"Its other Zorbing activities are not exempted and cannot be offered.
"The exemption has been granted on the basis that the wet-zorb activity is considered lower-risk and based on initial information provided by safety auditors there are appropriate safety systems in place for that activity."
However, Zorb Rotorua general manager Haydn Marriner told the Rotorua Daily Post Zorb had stopped offering its Zorbit (non water) experience about 10 months ago and only offered wet Zorb rides.
He said Zorb opened for business as normal yesterday and would continue working through the requirements for registration as an adventure activity operator.
"We have been disappointed that there was no consultation with us that our sector had been reclassified and also that we received a very short three hours' notice of the reclassification and its subsequent ramifications.
"We believe that it's a testament to our safety systems that we were able to turn our situation around in such a short time," Mr Marriner said.
A WorkSafe spokesman said it appreciated the decision to reclassify Zorb's activities came at short notice and Zorb had worked hard to quickly comply with the improvement notices.
"WorkSafe processed Zorb's application for an exemption promptly in recognition of the situation the company found itself in."
The spokesman said the whole sector had not been reclassified, only the specific activities offered by Zorb New Zealand.
"There are a range of operators offering ball-rolling activities, some of which are subject to the regulations and some which are not (such as those offered on flat surfaces)."
Mr Marriner said in recognition of reopening, Zorb was offering a price of $30 for the first Zorb Experience and $19 for any additional rides until the end of February.
Ogo Rotorua, which runs a similar operation on the side of Mt Ngongotaha, has been registered as an adventure activity operator since November 2014.
- Additional reporting Katie Holland
