Rotorua, New Zealand: Skyline Rotorua

Rotorua has a lake, a city, and surrounding hills. Add the three together, and three's a good chance you have some sort of lookout. Get a big number in terms of the quality of the elements, and you've got all the makings of a gondola ride.

Sure enough, Rotorua has such a ride in the form of Skyline Rotorua. Visitors ride up and up and up to the top, get out, and look around. I will say that this particular version of the Gondola ride comes with a couple of catches. 

First - like the one in Queenstown - it comes with a luge ride. That's the motorless vehicle that allows travel around a race course of sorts. You need to take the ride up to even see if the luge ride might be worth the cost, so keep that in mind when making decisions.

Second - the observation area isn't the traditional platform. Most of the prime real estate is covered by the windows of the restaurant. We had a dinner buffet there, and the views were quite nice. But I had to do a little scrambling to find a quality photo position outside. It's a little different. If you do go up early, check for the hours of the gift shop if that interests you. 

This probably is the best place in town for a scenic dinner, That will justify the trip for many. 

Here's a video from the company: