Our top picks for days out during the school holidays

It’s the winter school holidays, which can be tricky with the cold and rain, but there are still lots of fun things to do in our largest cities around Aotearoa. If you’re looking for school holiday activities in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch, we’ve got you covered with parking close by.    

Auckland

Here are 3 ideas for winter fun in Auckland:

• Head to the Maritime Museum for their Blocks on the Dock or the Teddy Bear Picnic Sailing. The Blocks on the Dock see boat building with LEGO! Where every boat can be built from catamarans to a waka hourua.

If you’d rather set sail for the day the Teddy Bear Picnic cruise is for you. The event is to celebrate Teddy Bear Picnic Day by packing a picnic and heading out on the heritage vessel Ted Ashby.

        Get tickets and more information here.

        Best carpark: Princes Wharf, Viaduct Carpark

• If you’re on the shore or fancy a beach walk to entertain little one’s, head to Takapuna and enjoy some fresh air and a walk along the beach. Then head to Shore City Mall for their school holiday fun days where kids can meet their favourite characters from Spiderman to Frozen’s Elsa. They’ll also be sing-alongs, superhero training, bubbles and music. The special superhero and princess guests vary day to day, so click here to see the schedule.

        Best carpark: Como Street, 11 Northcroft Street

• Take a walk through the domain and head to the museum for their Dino Wars event on during the July school holidays. Dino Wars will bring to life the battle of dinosaurs through fun storytelling sessions and looking at fossils to discover the defences and teeth different dinosaurs had. For older kids, there’s the new Egypt: In the Time of Pharaohs exhibition. Where kids can travel back in time and experience and explore ancient Egypt with over 300 original artefacts.

        Best carpark: Parnell Road, Kingdon Street

Wellington

Wellington has some great cold and wet weather options for the school holidays, here are our top picks for exploring the capital:

• If you haven’t been to an Escape room before, these school holidays are a great time to take the kids to Escape Room Wellington with their school holiday deal. For the weekdays during the July school holidays up to 8 players (adults or kids) can play for $120. They also have two brand new escape games to test out your skills, Operation Beehive and The Diamond Heist.

        Best carpark: Vivian Street, Top of Tory

• Check out the holiday programmes at Capital E on Queens Wharf. They offer a range of fun activities and events for under 5’s to 12-year-olds. A few of our favourites are Space HQ, where little ones can learn about the moon and our solar system. This July also sees many Matariki events for kids to enjoy, such as Matariki music making, storytelling with Moira Wairama or a Matariki treasure hunt. For a full list of the events and activities click

        Best carpark: Queen Wharf, (VSPC) Victoria Street Parking Centre

• Continuing with the Matariki theme, Wellington Museum is hosting Matariki events during the school holidays for kids. The events include crafts with lantern-making, an area to write your Matariki wishes on stars (to be placed on the giant Matariki constellation wall) and a family reading area to relax. You can then enjoy the rest of the museum and exhibitions.

        Best carpark: Queen Wharf, (VSPC) Victoria Street Parking Centre

Christchurch

Enjoy fun and energetic events in Christchurch with lots to do during these school holidays:

• Ki Te Hoe, Let's Go. Central City Trail! Keep little ones entertained with a free city trail around the CBD. The trail takes place at Tūranga, The Teece Museum, Christchurch Art Gallery and the Botanic Gardens with fun activities at each location The trail booklets can be collected at any above location, and you can start from any of them. Just don’t forget to bring a pen!

        Best carpark: 50 Cathedral Square, 148 Gloucester Street

• Take the kids to have a dance-off at the Dance-O-Matt disco party! The event will see games, dancing, and music from DJ Looney Tunes for little ones to have fun and show off their best moves. The event takes place on the 8^{th of} July from 11am – 12:30PM at 211 Manchester Street, in central Christchurch. You could make this a day event by first walking along to the Riverside Market which is hosting their mid-Winter Christmas complete with a snow machine, visit from Santa and mulled wine for grownups!

         Best carpark: 191 Manchester Street, 157 Hereford Street

• For a treat for little ones, head to The Court Theatre to watch Frozen! The live show based on the Broadway musical will have the kids singing all their favourite songs as well as introducing them to five new ones, sure to get stuck in your head for days! The theatre show is on until the 15^{th of} For tickets and more information, click here.

        Best carparks: The CDHB Park n Ride carpark, The Hazeldean Road car park

If you are heading out and about over the school holidays don’t forget our friends at ParkMate have a GREAT casual parking offer to enjoy, 20% off during the school holidays between 10am – 4pm, Monday-Friday. Just enter the promo code SCHOOL into your ParkMate app.

T&c’s apply please visit ParkMate for full details.