If your kids love fishing, and you have access to a car, it’s worth a half day trip over to the wharf in Orapiu Bay as there always seem to be plenty of small fish biting. Take your supplies (including fishing gear, food and water) with you as there’s nothing around apart…
There’s lots on offer for families at Palm Beach! Next door to the well stocked general store, there’s a good fish and chip shop (at the corner of Palm Rd and Hill Rd). Order and take your food down to the beach to enjoy. There is a toilet and grassy…
This is a wide, safe swimming beach for kids with showers, changing rooms and toilets. There’s also a shaded playground (sails and big trees) at Little Oneroa beach which is great for younger kids (perhaps up to around 6/7 years old). A big grassy area isn’t shaded but has free…
The train ride here is a much longer than your average miniature train ride, covering 2.2km of track and taking approximately 20 minutes. The ride goes from one end of the Esplanade park to the other with 3 stops at the Cafe, the Playground and the Esplanade. Travellers can get off…
The gondola ride up Mount Ngongotaha is expensive but good. Definitely worth doing as a special treat if you can afford it. There are amazing views over the whole Rotorua area from the top and you also have the option of doing the luge which is great fun for both kids…
This summer pool has been around in its central Wellington location since the 1920s and it’s great on those rare super hot days when you can’t be bothered with sand in everything or just want a quick dip at the end of the day. The good thing about this pool is that…
If you’re looking for a special treat while in Queenstown, the gondola ride up Bob’s Peak might fit the bill. There are amazing views over the whole Queenstown area from the top and you also have the option of doing the luge which is great fun for both kids and…
Kids love this funicular railway which travels between the main shopping street, Lambton Quay, up through the Botanic Garden to Kelburn and back again (if you want). The red carriages are an iconic Wellington sight. The two 100m tunnels now have changing light displays from 9am to make this attraction more…
This pool was refurbished in 2012 and now boasts a 25mx25m main pool, teaching pool, leisure pool (heated to 32 degrees), and a toddlers pool (heated to 33 degrees). There’s also a kids’ water playground with slides, water jets and buckets, rapid river and bubble pit. There’s also a 50m outdoor pool…
The view from the top of Mount Iron is definitely worth dragging the kids up for! When you’re at the top, on a clear day, you can see for miles with the Southern Alps in one direction, The Pisa Range in another direction and all of Wanaka spread out down below…
