Coastal charm

Sun, sand, strolls along the beach… Ōhope is a little slice of paradise with so many options for families, couples, and solo travellers to enjoy this summer.

The beautiful Ōhope, just 6km from Whakatāne, is one of the Bay of Plenty’s hidden gems. With 11km of pristine golden sand, along with picturesque natural beauty, native birds and views of Whakaari/White Island and Moutohorā/Whale Island, it’s been voted
New Zealand’s most-loved beach for a reason.

Ōhope’s new hotspot 

Situated at Port Ōhope Wharf, Wharfside is the place to be this season. Bring your family and friends  and set off on a harbour cruise, hire SUP, kayaks, and e-scooters for some family fun, or sit and relax with a craft beer and bite to eat while the kids practice their manus off the wharf.  This popular spot is open from December 27 through February 5, and select weekends throughout autumn. Visit the pop-up isite Visitor Information Centre to get all the inspo – and booking assistance – you need to
have an epic Eastern Bay summer. 

whakatĀne.com/see-and-do/wharfside

Cruise & shuck

Discover Ōhiwa’s rich history, oyster farming, cultural significance and stunning harbour on an immersive Ōhiwa Tour. Experience the ocean’s bounty through an engaging oyster experience where you’ll learn the art of shucking oysters, followed by a tasting of delicious kaimoana. Tio Ōhiwa is more than just an oyster farm and takeaway shop; it's a community hub and indigenous-owned business that believes in bringing people together through good food and good company.

ohiwaoysters.com

Get movin’ 

The calm waters, easy beach access and great scenery make VMAC Rides’ base on Wharfside, Ōhiwa Harbour the perfect place to have a go at stand-up paddleboarding. Whether you are a first-timer or a seasoned professional, VMAC Rides has the boards for you to get out there and enjoy yourself! Or if you’d rather stay on land, you can explore this little slice of paradise on an eScooter or eBike. Suitable for both adults and children, it’s a great way to have family fun together. 

vmacrides.co.nz

Mata Brewery

Mata Brewery Taproom & Eatery is a much-loved family-friendly gathering place for Whakatāne locals and visitors alike. With a selection of 12 taps and several packaged options, there’s a wide variety of beer and cider to satisfy every taste. Try a tasting tray or grab a glass – they have a good selection of wine, low-alcohol, and non-alcoholic drinks, too. At Wharfside, they'll have a pop-up brewery with all their favourite beers and ciders, bar snacks and live music. It's a great spot to sit and relax while the kids swim and jump off the wharf.

matabeer.nz

Must-dos nearby

Surf and turf

Gaze at the stellar harbour views, take in a stellar sunset, and enjoy the beachy vibe from the spacious deck of Fisherman’s Wharf Café. Surf and turf is their speciality, with excellent steaks and sumptuous seafood – try the fish tacos – and there’s a decent beer and wine selection to ease you into another relaxed Ōhope evening. If you’re wanting tasty takeaways, fish and chips are available from the handy window too. 

facebook.com/fishermanswharfcafe

Take to the water

With experienced guides who know the local history and environment, KG Kayaks offers tours and freedom hires in a variety of locations around the Whakatāne and Ōhope Beach area. The relaxing, family-friendly Ōhiwa Harbour tours, and trip out to Moutohorā/Whale Island via sailing catamaran are particularly memorable, with regular wildlife encounters and a hot water beach experience making it a day to remember. Novices are welcome, and safety is always first priority – they also offer options for school and corporate days out. 

kgkayaks.co.nz

On the trail

Perfect for cyclists and walkers alike, the Ōhope Harbourside Trail is a gentle amble for all ages and abilities. Winding along the shoreline of one of our most unspoiled and culturally significant estuaries, Ōhiwa Harbour, you’ll come across a multitude of birdlife, shellfish and fish species. Traversing esplanade and recreational reserves, the walk has been designed to ensure the least disruption to the natural environment while allowing for stunning views. 

whakatane.com/biking/ohope-harbourside-trail

Let it snow

Flying south for the winter, UNO editor Hayley Barnett attempts to turn her family into thrill-seeking adventure enthusiasts, with mixed results.

Words Hayley Barnett

As far as winter getaways go, you don’t get much better than Queenstown. It’s a hub for skiers, thrill seekers, partiers and foodies, and, although partying was off the agenda this time, it’s the perfect destination for a family’s first ski holiday.

Getting my kids on skis has long been a dream of mine, but with COVID-19 restrictions and the recent debacle that kept our local ski fields closed, my grand plans have never come to fruition. Until now.

This year was the year, I decided. It’d be the year the kids would finally fall in love with snow sports and we’d become one of those families who hit the slopes every winter, toasting marshmallows in front of the fire at the end of a long, enjoyable day skilfully flying down the mountain at top speed. Après ski, here we come.

If you have kids, you can probably guess it didn’t all go completely to plan. Five-year-olds don’t always comply in an environment where everyone is wearing ski masks and wielding large planks around. But I can officially say I have skiers now, and I can also recommend some amazing activities to do in the area on those days you don’t quite make it to the slopes.

OAKS QUEENSTOWN SHORES RESORT

Jumping on the Booking.com app, I came across Oaks Queenstown Shores Resort, serviced apartments on the outskirts of Queenstown with incredible views of Lake Wakatipu. A two-bedroom apartment was
the perfect size for the four of us. With an electric fireplace, fully self-contained kitchen and two bathrooms, it has everything you need when sharing with kids and a snorer. The apartment was huge and meant we didn’t have to venture out to get breakfast. We even stayed at home for dinner one night because it was too cosy to leave. There’s a gym for those who don’t get all their energy out on the mountain, and an inviting reception area with a fireplace, dining room and a bar, overlooking the lake.

CARDRONA SKI RESORT

With friends staying in Wanaka, we decided Cardrona would be a good place to meet up for a couple of days skiing. It was recommended I book lessons for the kids well in advance – and tickets, too, as they were limiting the number of people on the ski fields this year. The winding hour-long drive did make me question our decision not to just book at Coronet Peak or The Remarkables, the much closer options, but it ended up being the best decision of the trip. The smoother, flatter slopes proved to be much less intimidating to my three learner family members (who were expecting the steeper runs of neighbouring mountains), and Cardrona had the most centimetres of snow that week. Score!

Having booked our vacation a week before the school holidays, it meant there were hardly any chairlift lines to wait in. I managed to get a heap of runs in that first day, despite the visibility being somewhat dismal.

Luckily, for our second day at Cardrona, the weather had improved. The sun was peaking out and we’d had a large dump of snow overnight, replacing slush with powder. Having learned from the previous day, I dropped the kids off at their lessons, pockets stuffed with lollies (top tip to convince small – and big – kids to do anything) and took off up the mountain again.

By the end of day two, Poppy was flying down from the top, as I’d hoped, and Oscar had learned to avoid crashing into anyone who ventured into his eyeline. Jumping on the bus back down to our rental car, we were soon on our way to the Cardrona Hotel for some well-deserved pub grub and drinks.

TRANSPORT

If you want to get the most out of your Queenstown family holiday, a reliable vehicle is a non-negotiable. Enabling travellers to seamlessly plan their travel, Booking.com offers much more than just accommodation and is a one-stop solution offering a wide range of travel services such as car hire without ever having to leave the platform or app. We easily secured a mid-sized Toyota Corolla via the app. I added booster seats for the kids and chains for the wheels. Pick up was easy. We caught a ride with the Snap Rentals van from the airport and 15 minutes later we were in our car and heading off to our accommodation.

CARDRONA HOTEL RESTAURANT & BAR

A five-minute drive from the turn-off up to Cardrona Ski Resort is one of New Zealand’s oldest hotels and one of only two remaining buildings from the Cardrona Valley gold rush era. These days, it’s most well known for its après ski pub food and drinks and its warm and cosy atmosphere. It’s the perfect place to take the kids, with plenty of room to run around outside, featuring a playground and a giant outdoor fireplace. There are bags of marshmallows, which we purchased a few of, after discovering Oscar had devoured the first bag before we even made it over to the fireplace. We can highly recommend the loaded wedges and the seafood chowder, both washed down with some local gin from the Cardrona Distillery across the road.

PUZZLING WORLD, WANAKA

One of the highlights for all of us was Puzzling World. Yes, we had to travel for an hour from Queenstown, but boy, was it worth it. I had booked tickets through Booking.com when securing our accommodation
months ago, which forced us out of our cosy, warm beds on a non-ski day. By the time we got there we knew we’d made the right decision. 

The family-run attraction started with a wooden maze in 1973 and evolved into a science museum that has become famous across the country – and internationally. Home to the world’s first multi-level “mega maze”, Puzzling World offers a challenging course that takes around an hour to complete (well, it did for us, anyway). Participants must reach all four towers located in four corners of the maze. The kids were the perfect age for it and no one noticed they’d been running around for an hour. 

The Illusion Rooms inside the museum provided hours of entertainment. The slightly nauseating Tilting Room was a favourite for the kids, as was the Ames Room, where they suddenly outgrew us adults, becoming giants to our dwarfed bodies. Afterwards we headed out to the idyllic Lake Wanaka, just a five-minute drive from Puzzling World, to recover from all the excitement.

ARROWTOWN

On our way back home we decided to stop at the little historic village of Arrowtown for dinner. Proving to be just as pretty at nighttime as it is during the day, we took our time wandering up and down the town centre’s main drag, overwhelmed by the many dining choices on offer. We settled on Bendix Stables – a “watering hole and food emporium” built in 1873 as a stable to keep local politician Bendix Hallenstein’s horses. We had the top floor to ourselves where we devoured giant burgers and toasted marshmallows for s’mores.

KAWARAU RIVER JET BOAT TOUR

On our last day, we headed into Queenstown for one more adventure – the Kawarau River Jet Boat Tour. It popped up as a recommendation on Booking.com and was super easy to add as a last-minute addition
to our itinerary. There are two tours to choose from – a 20-minute joy ride around the lake or an hour-long tour up the river. We went for the hour, which was filled with thrills and not-too-many spills, thankfully. The kids loved the build-up of suspense when our driver raised his hand in warning each time he slammed on the brakes for a heart-stopping 360-degree spin. The scenery became more and more impressive the further down the river we spun. An exciting attraction for families with just
the right amount of thrill for the littlies.

To book your holiday to Queenstown, simply download the booking.com app and get planning!