Bay of Plenty, Family Activities

This 35 acre animal park is located within the beautiful McLaren Falls Park. Children are able to feed and play with a host of farmyard animals and see the unusual Tibetan yaks, giant African ostriches, Texas longhorns, several breeds of sheep, deer, goats, birds, pigs and horses from the mighty shire to cute miniatures. There are also pony rides, flying foxes and a playground. A shop sells essentials like pies and ice creams, or bring your own picnic to enjoy at the picnic tables set up in the park.

Aquarobics, Learn to Swim Classes, Gymnasium and Swim Shop. A variety of pools for fitness, relaxation and therapy. Open Mon Fri 6am 8pm, Sat Sun 9am 6pm.

With four pools, an indoor wave pool, toddlers pool and hydroslide, Baywave is a great place for the children to have fun in the water. They also have a café offering café style meals and a variety of hot foods for children, including wedges, pies, pizzas and ice cream. Kids Klub operates during school holidays, with pool games and activities for children between 5 and 13 years of age (bookings are essential). Little Splashes childcare will look after children between three months and five years from 9 to 11 and 11 – 1 (weekdays only).

Have a ball at Bowling Tauranga! They have a special party room, a café, kiddies menu and 20 bowling lanes, with ball ramps and light balls for the littlies.

One main hot pool surrounded by towering tree ferns, or choose one of our gorgeous private thermal hot pools, perfect for a family group.

This is the place for kids from 8 to 18 to get in the water and learn a number of great sports including windsurfing, sailing and paddleboarding. Ideal base for birthday parties.

Stand Up Paddle and Outrigger company – tours, lessons, hire and retail. We welcome school groups and after school programmes are offered. You can also experience surf canoeing with us.

Rocktopia represents adventure and fun for the entire family, a place where you can connect, be encouraged, have fun and enjoy problem solving scaling up one wall to another.  Suitable for all ages and abilities, there are 26 climbing challenges and 31 fun climbs on offer making this a great place to get your friends and family together!  Try something new - Climp N Climb offers fun and bright climbing walls, whilst Rock On has been built by climbers for climbers.  There are after-school climbing clubs, membership options available for unlimited climbing to progress your skills, or you can book one of the party rooms for your child's next birthday party - party packages come complete with invites, great party food options, access to Climp N Climb or Rock On, plus the help of an exclusive host to assist you.  Click on 'read more' for further information.

We all know children love to be creative! Do you want a party for your child that promotes confidence, builds on skills and is environmentally focused? Do you like the idea of your children using natural materials and celebrating with the elements of the natural world with fun craft activities based on nature, recycling and creating something unique. I come to your home or venue, set up the activity and clean up afterwards, all you need to supply is a table and chairs or a floor space for the children to work on, and some party food - I’ll bring the rest! Minimum 5 / maximum 12 children. Options include: fairy gardens, crystal hanging, jewellery, sand art, nature mandalas and more.