Fun Shit To Do In The School Holidays.
Day drinking is fun, but what about the kids? You’ll need to keep them entertained as well. Here’s some great ideas to keep them from driving you insane these school holidays.
Snowplanet
Dump the kids at Snowplanet and run. Or stay in the restaurant, day drinking, while you watch them through the glass. Great school holiday program if you want to do it every day too.
Spookers
Scare the shit out of them at Spookers. It’s great for older kids and teens. Otherwise you’ll just end up with them in your bed having nightmares when you’re trying sleep off all that day drinking.
Auckland Whale and Dolphin Safari
Kind of pricey for a school holiday activity but totally awesome. Go see dolphins, orca, or bryde’s whales in the Hauraki Gulf.
Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq
Arcade games and bowling with a cool vibe. And you guessed it an excellent bar.
Rainbows End
The ever popular Rainbows End. New Zealand’s best theme park. Short of a trip to the Gold Coast this is the best you’re gonna find if you’re looking for roller coasters.
VR Voom (Virtual Reality)
Like make believe only with no imagination required. With VR Voom you can be a race car driver, a sword master, a time traveller, a deep sea explorer, or just about anything.This one’s great for rainy days.
Escape Room
Who hasn’t wanted to lock their kids up sometime during the school holidays. Well now you can at an escape room. Auckland now has plenty to choose from but only some of them have special drinks for Mummy and Daddy so choose wisely.
Wero White Water Park
That the kids white water rafting. Yup you can do that in Manukau, just down the road from Rainbows End. Wero White Water Park is an awesome way to get the kids off the couch and outside.
Lock’n Load Adventures
This is a great activity for the second week of the school holidays. By then you’ll be ready to shoot the little bastards. And at Lock’n Load you can do exactly that.
Lilliput Mini Golf
Mini Golf is pretty painful, but kids love it and at least the views nice at Lilli Putt Mission Bay. And you can go for lunch in Mission Bay when you’re done.
EcoZip Adventures (Waiheke Island)
This one’s pretty pricey too but some of youse fullas are rich as. You take the ferry to Waiheke which is fun too, then you eco zip, quick spot of lunch and sample some local wine (not the kids, just you). Then ferry back home.
Hampton Downs Go-Karts
Best go karts in Auckland. 1 hour’s drive from the CBD but totally worth it. Go Karting isn’t cheap, but it is fun, so maybe do it anyway.
Blastacars Drift Karts
Why? Because bogans get school holidays too. This is seriously fun. Make a day of it, watch Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift in the morning. Then hit the drift carts for real in the afternoon.
Victoria Street Skatepark
Good cheap holiday fun. Drop your kids at the skatepark, give them a couple of ciggys and a few bucks for lunch then come and get them at the end of the day.
Parakai Hot Springs
This is fun for everyone. If you don’t love a good hydro slide then there is something wrong with you. These are the best Auckland has to offer. The water is actually warm all year round and it’s great exercise running back up the tower, perfect if your kids are getting a little chunky.
The Mall
Pick a Mall. Sylvia Park, Albany, New Market or Botany. Maybe drive past your usual and try somewhere new. Send the kids to the movies and grab a fancy lunch for yourself while they in there. Then take them to the food court, and pretend you’re not hungry.
Motat
Are your kids a bit nerdy? Then they might enjoy Motat. The Museum of Transport and Technology. I think the name about sums it up. Trains printing presses yawn yawn yawn. On th plus side it’s reasonably cheap and it’s a thing to do that get you out of the house.
The Zoo
Who doesn’t love the Zoo? Yes the animals are all in cages but they seem happy enough. And you can get really close to them and not get eaten.
Kelly Tarltons
I don’t know why but Kelly Tarltons always makes me crave Fish and Chips. It’s really a shame you can’t choose one and have them cook it for you right there. But you can go straight to Fish Market at Wynyard Quarter and get great fish and chips.
Silverdale Adventure Park
If you can’t afford to go to Rotorua to ride the luge then Silverdale Adventure Park is half the fun at half the price. A smaller slower luge, but it might satisfy the kids if they can’t really remember how awesome the real luge is.
Butterfly Creek
If your kids are still at primary school then Butterfly Creek has something for everyone. And by that I mean they have crocodiles for the boys and butterflies for the girls.
Torpedo Bay Navy Museum
If you don’t like boats don’t worry the Navy Museum is still awesome. It’s got a great cafe, a wharf you can swim off, and occasionally see dolphins and orcas from. It’s also next to North Head so you can go for a walk and take in the views. Maybe an ice-cream or some lunch in Devonport. If you’re not from the Shore then maximise your fun by taking the Ferry instead of driving.
Sky Tower
All kids love going up the Sky Tower. Combine it with lunch or dinner, there’s a restaurant/cafe for every budget.
Auckland Museum
If you live in Auckland and have kids you’ve probably been here a 1000 times already but it’s the school holidays so it’s time to do it again. While you’re here make the kids go through the Winter Gardens as well. As long as you don’t try and make them stay to long they’ll like it.
New Zealand Maritime Museum
It’s a Museum about boats. You’ll either be into that or you won’t. If you’re not but still feel like you have to then don’t worry, they usually have activities for the kids during the holidays and there’s so many options to eat and drink nearby. Just do a little bit of penance looking at the boats then you’re free to indulge yourself. It’s more or an excuse to go to the Viaduct.
Holey Moley
Milkshakes for the kids and cocktails for the adults certainly makes mini golf a lot more tolerable. Especially if you do it late afternoon and head out for dinner afterwards.
Glass Bottom Boat
Drive to Goat Island and go on the glass bottom boat. It’ll take a full day. The boat ride is 45 minutes but the drive is one hour each way from the CBD. (not a rush hour). And you can visit the Marine Reserves excellent visitor centre and play at the beach.
The Beach
Kids love the beach and it’s free apart from the ice-cream you’ll have to buy while you’re there. If it’s summer you’ll want a good swimming beach, like Orewa, Piha, Mission Bay, or Long Bay. But in the winter time the beach is still there, and a good time. Try a long beach walk at Whatipu, Bethells Beach, or Muriwai. Or head to a Regional park that has offers a good long walk and a beach. Duder is the best in East Auckland, and Shakespeare Regional Park is probably the best on the Shore. If you can’t be bothered driving that far then Long Bay has some great walks too.
The Movies
Kids and teens all love the movies and if its school holiday time (and it is or you wouldn’t be reading this) then you can bet there’ll be plenty of superhero movies and animated shit that kids just can’t get enough of. Turn it into an adventure by going out of suburb. Try Mission Bay’s Berkeley Theatre, or Howick’s Monterey Theatre, or Northcotes Bridgeway Theatre. The movies are the same but you’ll find some different shit to do while you’re there. Or just head to your local if your all about the movie and less about the adventure.
Picnic
Yup. For real, a picnic. If your kids are older they’ll hate you for making them do it. But if you get it right they’ll have fun in spite of themselves. First up, don’t attempt a picnic on a shit day. That won’t be fun for anyone. Make sure you find somewhere nice. No one wants a picnic in a shit spot. Mission Bay’s good, so’s the Auckland Domain, but Auckland has a 100 great spots. Bring lot’s of food, and drinks (maybe even a a cheeky wine or two). Make sure you’ve got blankets to sit on, cups, plates and most of all something to do. The more effort you put into it the better it’ll be. Hacky sack, frisbee, soccer or rugby ball, hell even a phone with Pokemon Go.
Camping
Campings fun. Not for everyone I hear you say. Well there’s levels to camping. Start somewhere civilised like Piha campground. There’s flushing toilets and hot showers, a cafe, a shop, and a restaurant. You don’t have to cook or use a long drop and the kids’ll love it. Give it a try for one night. Get a taste for it, then work your way up to DOC campground miles from anywhere with nothing but a longdrop and a million mosquitoes. Camping is a great way to use up several days with one activity. You’ll be through the holidays before you know it. Best of all drinking and camping go together like cheese and crackers.
Get Away for a few days
Try Rotorua, Taupo, Northland, or go all in and take the kids to Queenstown. Any of these tourist towns have plenty to offer families and you’ll always have the memories, and the photos. They say money doesn’t buy you happiness unless you spend it on shared experiences with people you love. And that’s exactly what a family getaway is all about. Go somewhere you haven’t been. Wellingtons got some awesome stuff for kids, Te Papa, a great Zoo, beautiful city and waterfront, and an awesome seal colony at Red Rocks, just out of the City. (There’s an even better one at Cape Palliser if you don’t mind the drive). Or drive the lost highway to New Plymouth, and take in the stunning Mt Taranaki, it must cheaper than a trip to see Mt Fuji in Japan.
Swimming
It can be painful if you have to swim with toddlers but once they are old enough you don’t have to join in then a swimming pool is a great place to spend a few hours during the school holidays. Regardless of the weather. Auckland’s got public pools all over the place. West Wave is the best of them so if your local pools a bit shit especially if your kids are older, then get in the car and head west. They’ve got great indoor diving boards and a bombing wall. Failing that head out of town to the hot pools. Sadly Waiwera’s closed but Parakai’s still awesome, and Miranda Hot Pools is worth the drive if you’re in South or East Auckland. For a real adventure and a trip back in time try Ngaruawahia’s Waingaro Hot Springs. The pools a bit shit but the slides are awesome.
5 Weirdest Things to do in the School Holidays
The 5 Best School Holiday Activities for Fat KIds
- Try to eat a tower of Donuts
- Lunch at an all you can eat buffet
- Do Some Bombs off the Okahu Wharf on Tamaki Drive
- Book a tour of the TIp Top Ice Cream Factory
- Chelsea Sugar Factory tour (they have a train so you don’t have to walk much)