About | Huka Prawn Park
Huka Prawn Park is New Zealand’s only prawn park, nowhere else can you fish for prawns! Come and enjoy a day filled with fun activities, hand-feed baby prawns and dine at the Riverside Restaurant.
Heading on through to the activities park you’ll find lots of ways to play and have fun with the water. Ride on bikes that squirt water back into the pond, the faster you pedal, the further it’ll squirt. Carry on and you’ll soon find yourself at the Boating Lake where you can ride all sorts of pedal boats, water trikes and stand up paddleboards.
Walk around the park and towards the native trees where you can go for a wander, stop in and gaze at the picturesque Waikato River. You can dip your toes into the water but there’s no swimming allowed here (jet boats regularly sped on by). Go on a treasure hunt for Shawn the Prawn and climb up Shawn’s Tree Climb.
You’ll then come across the water playground, where you can get really wet firing off water cannons, run through the water gauntlet and then warm up your feet in the footbath.
Don’t miss out on the tour where you can get a behind the scenes look at New Zealand’s only prawn farm and feed baby prawns. It runs every hour, the last one is at 2pm. It was one of the highlights of the park so don’t get too carried away enjoying the park! Check the time and make sure you head back for an insightful and interesting experience.
There is a restaurant, overlooking the river, with lots of prawns on the menu – and something for the non-prawn lover as well. There’s a kids play area both inside and outside.
There is currently no prawn fishing – numbers have been dropping in the last few years and currently undergoing research. There’s still heaps to do, though so put this on your list of things to do while you’re here in Taupo!
Tips:
- come just before the hour and do the tour first – then head to the waterpark, finishing up at the water playground and let the kids get wet!
- come early and bring a picnic lunch because you might just want to stay for the whole day.
Bring:
- togs, towel and change of clothes (if the kids are prone to getting wet)
- sunscreen (during the warmer months)
- camera
Nearby
Wairakei Terraces – thermal pools are adult only but children are welcomed for the Maori experience and walkway.
Lava Glass – Glassblowing Studio, Sculpture Garden, Art Gallery, Café
Hipapatua Recreational Reserve
Huka Falls River Cruise or Jetboat
Location
Photos
Upon entering the Huka Prawn Park we came across lots of water bikes that you could pedal and it would squirt water out of the front. To your left, you’ll also see the hook-a-prawn fishing lakes but because of the dropping numbers, it’s all looking a little empty. Hopefully, it’ll be back soon because this was a very popular activity. Continuing on, there was lots of fun to be had.
We came across the boating lake and knew this would be fun. Sam and Noah had the first go, and all you could see was the big smiles on their faces. Ashton recently had a bad experience at his last school camp when he was on a small sailboat and it nearly capsized so didn’t want to go on at first, but after seeing how easy and safe it was, he was keen to get on the water.
Some of the pedal boats can actually hold a lot of people and you can move around fairly easily if you want to swap seats.
They’re also quite the workout! Especially if you’re wanting to go full speed ahead. Otherwise, just relax and enjoy the scenery and being on the water. The boys loved hanging out in the back and letting their feet dangle into the water. And there are so many pedal boats to choose from! We’d go around the lake, park it up and go straight onto another one. Lots of fun. Sam tried paddleboarding which was fun to watch, we also headed out on the water on yet another boat ride and it was cool all being out there together. He may or may not have banged into us and nearly fallen off. After we’d been out a few times, Ashton and Noah ended up going out just the two of them. Super easy to use.
We would have easily spent most of our time here, it was just so much fun and the time flew by quickly.
After finally pulling them away from the boating lake we headed down the Adventure Walkway. There were lots of things to play with and try out – and lots of opportunities to get wet!
Heading further down we entered the lovely bush where we ended up at the mighty Waikato River, it was a beautiful and peaceful place to be. If they’re operating you may even see the Huka Falls Jet sped past. The water looked lovely but no swimming is allowed here.
There were a few things to check out as we walked along the path. Coming out of the bush we entered the water playground, this is a great place to finish off and let the kids get wet. Try running through the water gauntlet without getting wet, fire off some water cannons at each other and if you’re feeling a little bit cold after all that, the geothermal foot bath will warm up those feet.
One of the highlights was the tour. If you come here you have to take the tour! Some of the highlights was getting to see the prawns close up and the best part – getting to feed them. It may be a little scary for the little ones, but these guys won’t hurt ya, only give you a bit of a tickle. Sam and Ash gave it a go and it ended up being one of the most memorable parts of the trip – it’s not something you get to do every day! Sam ended up having about ten of the little guys all up his arm but Ash kept gently shaking his hand and bringing it to the surface because he didn’t want too many on him. As soon as they put their hands into the water we saw them all heading towards us! It was a really cool experience and one we won’t forget.
Go to Huka Prawn Park for yourself and see if the kids enjoy the feeling of having prawns walk along their hand. Make a day of it, bring the togs and enjoy a day of fun! We totally recommend it!
