School holiday hints to keep all the family happy

By HEATHER RAMSAY

Easter marks the start of the school holidays, but if you've been focused on just getting through the term and stocking up the Easter Bunny's basket you may have forgotten to plan time out with the family.

Fortunately there's plenty of events, activities and attractions to suit all the family, and not all of them have to be organised well in advance.

If you're thinking about an excursion, use the excellent i-SITE Visitor Information Centres. Their racks are bursting with brochures and the staff can give local advice, provide maps and make bookings for activities, transport and accommodation.

Accommodation can be hard to come by at Easter, so if you're planning more than a day trip book before you leave. During busy periods many i-SITEs keep a record of available accommodation. For details of i-SITEs, log on to www.purenz.com

Rotorua adrenalin rush

Looking to kick-start your heart, even if it's just watching the more daring members of the family dice with danger? Rotorua is the place for adrenalin-pumping, scream-inducing thrills.

If the big kids think the fast track on the luge is too sedate, strap them into the Sky Swing, and put yourself in the middle if you dare. I've done it, and can confidently report that being thrown through the air at 120km/h is fun, especially once you're safely back on the ground.

Not far away is the Agrodome Adventure Park, which offers all kinds of thrills. You can roll down the hill inside a huge, transparent Zorb ball, or harness yourself in for Swoop, another aerial adventure that gets the heart racing. It's a bit like the Sky Swing, but you're lying face forward in a modified hang-gliding harness.

Jet boat rides, a bungy jump and a freefall skydive simulator complete the action activities.

There's plenty of other action at Rotorua. Check out the website www.rotoruanz.com.

Hot stuff in Taupo

Winter might be approaching but Jambalaya, the New Zealand Festival of Latin Rhythm and Dance, will be heating up Taupo over Easter. The big day out for families is Sunday, April 11, when Tuwharetoa St swings to samba, salsa and rumba, with a hint of Pasifika thrown in. The free carnival features entertainment from noon-6.30pm, followed by a street parade, then more entertainment until midnight.

Workshops, performances and parties run every day and night, with late sessions in bars and clubs. Venues and performances are varied, and include inventive ideas such as a steamy pool party with Latin dancers, entertainers and a Brazilian bikini fashion show at Taupo's AC thermal baths.

Contact: (09) 8203225, 021 671 584

An endless summer

Who remembers Fantasyland in Hastings? It's had a major makeover and has been renamed as Splash Planet but it retains many attractions enjoyed by an earlier generation. Old favourites such as Old Mother Hubbard's Shoe and the Pirate Ship are joined by fast and furious waterslides with names like Sky Screamer and Super Cruiser, as well as the gentle Never Ending River. If the air gets nippy, you can laze in the indoor heated pools or try the new indoor attraction, the Master Blaster.

Splash Planet, the National Aquarium and Marineland have combined to provide a Mega Pass, available until the end of the holidays. It allows one visit to each attraction and a half-price return visit to the attraction of your choice.

Sounds fun

For a relaxing, stay-put family break, try the Portage Resort Hotel in the beautiful Marlborough Sounds. The Portage has fun lined up during holidays. After breakfast you can be the first to spot a dolphin aboard a Dolphin Watch eco-cruise, then the big kids (and Mum and Dad) can paddle a sea kayak around the bay and beyond. Fun craft activities keep children entertained every afternoon.

Spacious landscaped grounds run down to the water's edge and nearby bush and coastal walks are ready to enjoy. Five or three-night family holidays are available with four hours' sea kayak hire included in five-day stays.

Contact: (03) 573 4309

Call of the wild

Get a taste of the wild by visiting a zoo or wildlife park. Join the fun at the Auckland Zoo and complete the Sounds Wild Holiday Trail, which winds through the zoo and seeks out the weird and wonderful sounds the animals make. Completed trail maps can be taken to the zoo's visitor centre to claim a special giveaway, and there's a daily prize draw. At 11.30am and 1pm the Sounds Wild Show kicks off at Kidzone. It's a zany "talkback" show on animals, with stories, songs, dances and ideas about helping endangered species in the wild.

Wellington wildlife

The popular holiday programme at Wellington Zoo runs on weekdays, with a different educational animal focus each day. These school holidays the zoo presents "Wildlife Encounters" for visitors who dare to enter the exciting world of Rokan the tiger, Riki the giraffe, Alexi the chimp and other zoo inhabitants. It's a chance for school children to get up close to a variety of animals, find out about their habitat and learn about the animal itself.

Christchurch conservation

Orana Wildlife Park in Christchurch specialises in the conservation of endangered African animals. Cheetahs, giraffes, rhinos and lions roam in an "open range" environment, where it is possible to safely view the animals without restrictive fencing. The Southern Encounter Aquarium and Kiwi House in central Christchurch are operated by the same trust and both offer exciting encounters with the animals.

Down Wanganui way

Children love Wanganui's Kowhai Park. Where else can you ride a dinosaur, swing on an octopus, or seesaw with a snake? Fairy tale characters add whimsy, and at weekends the tot-town railway chugs past a castle and a pirate ship. Gas and wood-fired barbecues are available. The park is found at Anzac Parade, near the Whanganui River.

Chugging up the river is the historic paddle steamer, the PS Waimarie. The coal-fired vessel was built in 1899 and was one of an extensive fleet of riverboats that plied the river for 50 years. The boats were a vital link for inland settlers and carried cargo, river dwellers and tourists. The Waimarie sank at her moorings in 1952 and lay on the riverbed for 41 years until it was salvaged and faithfully restored. Now the Waimarie once again carries tourists along the river, with daily departures at 2pm until May 2. Schedules can change due to river conditions so check departure times.

Contact: 0800 7832637

Take time out

Many cities and towns have school holiday programmes and there's no reason kids from out of town can't participate. They will see some local attractions and have fun mixing with local kids. Meanwhile, parents can enjoy a leisurely coffee at that interesting-looking cafe, put their feet up with a good book or blow away the cobwebs with an invigorating walk. Information centres should have details.

Chill out in Christchurch

If everyone's getting a bit hot under the collar, a minute in front of the wind chill machine in the snow and ice room at the International Antarctic Centre will literally cool things down. The room gives a tiny taste of just how harsh conditions can be in the Antarctic and the rest of the centre offers an excellent insight into the flora, fauna and human history of Antarctica. To finish, take a ride on the amphibious, all-terrain Hagglund vehicle, which is used in Antarctica. Visitors are taken on an adventure course over rugged hillocks and across some crevasses before plunging into a 3m-deep pool and crossing to the other bank.

Stop for a soak

If you're driving between Napier and Gisborne, soak away the worries of the road with a stop at Morere Hot Springs on SH2. The thermal springs are situated in the 363ha Morere Scenic Reserve, one of the last remaining tracts of coastal native forest on the east coast. Private and public bathing pools nestle among groves of striking nikau palms and other native trees, which are home to tui, bellbird, kereru and shining cuckoo. The springs also have cold freshwater pools, a barbecue and picnic areas. Bush walks in the reserve range from 10 minutes to 2.5 hours.

Contact by email or phone (06) 837 8856.

Wield a warbird

Those magnificent men and women in their flying machines will be looping the loop at Easter in the Warbirds over Wanaka aerial extravaganza.

If you don't make it to the show you can still have a taste of the action at the Warbirds Museum. The collection of aircraft in the New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum and the Alpine Fighter Collection includes Hurricane, Spitfire, Mustang and Polikarpov fighters. The museum is an educational facility that honours and records the history of fighter pilots and crew.

After checking out the displays, put yourself in the cockpit and fight it out on a multi-player flight simulator. The museum is at Lake Wanaka Airport and is open daily.

Contact: 0800 927 247