Family vacations don’t need to be expensive trips overseas with lavish stays in hotels. Get back to the roots of a great New Zealand getaway – get the kids in the car, pack up a couple of tents and check out one of the many holiday parks in some of the country’s gorgeous small towns.
A stay at a family holiday park can be one of the most rewarding holiday experiences with the kids you can have. So many people have fond memories of setting up the tent with Dad, running to the BBQ after being called for dinner and riding bikes around the park. Let your kids enjoy the same adventure, and what better place to do it than in the quaint little town of Hokitika.
The small, West Coast township is a great place for a family holiday and the Hokitika holiday park is the ideal place to stay for a week. With kids these days glued to screens for their entertainment, it’s important to make sure they take some time to appreciate nature and have all the outdoor experiences that we remember forever; with beaches, forests and rivers just outside the cabin, Hokitika is a great place to enjoy a more natural New Zealand.
Throughout the year there is something to do in Hokitika. Annual events in January like the ‘Kumara Race Day’ and the ‘Sand Dune Classic’ are just two reasons to visit during the school holidays. Along with camping and spending days at the beach, a visit to the town during summer let you engage in more seasonal activities like fishing at the Hokitika river. Teach the kids or get a lesson yourself from one of the local professional guides.
Every year, one of the country’s most popular events makes its way to the town. The Hokitika Wild Foods Festival is definitely an interesting family trip. Sample some of the weirdest delicacies there are to be eaten and see a wealth of entertainment from local musicians and performers.
It isn’t all outdoors though, pay a visit to the Hokitika Museum and learn about the history of the West Coast, just one of the more cultural and educational things to do in the town. At the National Kiwi Centre, you can view the nation’s iconic animal and learn all about the species and the attempts to improve their numbers. The West Coast has a lot of history behind it, and Hokitika, the heritage and cultural centre of the region born out of the gold rush, is one of the most interesting places in the country to learn from.
For a great family getaway with everything you could want, filled with nature and fueled by the great, New Zealand outdoors with plenty to keep everybody busy, Hokitika should be your next vacation stop.
