My reluctance to leave the comfort and warmth of my Air NZ flight was quickly dispelled upon arrival into Rotorua because as though the wind were calling out ‘Nahrain’, I was drawn to the city like a bee drawn to a bed of roses.

Having visited Rotorua once before I was familiar with the city’s close connection to its history and culture and was eager to shout out Kia Ora to the friendly Maori singer who performed a gentle welcoming song for passengers as they passed through airport’s customs.

Hopping onto our hotel transport buses, plans to make the most of the two hour free period with some shut eye was taken away as quickly as the idea had aroused.

Instead, MEETINGS had prepared a special Maori welcome for its guests at Redwoods Forest, a greeting ceremony usually reserved for Royalty or political leaders.

As part of the performance Air NZ’s Lynn Simmonds was selected to take on a challenge from the Maori warrior and surprised the hundreds of buyers after withstanding the warrior’s dance with a strong stance and a fur cape.

After the group was welcomed into the Maori tribe, we enjoyed tea and snacks with our new friends in the Forest and were also treated to a performance of the anthem and a fierce Haka performance.

Arriving at our hotels with just enough time to dump our stuff, guests were invited by Rydges Hotel for a quick meet and greet at the hotel’s Mezz Bar.

A funky bar on the second level of the club, it offered a relaxing environment to catch up with new friends over some pre-dinner drinks.

The bar offered an amazing view of the hotel’s lower ground as well the clear glass roofing which is often decorated beautifully with fog during the colder seasons.

In what felt like one transport trip after another, we were taken to SkyLine Rotorua where we hopped off the bus and stepped onto a Gondola which took us to the very top of Mount Ngongotaha.

There we were invited to enjoy food, which I unfortunately being camera happy on the evening was unable to try as well as test our courage on the SkySwing and adventure on the SkyLuge.

After standing in line and psyching myself up for over half an hour, I chickened out of the opportunity to take a swing on the SkySwing, which drops at 120 kilometres per hour over a 50 metre height and out over the city.

However, I was more prepared and ready to take on the SkyLuge, a fun track ride where you control the action and the speed.

Taking me more than twenty minutes to complete the track which saw other buyers finish in less than ten, I learnt that I am in absolutely no-way a rev head.

The clock struck eight and it was time for the dare-devil fun to cease and it was time to enter Arabian nights at the Millennium Hotels and Resorts Rotorua.

Genies, tenors and Persian rugs filled the room as event guests snacked on Middle Eastern treats including dates, baklava and macaroons in the hotel’s Poolside.

The evening was absolutely stunning and was equally as brilliantly decorated.

Arriving back at my room after ten in the evening, I finally had the opportunity to admire the space and luxury in my Rydges Hotel room.

Although I am in heaven with a kitchen that includes a tea pot, a cupboard, a bathroom the size of my actual room at home, a separate bath tub, a gorgeous dining table, a wide-screen Panasonic television, Ethernet internet connection and a relaxing couch (where I write this feature), I find it hard to keep my eyes open and am now ready to take on the comfort of my double bed.