We love prawns so not surprisingly the first place we stopped when we arrived in Taupo was the Huka Prawn Park.
I last went there 16 years ago (really – was it that long ago!) and it was fair to say it had changed a bit.
We went in and immediately saw a huge sign promising that we could eat all the prawns we could catch for a mere $28 each – they would even cook them for us for free. James is a pretty good fisherman and we fancied our chances and we were in faster than you can shell a prawn.
Turns out prawn fishing is not quite as easy as one might think. Especially when fishing with bamboo rods and tiny hooks (I know, a good cook never blames the oven).
The pond we were fishing in boasted over 27,000 prawns but sadly none of them ended up on our plate.
But while it would have been nice to catch our own prawns it kind of didn’t matter. We sat for around an hour fishing for prawns and watching the world go by. The only thing that would have made it more perfect was a nice cold beer…
After that we ventured around the track to explore the rest of the park. We found tons of cool activities that our children would have loved (sorry guys – next time eh) and we had a fair amount of fun playing too…
And then we discovered a sign brilliantly written to throw children off the scent – I think every great place should have a sign proclaiming a peaceful adult bush walk! And it was very peaceful and absolutely stunning views!
Further around we found the mineral foot baths – perfect for a cold day, not so much in February but we put our feet in them none the less.
We then wound our way around to the restaurant where the prawns were practically calling our names. While they would have tasted better free (what doesn’t) they were still delicious and we made short work of them.
All up, we loved the Huka Prawn Park. It was good value at $56 for two adults and would be sensational value at $69 for a family and we will certainly be taking the children there when we go down next – surely there is a prawn fisherman somewhere in the family!
Our tip if you are planning on visiting – don’t rush it – plan to take at least 3 hours fishing, exploring, playing and eating.
You can find out more about them here.