This is made up of 3 different attractions; a museum, a (new) Traders and Whalers Museum and a separate Bush railway ride (limited operating times, see under ‘Open’). It is worth deciding which part your kids will enjoy most and just paying for one attraction at a time, as there’s…
This pub also seems to be known as The Butlers Bar and Cafe. This is a family friendly pub serving good pub food. There’s a separate kids’ menu with all the usual pub staples on it (fish and chips, burgers etc). It has a garden area big enough to kick…
This family friendly market runs on the first Sunday of every month (check website for dates) and is the biggest market in Taranaki. A good atmosphere is created by local artists who come along and play music. There are stalls selling food and locally made produce including clothes, jewellery and home…
A great playground within a lovely park with a lot to do for the whole family. There’s an area for bigger kids that allows climbing, sliding, balancing and swinging skills to be tested. There’s also a good long and reasonably fast flying fox. Just across a grassy area there a…
With 52 hectares of land, there is a lot to do in Pukekura Park! There’s a playground with some interesting equipment; a waterwheel and channel for controlling the water, tunnels through a little hill, a couple of slides, the rope structure for climbing on (as pictured above), mini trampolines, flying fox…
This is a 12km walkway along the coast from the port, through central New Plymouth, to Bell Block. It’s all fully paved and open to cyclists, so great for kids on bikes or scooters as well as being buggy friendly. It’s also good for walking dogs on leads. To check out dog…
With over 40 flavours to choose from, there’s an amazing range of gelato in this fairly unassuming cafe. The gelato has deservedly won a number of awards. You can get it in the usual cup or cone and they also make their own waffle cones, as well as waffles, all…
This farm park is home to an interesting range of farm animals that kids can interact with if they want. You can go into the animal paddocks and pat or brush them. There are also bottles that can be bought for $5 if kids are interested in feeding the animals. The…
There’s a swimming spot that is popular with those in the know just north of Oakura in the Oakura River. There are toilets nearby, picnic tables and places to park. The river opens out to the beach, which is one of the more kid friendly ones in the Taranaki area,…
This is made up of year round indoor pools and outdoor pools which open in the summer months. The indoor complex includes a main pool with lane swimming and wave pool, a tarzan rope and inflatable toys. This pool is 28 degrees. There’s a separate toddler pool with a bubbles…
