Pick up the excellent Rotorua Arts Trail brochure from the visitor center. It gives names and contact details of many of the city's best artists, jewelers, and craftspeople.
The best places to shop for Maori arts and crafts are Tamaki Maori Village, State Highway 5 (tel. 07/346-2823), which has one of the best displays of indigenous work in the country; Te Puia, at Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve (tel. 07/348-9047), where you'll find superb carvings; and The Best of Maori Tourism, Haupapa Street (tel. 07/347-4226), which has contemporary and traditional crafts and especially good weaving and carved gourds.
A stunning new Maori-owned gallery, Te Raukura, Tutanekai and Haupapa streets (tel. 07/921-0070), is well worth a stop if you're looking for something classy and indigenous to take home.
Simply New Zealand, Tourism Rotorua Centre, 1161 Fenton St. (tel. 07/348-8273; www.simplynewzealand.com), has an excellent range of New Zealand-made merino wool knitwear, delightful toiletries, and a host of souvenirs. Rainbow Springs and Agrodome have good shops for wool products. At the Jade Factory, 1288 Fenton St. (tel. 07/349-3968; www.jadefactory.com), you can watch the creative process of carving jade as it happens. For contemporary New Zealand art, visit Madhouse Store & Gallery, 1093 Tutanekai St., across from the Royal Lakeside Novotel (tel. 07/347-6066; www.madhousedesign.co.nz).
