Photo by Jeffphp, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
🇳🇿 New Zealand · Waiotapu, near Rotorua, North Island
Photo by Jeffphp, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
🇳🇿 New Zealand · Waiotapu, near Rotorua, North Island
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✓ Verified on 2026-07-28
Kerosene Creek, formally the Hakereteke Stream (Māori name Te Ranga), is a naturally hot spring-fed stream about 27 km south of Rotorua within the Waiotapu geothermal area. It rises on the slopes of Tutehu, passes a swamp near Rotowhera (Green Lake), and features a small waterfall roughly 2 m tall that flows into a popular natural swimming hole. The creek contains multiple hot springs, some with petroleum seeps (the source of its English name) and hydrogen sulphide gas, and remains an uncommercialised, free-access site.
The stream's native Māori name is Te Ranga, and it holds cultural significance for the iwi Ngāti Tūhourangi and Ngāti Tahu–Ngāti Whaoa. It was ranked among the 'top 10 swimming holes in New Zealand' by AA Directions in 2015.
AddressOld Waiotapu Road, near Waiotapu, approximately 27 km south of Rotorua, New Zealand