Eva Pleciak at Uptown Bounce, Grey Lynn. Photo / Michael Craig
Eva Pleciak at Uptown Bounce, Grey Lynn. Photo / Michael Craig
Bouncing off the walls
Kids bouncing off the walls? Why not let them bounce off someone else's, at a trampoline park? Among the many facilities around Auckland are Jump in East Tamaki and Mairangi Bay and Extreme Trampoline in Onehunga for more serious trampolining on Olympic-grade equipment. The newest player in the game is the opportunely named Uptown Bounce in Grey Lynn. Catering to the inner-city crowd, the centre combines frenetic bouncing fun with the chance for parents to catch their breath.
The "boutique" size venue, its grand entrance revealing its history as a picture theatre, has 22 trampolines set wall-to-wall, plus bounceable walls, a 7m tumbling tramp, basketball hoops and a "jelly pit" for flopping into. An on-site cafe adjacent to the jump space offers parents coffee and the chance to chill out while a squad of "floor monitors" engages their offspring.
"They're there to facilitate fun for the kids. They get right in there and jump with them and keep them engaged," co-manager Lisa Morrison says.
As well as being fun, trampolining is great for children's co-ordination, balance and risk-assessment skills and is also a proven mood-booster, says Morrison.
"You'd have to be 90 per cent dead to not enjoy yourself."
Other bouncy options for burning excess energy include Inflatable World in Glenfield, Mt Roskill, Manukau and Hamilton, and Bounce and Beyond in East Tamaki, all of which take the concept of the bouncy castle to new heights.
Get your skates on
Ice skating has been a popular recreation for hundreds of years - long before Frozen. Auckland's two ice rinks at Avondale and Botany are still popular with children and teenagers wanting to look cool.
Both rinks are open for public sessions during the day and some evenings during the school term and feature music, games and videos on the big screens, plus special events such as "Black Out Fridays", foam parties and theme nights. Extra "super-sessions" are run in school holidays, when children can skate pretty much all day.
Both rinks are planning "find the Easter egg" games, and daily "snow dumps" and snowman-building competitions during the school holidays. They also have plenty of skating frames - think a Zimmer frame on ice - to help beginners get their balance before venturing out unassisted.
Paradice runs learn-to-skate sessions and hosts Auckland Ice Hockey Association's training programme for children as young as 4. The ongoing attraction is the atmosphere, says Paradice Botany manager Scott Willdridge: disco lighting, pop music, the chance to hold hands. "It's having fun, trying something different. We don't have much snow and ice in Auckland."
There's also a bit of a Frozen factor, and no doubt there will be a rush of interest after the next Disney on Ice shows in July.
Paradice Ice Rink.
Blow their minds
If the kids are making you want to scream, why not repay them with a trip to Spookers, the "haunted attraction" in the former nurses' hostel in the grounds of the former Kingseat psychiatric hospital, south of Auckland? Although Spookers is well known for its R16 attractions (gruesomely made-up actors scare the wits out of paying customers on Friday and Saturday nights) it also offers "family friendly" experiences for over-8-year-olds, on weekend days and during school holidays.
Managing director Julia Watson says Terror Tours go through Spookers Haunted House with an experienced actor as guide. The gore and thrills are toned down to suit a younger audience, and there are no "extras" popping out to scare the living daylights out of you. "You do get some frights along the way, but it's geared towards the age group and what they can handle," Watson says. Kids get to see behind the scenes of the experience, which helps to demystify the horror aspect.
Also at Spookers is Disturbia, a "mind trip" through a fluorescent labyrinth, in which optical illusions abound. Visual effects make the walls and floor seem to float and turn, while graphics in ultraviolet paint and 3D effects contribute to doing your head in.
"Kids love it," Watson says of the Spookers experience. "It's something a little daring for them and it's exciting - they get themselves all worked up about it.
"Some of the kids who are really nervous beforehand do the best and the ones who have all the bravado are the ones who turn out to be the most timid."
If the kids are making you scream, make them scream with a trip to Spookers.
Climbing the walls
Bored children will climb anything, so spare your sofa and head to an indoor climbing centre. Extreme Edge, with centres in Panmure, Glen Eden and Hamilton, means even the youngest climbers can get scrambling.
Dean Garner, manager of Extreme Edge Panmure's branch, says the smallest explorers can clamber in a safe environment in the pirate-themed Adventureland play area and those a little older can scale the walls in the child-friendly ClimbZone.
An automatic belay system supports them as they climb and lowers them when they reach their limit - or the top.
"Kids are able to clip themselves on and off and climb independently, with no one controlling the rope," says Garner. "By the time most kids are 4 or 5 they can give it a pretty good crack."
The themed climbs are brightly decorated, from Jack and the Beanstalk to the Empire State Building, to outer space and underwater. All equipment is provided; climbers just need to wear suitable clothing and shoes.
Older and more adventurous children can try "serious" climbing on the top-rope climbs on the main climbing walls, which require a belaying partner.
"We have total novice beginner-level climbs, so even if you have very little climbing ability you can still get up these walls," says Garner.
Extreme Edge also runs a popular climbing school called Rock Hoppers for children aged 8 years and up, teaching them safety and techniques.
"For young kids, climbing is a good confidence booster," Garner says. "It's good for co-ordination and balance, too, but confidence is the really big one."
Other places to get clambering are Clip 'N' Climb in Balmoral and the indoor climbing wall at Birkenhead Leisure Centre.
Climbing wall at Extreme Edge in Panmure.
Fishy business
Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium has long been a popular rainy day outing: the fish can't get any wetter, right? The attraction celebrates its 30th birthday this year and has come a long way since the opening of the original clear-roofed tunnels in 1985.
The latest addition is a new playground, designed by Australian museum and play-space designers Arterial Design. The new 60sq m playground, at the heart of the complex adjacent to the open-topped stingray tank, the cafe and the sea-level windows to the "outside world", combines the popular "Nemo" fish tank of the old playground with a two-level crawl-and climb-through soft play area with a hidden fish tank, a slide and hanging "seaweed" and sea creatures. There is also a sea cave to explore, a chill-out zone with comfy bean bags, educational videos and an interactive water feature, where children can experiment with controlling the flow over a rocky surface by placing and removing a network of clear plastic dams.
Warning: Preschoolers may enjoy it so much you will have difficulty moving them on to see the real fish and sharks. In this situation, order another coffee and take in the view for a bit longer.
For older kids, the fish, shark and penguin displays have plenty to offer, and it's amazing how much time you can spend underground.
Playing a round of mini-golf is one of life's little pleasures, but the fun can be weather-dependent. So entrepreneurial Auckland brothers Hamish and Ollie Fraser, of the iconic Lilliput course on Tamaki Drive, decided to bring the fun indoors, with three themed courses now operating in central Auckland, Sylvia Park and Hamilton.
And it's not just about hitting a little white ball around on artificial turf: at Auckland's Metro Centre on Queen St the course, which opened in 2013, has a "Lost in Time" theme, complete with animatronic dinosaurs, scenes from World War I and a gold mine. The new course at Sylvia Park - outside, but under the cover of the motorway overbridge - mini-golfers can take a tour around the world past landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Mt Rushmore.
The Hamilton course, in Centre Place, has an Ice Age theme featuring cavemen, sabre-tooth tigers and some slightly anachronistic dinosaurs.
The Fraser brothers have a team of builders, electricians and a friendly mechanical engineer to build the courses and bring their creations to life. Props and sets are devised and the lifelike animatronic animals and people are custom-made.
"We wanted to build something really cool," says Hamish. "We felt that indoor mini-golf hadn't really been done properly anywhere and we put a lot of effort into it. People love playing mini-golf. Everyone in the family can play, no matter their skill level."
For a more psychedelic experience, you can also play glow-in-the-dark mini-golf indoors at Gloputt in Takapuna and at Megazone in Mt Wellington.
