Drive up one of the few substantial hills in Hawke’s Bay to admire the huge landscapes of farmland that make up the area. You can park near the peak and just walk up the last bit for the views or you can go for a longer walk around Redwood Forest.…
This is a popular family friendly restaurant and it pays to book for weekend and public holiday tables. The menu is full of favourite family-friendly staples, done well and there’s a good selection on the kids’ menu including some of the adult meals done as a kid-sized portion. The thing that…
This is a world class skatepark designed for multiple ages and levels of kids with skateboards, BMX bikes, or scooters. Some say it’s the best skate park in the country, but you can let your kids decide! The designers have thought about younger kids too by including a small playground with…
There are various things to do in Cornwall Park during cooler months, although the attractions are quite small so may not fill more than an hour. There’s an aviary, a Chinese garden and playground with a small but interesting selection of equipment (wobbly bridge, monkey bars and obstacle courses. Swings including…
There are 4 branches of this cafe around Hawke’s Bay all serving Bay Espresso’s own locally roasted coffee but this recommendation is for the original cafe as it’s the only one the reviewer has been to. They do a great breakfast with a good selection of choices on the menu,…
There is a great family friendly atmosphere at the Sunday Farmers’ Market at the Show Grounds in Hastings. This is a weekly event held no matter what the weather is like. It’s inside during the winter and outside in the summer. The stalls are filled with food and drinks that are locally…
Formerly known as Onekawa pools, there is a year round indoor pool that has the only indoor hydroslides in Hawke’s Bay, but this recommendation is for the summer outdoor splash pad. There is no standing water here so it’s great for all ages with lots of fountains and spraying water…
Lots of families LOVE this aquarium. It’s small but much cheaper than Kelly Tarltons in Auckland, however, you can go round it again and again and for littlies it’s perhaps a little less daunting than Kelly Tarltons. It’s probably not a whole day trip but you could spend a couple…
There have been hot salt water pools on this site since 1903 – thought to benefit lots of different illnesses! Today this is a complex made up of several different pools of varying temperatures. For families there’s a cold ‘active’ pool which starts off very shallow and gradually gets deeper. Despite…
This is a huge completely fenced playground with something for all ages with a separate but equally good, fenced, mini road system bike track on the other side of a small carpark but linked via the walkway on the sea side. Both are right on the sea front, within walking…
