Kids' activities that adults love too

Oh, to be a child again – free from worry and woe. At least in New Zealand there are several ways you can still act your shoe size.

1. Freaky milkshakes

Freakshakes will likely send parents into a sugar slump and children into a rocket-fuelled frenzy, but it’s worth it for the sweet taste of childhood. These monstrous creations transform regular milkshakes into behemoths laden with dougnuts, popcorn, candy floss and cake. Auckland’s Cereal Killa Café boasts freakshakes that get larger by the day; The Enormous Crocodile & Shake parlour in Wellington serves an entire ice cream on top, and the pastel-coloured creations at Balls and Bangles in Queenstown leave everyone wide-eyed in wonderment (except dentists that is, they just grimace).

2. Alpaca selfies

Kids these days are born selfietakers – it’s in their Gen-Z blood. But no one takes a better pic than an alpaca: these mischievous-looking fur balls love to nuzzle into your viewfinder. Alpacas across New Zealand will win your whānau over with their charm and fluffy cuddles. At Nevalea Alpacas in Taumarunui, they’ll even take you for a walk down ‘Alpaca Lane’. In Hamilton, the Cornerstone Alpaca Stud has alpaca encounters and tractor rides, and Criffel Station in Wanaka offers alpaca feeding as part of their farm tour. Photo ops are inevitable – there will be an alpaca snout in your smartphone almost immediately.

Alpaca cuddles © Nevalea Alpacas RIGHT: Puzzling World,

3. Weird science

Out-of-school learning has never been so fun. Stimulate their inquisitive nature (and yours) with a Bioluminescence Kayak Tour just 20 minutes out of Auckland. Explore Ōkura Marine at night, when a magical light show is produced by the smallest of sea creatures. Bioluminescence is the glow emitted by living organisms which causes the water to light up like a Christmas tree. During the 90-minute kayaking tour, paddle through a glittering bay and dip your hands: the sparkles will flow over your fingertips. Suitable for children 11 years and over, and if the conditions are right, children over five too.

4. Puzzle me this

Odyssey Sensory Maze now resides in both Queenstown and Auckland. Get lost in a labyrinth of balloons, LED lighting and ‘guess the smell’ boxes. The warped upside-down house that is Wanaka’s Puzzling World always entertains, and the 3D Trick Art Gallery in Rotorua will confuse your retinas into seeing all sorts of mystifying illusions. If you’re a purist that believes mazes should be made from hedgerow, aMAZEme in Rotorua features a giant hedge-made maze as well as Peter Rabbit’s McGregor’s Garden which includes a petting enclosure and butterfly house.

Wanaka © Puzzling World

5. Rock Pooling

From scuttling crabs to starfish and rare, blue button jellyfish, rock pooling is both free and fascinating. Grab your buckets and get foraging. New Zealand hot spots include the pools at the base of the mountain at Mt Maunganui’s Main Beach; Kāpiti Coast’s Pukerua Bay, and Goat Island Marine Reserve an hour north of Auckland. Matai Bay in Northland has both a calm beach and gentle waves, as well as crystal clear rock pools to explore. On the South Island, Kaikōura’s coastline is flush with creature-dwelling rock pools, most fortuitus at low tide.

Goat Island, Auckland © Getty Images

6. PYO Produce

Adults love nutritious fruit and veg, but if you’re under five, peas are evil and should be secretly fed to the dog. Strawberry picking however, is a summer highlight, with strawberry farms flooding the Kumeū region of Auckland and open for PYO and fresh berry ice cream from late December through to March. If you’re southern bound, stone fruit picking is huge in Otago. Get to grips with cherries, apricots, peaches and more. For veggie lovers, Dargaville’s Kumara Box details all things sweet potato and features giant kūmara statues and a rideable train made from old steel drums. Dads love it!

Fruit picking, Central Otago © Central Otago Tourism

7. Historic Heroes

Great Scott is that a cannon ball flying overhead? Why yes, it is. You’ve stumbled across an historic pā battle. Fake of course, but with the help of Weta Workshops, the Traders and Whalers experience at Tawhiti Museum is incredibly life-like. This innovative Hāwera museum uses life-size displays and small model figures to depict New Zealand’s early history. From exploding cannons to exploding mountains: the 1886 volcanic eruption of Mt Tarawera near Rotorua killed hundreds, buried the village and destroyed the eighth wonder of the world – the Pink and White Terraces. Thanks to The Buried Village of Te Wairoa, with its excavated buildings, replica rooms, houses and relics, history is brought back to life.

Building buried in the 1886 volcanic eruption of Mt Tarawera © The Buried Village.