hot metal. I could have spent a week there. Arja's authentic, home cooking was phenomenal and really added to the whole experience. You can't learn on an empty stomach. I will definitely be going back to Kowhai Forge.

Rob & Arja were very welcoming and the course was awesome. I did full day course so i was available to forge my own kitchenette knife i'm so grateful to have a knife i'll carry for all my carrer. I'll not forget to tanins Arja for the beautiful lunch. (And thank's again for the receipe!!!!) well if you want to spend a good day and learning some blacksmith that's definitly the place to be Cheers Seb

There are not many most do in Nz but this is definitely one. Just go for it. You wont doubt it. I did it with my father and we both enjoyed it really much. Together with the waitomo caves the two best things on the north island. It is just awesome, Rob is funny, friendly and knows and loves what he does. The food is good and so are the drinks. It came out that the knife in the end was just ,,Das Sahnehäubchen" as we would say in Germany. Hands down that's a 5/5 without any hesitation.

This was such an awesome experience. Blacksmithing is SO HARD! But Rob makes it look so easy, bringing life into steel! So good.

Set high in the hills this workshop is a great place to spend the morning. Very welcoming and friendly atmosphere. With no past experience we crafted a piece of artwork under Rob's skilled guidance. Enjoyed a scrumptious morning tea and left with a great sense of achievement. Even got to keep our prized creation! Amazing to see the skill and passion Rob has for blacksmithing Thanks Rob and family

Awesome experience for beginners. Wife and kids loved it.

Make sure it is on your to do list. My daughter enjoyed every climb, hang, and splash although she did close her eyes on the luge haha. The instructor was great too. We were greeted warmly and they knew who we were when we walked through. Off roading can be for males and females so def give it a go. I was mesmerized with the monster 4 x 4 that I will do next trip around. The course isn’t too extreme but there are other options it was just right for my daughter and myself to have some fun.

This place is awesome for some adventure, we had only booked for the 4wd safari but the lady st the front counter was very helpful and we ended up doing the go karts as well, we did a 10min go kart ride 1st there were 3 others in this group which made it allot more fun, the karts were great the instructors were great to Franky was learning the ropes but did a great job!! The go karts were awesome great speed and handled well only complaint is I want more!!! Then we went and did the 4wd safari We had Franky again learning and Cori both these guys are great Cori’s knowledge was fantastic and if you listen and do as the instructors say it’s a lot better experience as they know what the cars can and can’t do, great bunch of guys awesome and thanks allot we’ll be back!!!! They also have a clay bird shooting range and a 4wd monster safari were you are the passenger

Bloody brilliant . Perfect Peter and Terrible Tanya had 2 goes a couple of days ago. Was soooo good but Perfect Peter felt the need to improve his time .so we went back again yesterday. The guys gave him advice which he took and improved his lap time by 6 seconds. ( with metal wrists) 1.17 seconds ??

Absolutely awesome experience. It is a must do! I will be back for sure.

Our 4 grandsons were buzzing after this amazing experience. Thanks Dom for giving them the amazing ride.

I had an amazing time on this activity, it was great fun and the trail just kept getting better and better. I would highly recommend this activity ?

Best experience on karts I've had. The staff were awesome, informative and let you go hard. You knew they would take care of things if they got out of hand, so that safety precaution was good to know they're there if needed. The quality of the karts were great but then I can only compare them to indoor carts, where there is NO comparison in the end. I recommend to EVERYONE to get out there and have a blat!

Great fun on the bush safari, couldn't wipe the smiles off the boys faces!

We had the pleasure of being the only ones in this group and it was ALOT of fun for us! Big thanks to Curtis for his good humour top bloke. Well worth the short drive out of town for.

Enjoyable ride with informative commentary that takes you back in time revealing the history of both the railway and the area.The track weaves its way through scenic bush and farmland,and even under a main road. Friendly, engaged staff make the experience complete.

Booked to go Railcruising with my husband and Dad for Fathers Day, arrived and had safety briefing, allocated to our railcruiser for the trip from the Mamaku station out to Tarukenga station, the views were amazing even though the weather was not great, you are in the railcruiser with waterproof drop down sides, so the views are unobstructed whatever the weather. Thoroughly enjoyed by all and the staff were all very friendly and helpful. Would recommend to all, suitable for all age groups.

My two girls & I really enjoyed this unique mini train adventure, the railcar was comfortable & you have unobstructed views from each seat. We particularly liked the birdlife flying about along the track. Roxy our guide was professional, informative & excellent to deal with. Will bring my parents back next time, they'd love it 😊

A really interesting way of travelling through the countryside around Lake Roturua in the peace of your own Rail cruiser with only the sound of the birds and track. Such a brilliant way of making use of an old railway track taking us into the hidden depths of the woodland, farms to view the different indigenous species of plants and trees. Perfect for all ages in all weathers protected from direct sun but open at the sides but should it rain you can just drop the sides. The organisers are very welcoming inviting you to have tea,coffee or chocolate before you depart whilst sitting watching a video showing the development of the project.

Take a scenic drive out to Mamuki railway station- 20 mins from Rotorua. Jump on your rail car and ride through the hills taking in the views. Great fun for everyone! Would absolutely do it again.

Very good experience. Welcome was very friendly, trip was relaxing. Cold, so you should wrap up well, although they supply blankets ( and free tea and coffee before you start.) Interesting audio commentary along the way. Would do again.

Great ride, perfect for the whole family. Informative commentary, friendly staff. Thanks for this experience.

Once again we had a great experience on the self drive rail cruiser. Great communication and friendly helpful staff. Thanks again Cherie for making this few hours for ourselves and our visitors a memorable experience. You certainly know your stuff and your customer service skills are the best. 💖

Absolutely fantastic 😊! Thanks to David for the Hot drinks before the rail cruise. Great job with the Safety talk and History video before the trip! Commentary throughout the journey was brilliant! Shelly .. Many thanks for taking good care of getting us on board safely.. Awesome team ! Friendly ..Ya gotta do this excursion. !!.. you will rave about it 😃 PS.. we went in July ...bundle up warm....it can get quite cold trekking through the forest , although warm throw blankets were provided.😉

We thoroughly enjoyed the Rotorua Rail Cruising. It was well run by enthusiastic staff who took very good care of everyone. The scenery was stunning and the commentary informative. A unique experience.

Absolutely amazing great fun for all ages. Entertaining and interesting . Highly recommend

All credit to these owners who have revived this Railway to make it a lovely trip through Bush and views of the lake. The carts are comfortable and make this a journey with a difference. Recommended

An experience for the young and young at heart. We had so much fun and the commentary was informative. Thank you Aidan for your wonderful attitude and sense of humour, you put a smile on all our faces.

We went and booked this on a whim after seeing some road signs on the way into Rotorua, and boy were we glad to do it! Nothing quite compares to the fun of your own little train taking you to unknown places. Staff are so friendly and up for a bit of banter, but are also very organized so everything went smoothly. Highly recommended!

Awesome experience almost didn't do it but so glad we did