Velocity Valley Adventure Park

About this place

Velocity Valley Adventure Park is an adventure-activity park at 1335 Paradise Valley Road, Ngongotaha, on the northern edge of Rotorua. It brings five commercial thrill rides together on a single site and operates as an independent business on land leased from the neighbouring Agrodome, which is owned by Ngāi Tahu Tourism.

History

The park's own timeline dates the site to 1998, when it opened with Agrojet, described by the operator as the world's first commercial jet sprint experience. Swoop, New Zealand's first giant swing, and a bungy jump followed in 1999, Freefall Xtreme (an outdoor flying wind tunnel) in 2003, and the Shweeb monorail racer in 2007. In 2010 the individual ride owners consolidated into a single company, Agroventure Adventure Park; the same year Google recognised Shweeb as a notable innovation and awarded its directors US$1 million towards developing an urban transport version. The company was renamed and rebranded Velocity Valley in January 2018.

The activities

• Vertigo — a 43-metre freefall drop into a net, with no cord
• Agrojet — jet sprint boat on a purpose-built course
• Swoop — a giant swing hoisted 40 metres, releasing to reach 130km/h
• Freefall Xtreme — outdoor wind tunnel operating at up to 220km/h
• Shweeb Racer — pedal-powered monorail pods raced over three laps

Rides are sold individually or through shareable multi-ride passes; the park notes a pass can be split across up to six people. Opening hours are listed as 9am–4pm Monday to Friday and 9am–5pm at weekends, and the park operates in all weather.

Groups, incentives and functions

Velocity Valley markets directly to groups and states it can cater for 10 to 400 people. Dedicated group streams cover corporate and team-building visits, Christmas functions, education and school groups, and stag and hen parties. Pricing for groups is handled through a quote request rather than published rates.

For MICE buyers this is an incentive and team-activity asset rather than a conference venue. The park does not publish meeting rooms, seated banquet capacities or AV specifications, and no dedicated function space is advertised. Its value to a Rotorua programme is as a half-day adrenaline or reward component, and the spread from mild to extreme across the five rides means mixed-appetite delegate groups can all take part rather than splitting up. The park holds Qualmark Gold accreditation.

Velocity Valley is at Ngongotaha, north-west of the Rotorua city centre, and is commonly paired as an off-site activity with city-based conference Rotorua venues.