Rotorua Christmas for Swiss tourists

When you're 18,000km away from home there is nothing like a good friend to share the Christmas period with.

Swiss tourists Jonas Leuthold and Lucia Stich had never met before coming to Rotorua, but became friends during a tour of Whakarewarewa Village.

"We didn't know each other. But I said we should spend Christmas together," Ms Stich said. "It is much nicer spending your time with someone else."

The pair have been camping in Rotorua for the past few days, enjoying the sights and staying at Rotorua Top 10 Holiday Park.

"It was nice to meet someone else from Switzerland here," Mr Leuthold said. "I'm travelling on my bike, so Rotorua was just on my route through."

The pair said their Christmas period had been very memorable in Rotorua and they enjoyed looking at a number of sights, including places like Te Puia.

Mr Leuthold said sadly his trip was coming to an end in New Zealand, after an exciting month of biking across the North Island, covering about 500km.

Ms Stich will travel south in her campervan during the next couple of months, exploring the rest of the country.