Grab your togs and enjoy these water-based activities with the family. Photo / Supplied
Grab your togs and enjoy these water-based activities with the family. Photo / Supplied
Summer may be over, but that doesn't mean swimming season has to be. Here are some of our favourite places to play on the water, from pools and water parks to more adventurous options. Check them out with the whānau this Easter weekend and school holidays.
A pool by any other name
It's all in the name: Upper Hutt's H20 Xtream takes the concept of a council-run aquatics centre to the next level. Yes, you'll find all the standard water-based facilities, including a lane pool and a toddler pool. But you'll also find an epic wave pool, a river ride, and two hydro slide options.
The first has plenty of twists and turns, while the aptly named "Darkness Falls" involves sliding for 66 metres through sharp turns and steep drops in the pitch black. H20 Xtream opens daily, with bookings required on weekends.
Not quite a raft and not quite a kayak, these inflatable canoes are the ideal way to explore the untouched wilderness of the Dart River and are suitable for ages 5 and up.
On this full-day excursion with Dart River Adventures, you'll take an exhilarating jet boat ride into Mount Aspiring National Park, before beginning your float back downstream to Lake Wakatipu. No paddling experience is necessary but expect to get wet—and to laugh a lot.
Riverbug runs exciting tours on the Wairoa River in the Bay of Plenty. Photo / Supplied
A distant cousin of the Funyak, this inflatable device is somewhere between a one-person raft and a highly manoeuvrable kayak, except no paddles are necessary. On these three-hour excursions in the Bay of Plenty, families with children as young as 5 can experience low-risk whitewater, with rapids of up to Grade 2.
Locations include the breathtaking gorges of the Rangitāiki River, the Tarawera River (the site of the 2013 IRF World Rafting Championships) and on Sundays in the Wairoa Gorge, after the water releases.
The country's newest inflatable aquapark, Aqualand NZ doesn't break the mould of what you might expect from a bouncy floating playground. But that's not necessarily a bad thing—there are tunnels, slides and climbing walls, all suitable for water ninjas aged 6 and up.
What Aqualand is doing differently, however, is giving back to its surrounding environment. It's anchored in Courtenay Lake, a small body of water in Kaiapoi that was red-zoned following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. Now completely safe to swim in, the goal is to leave the lake in better condition than it's in now, including by planting 1000 trees a year.
Take a relaxing dip at De Bretts. Photo / Supplied
Parents are almost universally united in their fear of getting splashed at the splash park, which pipes in water that seems like it's coming straight from the glaciers. That's not the case at Taupō DeBretts Spa Resort, where the splash park goes by the delightfully enticing name of the "Kids' Warm Water Playground".
Better yet, adults can carve out their own space at the indoor private pools, natural mineral pools, and spas. The waterpark is within the holiday park of the same name, where cabins, family units and motels are available for rental, but it's also open daily to non-guests.
The phrase "getting out on the water" usually conjures up images of cool breezes and sunny days. But in the case of the Nile River near Charleston on the West Coast, it equates to descending to where the sun doesn't shine.
Suitable for ages 8 and up, Underworld Adventure's cave rafting adventure floats through water-sculpted underground chambers, beneath glowworms, and out again via the Waitakere River's rapids. Underworld Adventures can be found an hour north of Greymouth.
Grab a SUP and paddleboard around Nelson. Photo / Supplied
These days, you can stand-up paddleboard (SUP) on nearly any calm or slow-moving body of water in New Zealand. But Nelson is one of the only spots where you can do it as a team sport.
Moana Paddle Nelson offers paddleboard hire by the hour, including a giant SUP built for eight. You can also sign-up for guided excursions up the Maitai River, stopping for a coffee at the city's River Kitchen Cafe along the way. Sheltered and calm, this is a great choice for families with little ones.
When it comes to lakes in the Mackenzie region, Tekapo and Pukaki might get all the glory. But let's be honest—how often do you see people swimming in those glacial waters?
The good news is that just down the road you'll find the Lake Ruataniwha Lagoon. Created during Twizel's hydro-electricity era, this shallow man-made lake is a family favourite, with a purpose-built rowing course. This year, it was even host to the 2022 New Zealand Rowing Championships.
Get wet and wild in Rotorua
Whitewater rafting mecca of New Zealand, the Rotorua region is home to half a dozen rafting companies, who will guide you along the area's grade 2, 3, 4 and 5 rapids. The most popular are trips down the Kaituna River.
Home to the seven-metre-tall Tutea Falls, it's the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world. But it doesn't end there. Rotorua is also a popular jumping-off point for the Bay of Plenty's Wairoa, Tongariro and Rangitāiki Rivers. Half-day and full-day tours exist, with minimum ages ranging dependent on the class of rapids.
