Editorial: Holidays a chance to play the tourist

The school holidays are a prime opportunity to play tourist for a day. Photo/File

For many parents, the next two weeks will be met with a mix of relief and trepidation.
School holidays bring that mix of feelings.

First is the reprieve from the everyday grind of packing lunches and struggling to get out the door on time without forgetting something important.

Then, generally after a few days at home, come the cries of boredom - normally from the kids, which is why we're so lucky to live in Rotorua.

More often than not we locals don't get the chance to fully appreciate all the wonders that are in our backyard, which is why times like the school holidays are such a prime opportunity to play tourist for a day.

Thousands of people come from all over the world to enjoy what Rotorua has to offer, so these school holidays I'll be packing the family up and exploring some of the tourist hotspots which I'm ashamed to say I haven't visited for years.

Top on our list are exploring some of the less known paths in the Redwoods, checking out some of the playgrounds on offer and perhaps visiting a few of the geothermal attractions around town.

All those sights that we so frequently direct visiting friends to, yet never seem to make the time to explore ourselves.

For those still looking for activities to keep the youngsters entertained, check out Saturday's Rotorua Daily Post which had a list of some of the activities happening around town over the two weeks with programmes running at the Rotorua Library and activities at the Rotorua Museum among those on offer.

And let the madness begin.