Reviews of Huka Prawn Park. (Restaurant) in Taupo (Waikato).
Huka Prawn Park
200 Karetoto Road, Wairakei, Taupō 3377, New Zealand
Description
Information of Huka Prawn Park, Restaurant in Taupo (Waikato)
Here you can see the location, open hours, popular times, contact, photos and real reviews done by the users.
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Map
Open hours of Huka Prawn Park
Sunday
9am–4pm
Monday
9:30am–3:30pm
Tuesday
9:30am–3:30pm
Wednesday
Closed
Thursday
Closed
Friday
9:30am–3:30pm
Saturday
9am–4pm
Popular times
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Friday
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Reviews of Huka Prawn Park
K.We love our tour guide (front desk) for the day, we forgot to asked her name, she is so kind and sweet. And all the staff on the day. They are all lovely and so welcoming. And the lady whom I returned the life vest of my toddler, she end our day with a very lovely goodbye. 🥰 For the staff of the resto, so amazing. The food, it's superb. Perfect place for the family. Food and fun 5⭐
Surely, we will visit and spend our family time here 🥰 again.
T.Wish we'd still be able to fish prawns. This pandemic has affected this awesome experience but staff were awesome. Still got the guided tour of prawn farming. Also hopped on the row boats and paddle boards.
T.An amazing day out with the family. So many interactive activities for the kids to do, with the highlight being feeding the baby prawns in the hatchery. The restaurant was reasonably priced with a great menu for kids and adults alike. Would highly recommend
B.Amazing place to visit. Too bad no prawn fishing. The most important part and heaps of exploration around there. Should set up some drink stations around because the heat was just too much
D.We had low expectations however were presently surprised. The activities were lot of fun especially for the kids and the tour was very interesting. Would recommend on hot day and bring your togs or a change of clothes and a towel!
C.Unfortunately we couldn’t do any prawn fishing because there weren’t many prawns left to fish. I wished it could have been different as it would make this experience better but oh well. My family and I decided to just have lunch here. We ordered the garlic butter prawns, prawn chowder, side salad and the fish and chips. I thought the prawns were really fresh and juicy but the overall flavor could have been better. It felt like the prawns were just coated with garlic and butter but the flavor wasn’t infused in the prawn itself. So I would blame the cooking but not the ingredients. The prawn was definitely very fresh. The fish and chips were good and paired together with the beer, oh so amazing! I’ve never had prawn chowder before so this was a first. A little fishy for me but my family enjoyed it. Service was also good and quick! Maybe there’s a next time…
f.What a great place to eat on the riverfront. The front person (woman) was friendly and efficient who acknowledged us as soon as we arrived ( very important host skills). The shrimps were yum my son loved them. I actually loved the rice and garlic butter combined and just eat that with a few shrimps. My grandson enjoyed taking his free prawn cup home. Overall an enjoyable experience.
A.We had a great day there and the kids loved it. We took the tour and fed the baby prawns and then played at the park. $65.00 for full family access. (2 parents and up to 5 kids) making it one of the less expensive things to do as a family. The restaurant was pricey but still fun worth it with great views. I highly recommend this as a stop in Taupo.
L.Great fun for the kids, loved the tour & learning about baby prawns. Feeding the babies was a highlight. Lots of activities in the park to do to keep the kids busy for the day. Loved the mix of exploration and education. Definitely recommend you press every button you find along the way.. Especially the ones that say "do not Press"!
M.I guess the amount you paying for the park was quite expensive since there's No prawn fishing. Only you enjoy is the water bike other than that nothing else since paddling is not my expertise. We came to the restaurant in the afternoon after our walk in the park. The place has a nice and cozy view and the staffs are friendly and accommodating. But the waiting time took us like more than 30mins, there's a lot vacant seats already. The food was nice but quite expensive for its price.
I.Awesome place to come with kids or even as a couple. All activities are included in the price like pedle boats, paddle board, water scales to weigh yourself and heaps of water features to play with. We were too late for the last tour but would come back again to do it another time.
T.The paddle boats was certainly the main attraction and heaps of fun went around for all ages alike. No prawn fishing, unfortunately, and many ponds were just empty. The restaurant had a beautiful vibe, but we decided not to eat here because the entrance fee was already quite pricey.
L.Not really amused. $75 for 3 people. In return for a walk about some ponds and same childish games/activities. We didn't try the restaurant being scared by the reviews. You are well-known for prawn fishing. If your prawn fishing is not available, you should drop your price a bit. I give 3 stars because the pedal boating/boarding was OK.
R.Kids loved it and would have preferred to stay longer. Plenty to keep them entertained and once they have the prawn fishing up and running again they definetly won't leave. The guided tour was most interesting as was the prawn trail.
s.Great place for a slow burn relaxation with the Prawnies. Family fun spot with kids experiencing the thrill of catching prawns on a line. Highly recommended. Those prawns are tasty too 😁
S.The sudden decrease in the number of prawns and the unavailability of prawn fishing worried us at first, but it was foolish to have doubted Huka Prawn Park. The prawns served were fresh and delicious, and the service was excellent. Six battered prawns and non-alcoholic drinks are definitely not worth their price points, but everything else is great, including the coffee.
We can't wait to return when more prawns do.
u.It’s about the restaurant - high prices, prawns served are not locally grown, which is not what you expect on a prawn farm. No sense to pay 60 bucks for a half kilo of Thai’s prawns. However the dish itself was good for sure.
Besides staff are all nice and outside tables have a beautiful view.
D.Set in a stunning location on the edge of the mighty Waikato river is Huka prawn park... If u love ya fresh prawns & seafood then you'll enjoy the restaurant. Staff were amazing and so was the food. Beautiful & relaxing out door setting... you can even watch the jet boats zoom past. Unfortunately we didn't go into the park as prawn catching was closed but the trip to restaurant was well worth it.
D.We thoroughly enjoyed our visit, even without prawn fishing. We enjoyed all the activities, especially the pedal boats and SUP boards. Staff were super lovely and knowledgable!
R.There's no prawn fishing now but there are many other activities to do. I loved doing the stand up paddle board it was my very first. Also, there's water trikes and pedal boats.
You can feed the trouts, feed the baby prawns, lots of games in the park for the kids and adults. Few things I enjoyed were foot baths, mini water bikes, water gauntlets etc.
There's a lovely restaurant overlooking the river with amazing seafood to devour. Overall, it was fun family day out. Don't miss it if you're around Taupo.
M.Such a great place for the whole family with so many fun water activities and a playground for the kids too. The restaurant had great, fast service and the lunch menu was delicious. Highly recommend!
S.Although there is currently no prawn fishing available at the park we still had a fun day playing on the water trike, paddle boats and swan, and paddle boards on the water. There are also plenty of activities around the site like water canons, playgrounds, water weights, and hot water foot baths. Some of the ponds were dried out and being dug & redone, but still plenty of pretty ponds to wander around.
C.We went just for the restaurant. It is family friendly with an inside play area and outside play area. The prawns tasted amazing. There was a kids menu for the kids too.
D.Awesome spot to spend easily half a day there, lovely restaurant with beautiful river view. Staff were friendly, "behind the scenes" tour was good along with feeding baby prawns. Well worth checking out.
N.The park is good but the restaurant is very average….
J.Awesome spot to take the family. So many different activities! Definitely worth taking the guided tour so you can see behind the scenes - and you even get to feed the prawns which is a really cool experience! It's a Must Do when you visit Taupo!
K.The most creative but fun place. There was something for everyone. And the staff were all well informed and full of info. the two young ladies fitting our kids with life jackets and keeping tabs on our 40 school party were so great. patient and fun.
d.Amazing place to spend a hot day with the family. Our 2 granddaughters had an amazing day. Really lovely staff. Great fun. No prawn fishing but that didn't spoil or visit at all.
J.Very good for kids. Staff helpful and know the park. Activities for kids are awesome and will keep the adults busy with the kids. Prawns are fresh water and tast different but good. Thanks for a good experience.
Y.It’s not that busy even during the Christmas and New Year holiday. Can not fishing now but still a few activities you can do here, different boats. The tour is only about 20mins, you can feed the prawn which it’s exciting and interesting. Children over 3 can have lots of fun.
K.We went as a family and thought would only be there a few hours .. ended up staying half the day. Us and the kids had a blast. Even manged to make it to the tour were we all got to feed a prawn!! Staff are super friendly such a great place highly recommend visiting 😀
D.3.75 stars perhaps. Shawn the Prawns trail offers lots of things to see and do. Some very clever activities; bike powered water jets, lift your weight in water, an explosive water spout, cross the stepping stones without getting splashed from above and so on. Okay, so four stars 'cos the restaurant food was good.
A.Good adrenaline rush with the Hukajet. Loved the close up view of huka falls. Commentary was also very informative. Definitely recommend a go.
S.I always come here to enjoy my prawns and prawn chowder whenever I come near Taupo. They also have a swings and sandpit for kids to play outside the restaurant on the riverbank. A must visit in Taupo.
N.We had so much fun here as a family, also the tour and feeding the baby prawns was a lovely experience
r.Yummy prawns. Great outlook from restaurant watching the Huka Jets. Very interesting seeing the life cycle of these yummy morsels. All in our back yard
A.It is the place I almost stop every time I drove down to south or return from south, It has so many activities to do. Our group of people is more likely havr Lunch or bruch in the restrurant, Their prawns is very juicy, so if you are prawns eater, you might like to try some.
S.Little bit expensive for the average Kiwi. Definitely worth a look though.
K.Such an awesome day out, no prawn fishing at the moment, but so much more to do! It is easy to spend at least 2+ hours with kids, good idea to wear togs under clothes 😊
r.Had such an amazing day here. Who would have thought prawn fishing could be so much fun. Popped in to show our UK guest the place with the view of going for lunch. Spent 4 hours, paddle boarding, fishing and having a great time....even managed to catch enough for our own lunch. Have been highly recommending
B.Good facilities and amenities, a place you cannot miss to see and do when you are in Taupo, sufficient parking area, very informative tour, good to see how they raised those prawns also how they developed the place as to what is now. Excellent place to spend time with the whole family.
N.Friendly staff. Wish we were able to stay longer but we managed to catch a few prawns and check the place out briefly. So much fun. Good for kids and families. Will definitely return :)
J.I visited the Huka Prawn Park yesterday. My mum recommended the garlic bread (which doesnt look like bread lol), saying she loves it to bits. I tried my first piece, and agreed it was amazing. The prawn chowder was also creamy and flavourful but I was foolish to try eat the decorative prawn’s claws because they cut me. The garlic drizzled prawns (we bought 1kg) itself were quite disappointing, according to my mum, who said it tasted not as good when compared with her previous visit. I tried it as well and agreed it was somewhat lacking in flavour. There’s a shortage of nz grown prawns in the park, and they have resorted to using a portion of thailand prawns in their restaurant to cover up the lack, according to their official website.
S.Fun day out for the whole family. Forget what you know about fishing - prawn fishing takes real patience. Plenty for younger kids to do if they get bored like trout feeding, mini boat rides, and playgrounds.
Best part is being able to catch and cook on site - you don't get any fresher than that!
P.Great opportunity to catch a prawn on a fishing line. It needs a bit of patience but once you start seeing the prawns come and get your bait the action starts. After catching them there is a pot and instructions on how to catch them yourself.
If you don't have time there is a restaurant that will cook plenty for you in less than half the time. Big beautiful prawns!!
You can also play on the water activities there is around the park. Overlooking the huka falls jet boat.
Great place, worth the effort and friendly helpful staff.
a.This place is my ALL TIME FAVOURITE , been here a handfull of times and absolutly enjoy it everytime. Any chance i get to cone down to taupo i will , i always gurantee i catch a few prawns and i love it. They have heated seats and foot spas which is awesome. We have also brought tje kids here and they enjoyed it too.You can also cook them up as they a hut to boil them and a cafe around the fishing area if you get hungry or you can eat at the restraunt. The bait is unlimited which is great if you drop it in the water. Its safe as they supply life jackets for kids to go on the boat and paddle boats.
I highly recommend having a go if you know someone who enjoys fishing then they will love this. Staff are good and have some helpful tips too
L.Such a great family park with loads to do for people for all ages so it would suit almost if not all members of your family.We totally loved it and most certainly be back to see how it grows
C.Awesome place to take your kids. Just dont expect to get buckets of prawns unless you're an expert.
Next time we will make this a whole day event :). Recommend to everyone.
S.So much fun. Suggest bring your own portable chair and hat. You can cook and eat your own prawns. The food of the restaurant is good too.
M.Highly highly recommended to visit even in a rainy day. Even for catching prawns the seats are heated. The park activities are awesome and very child friendly. Don't hesitate to visit in a rainy day. The restaurant is a bit expensive but it's worth it. Don't bother with the dessert cause it's wasn't fresh. We ordered Cheese cake but the cheese was rubbery so we returned it. They gave us chocolate explosion but again it was meh for $13.5
B.Funny to belive but the huka prawn park has lovely prawns. Those suckers are very big and so tasty. I had the chowder and battered prawns. Chowder was so good and tasted great. The battered prawns were a bit of a let down after the chowder. All and all very nice.
A.An interesting prawn nursery, where you can catch your own prawns and let the restaurant cook them for you, or you can just go to the restaurant and buy them cooked. The view is great especially the outdoor. The price is much dearer than other places but the prawns are huge and the flavour is fresh and yummy, each serving of prawns come with garlic butter sauce and accompanied with 2 types of dipping sauces: sweet chilli sauce, and kecap manis (thick sweet soy sauce). You can ask them to put the garlic butter sauce either on the side or baste the prawns. The queue is very long: both to get the table as well as for the food; so having a reservation is highly recommended. You can also buy the prawns to go.
R.Unless you are lucky and get a good spot you will be better of buying some prawns from the supermarket. If you have couple of hours to spare and enjoy the experience of fishing and of course some dollars to spare you could add this to your activities list at Taupo. There are other water activities for the kids and tours to the prawns farm.
A.We loved the prawn farm and spent most of the day there but it is very pricey, especially the food, it is worth the treat though
E.For those who love prawns. The squid is soo tender, the chips so fresh. You can do fishing, too. In the same place, don't forget to ride Huka Jet.
C.We spent about 4+ hours here.
Extremely affordable for families. Pack a lunch and spend the day there. There are so many things to do and the kids had an absolute blast!!!!!
I.Must do here at Taupo, primarily the restaurant and prawns. I would recommend 1kg prawn dish, as 1/2 is not enough for two people. Very good and friendly customer service.
n.I enjoyed my time in the time. There is a lot of activities to do like prawn fishing, trout feeding and even just waking around the beautiful park.. There’s also a guided tour in the park where you can learn about the prawns they grow in there. All of the activities and the tour is included in the entrance fee so it is very much worth it.
K.Service was great and we were told where the best place to catch the prawns from. We ended up leaving with 25 prawns and the most anyone else caught that day was 14.
Tip: stand by the hot water pipes as the prawns like to keep warm
K.Lovely food. Awesome service. Sad to see less customers due to the pandemic. Visit huka prawn park and support local.
C.Thought this might be a bit of a silly thing to do but then I went there.... If you want a good time and a good laugh definitely come here the staff is great and they have all the prawn facts you never knew you wish you knew. Make sure and get there early so you have enough time to fish for the prawns, at the end of it all they cook yup your catch for free!!
V.Wasn't expecting much but was very surprised loved the tour our tour guide was awesome very knowledgeable and funny enjoyed our walk around the park lots of fun water activities big thumbs up from my family
E.My daughter and I used to be frequent visitors here when we lived in Taupo. Now we aren't, we visited again with three generations of family. It was a nice day and enjoyed trying to catch prawns. In the end my wife was only one that caught one after 4 hours.
There are some good attractions for family and children.
B.We didn't do a lot of the activities, but did stop to check it out, and eat in the cafe. It was still cooler, in September, but people were still having fun fishing and doing other activities. The staff were really, really nice and the coffee a and food was good. Welcomed during a lengthy drive.
W.At the moment....there is no prawns for fishing but there are plenty of other activities will entertain the kids including many water rides...
You can still taste the prawns in the restaurant next to the Prawn Park.
J.Honestly we ended up here because we needed a place to charge our electric car ... so had no idea what to expect. Our daughter loved it to be fair but she loves throwing stones in the river just as much and that is free!!! Not sure I would recommend doing a trip just to visit but if you are in the area then give it a go! *Prawns were not biting while we were there
J.This place is actually so much fun. My family easily spent a few hours fishing for prawns. You get to keep any that you catch for free. There’s also a place to boil them to eat straight away. The peddle boats were fun too. Don’t forget to walk around the rest of the park and try all of the activities/games. I think people miss this because they’re too focused on trying to catch prawns.
D.Kids loved it, stayed for hours, caught prawns and had fun in the peddle boats and playground. Fed the trout. A good day out!
J.Have to get there either early or late to not have to wait to get a table. Also try to break up your group if you have more than 6 people as smaller tables become available a lot quicker.
The food was alright but it felt like the garlic sauce has reduced since the last time we had the prawns. We used to be able to dip chips and pita breads in the left over sauce but not this time.
The prawn fishing was closed so nothing else to do but eat and go.
I.Great place to dine before dinner..Have lunch near the river.Very enjoyable.Polite staff. Don't have to go into the park but can have lunch before going in.
S.Once you got the hang of it it's so much fun.
We came about 10 am and stayed 3 hours - We caught 10 prawns, cooked and ate them. Honestly - soooo much fun for young and old. Thanks so much for the experience!
M.Loved this activity! Best to go at 9am until 2pm. You get a good catch and can enjoy a lunch at the restaurant. If you don't catch many it's still so much fun.
This venue would be perfect for an early dinner at closing time however it's not open. A bit sad because there is a beautiful view, lovely fireplace. I would have loved to spend more money here, eat my prawns at the end of the day at the restaurant. I would also enjoy dinner here at any time since it would be the best and only seafood restaurant in town.
Thank you all at Huka Prawn Park! We had a great time and will be seeing you again at 9am next time!
P.Awesome place to take to kids on summer
P.Good Times. Just Prawn fishing success low at the moment. Great activities, delicious Prawn Chowder. Once there are more prawns to catch then 5 stars. Don't be like us and forget to sit at the foot Spa :).
J.I wouldn't recommend coming here to fish for prawns if you expect to catch anything, but it is a good experience. It's a great place for kids to spend the day, especially with all the water trikes and other activities they have. After our day, we went to the restaurant and bought a big platter of prawns, but these were a bit undercooked and probably a bit too expensive considering
紐.Must visit place when you go taupo or Rotorua. The place is so beautiful and the staff are friendly and helpful. You can easy to spend a day there to catch some prawns. The easy way is go to restaurant and order rather than catch them. My mate spent 4 hours and he only got one. VH
O.Prawns r not from local , imported from Thailand , very very cheap prawns but expensive here
C.Great visit- so good for kids - had lots of fun. Recommend
G.Beautiful prawn lunch in a fantastic setting on the banks of the Waikato River. It was very busy but the wait was minimal. Friendly staff.
D.Environment is wonderful beside the river.
Food rated at 90% price was average but surcharge for credit card use was
disappointing
N.Great family day out. Take a packed picnic and let the kids run wild to do the water activities.
A.Great place, loads to do with the kids, lovely day, great value.
B.Probably more of a summer place with all the water play elements but still pretty interesting to take the tour and see how they raise the prawns. Food in the restaurant was pretty good too, all the prawns are farmed on site.
s.Couldnt recommended this place enough, it was the highlight of our whole holiday, especially if you love fishing. If you have little ones that dont have the patience to fish, there is a lot more interactive things to do.
M.Great place to visit! Unfortunately their cooked prawns taste like frozen prawns though...
K.Amazing food. Amazing scenery
F.You can spend all day there for sure! The team is super friendly and always checking on you. You can spend lots of time to catch your own prawns, and if you will be successful, friendly team at local Cafe will cook it for you. We have visited Prawn Cafe, and had an amazing experience of very fresh local cuisine. I would recommend it to visit with family or just by yourself. It also have an amazing playground for kids too.
S.Perfect day out for the whole family. The park is well put together and you just keep finding new cool stuff to do. Get their early in the day and plan to spend a fun few hours!
b.Good place for a sunny lunch of Prawns overlooking the Waikato river. $50 for a half kilo feeds 2. Not big enough for an evening meal.
L.If your into prawn fishing do it! All other things are nice to keep the kids buissy as well. NOTE: closes early!
S.It was fun going around the pools and feeding the prawns on the tour as well. The restaurant was great as well.
M.Interesting place to visit and tour, highlight for me though is fishing for prawns. Had a great morning catching prawns and it is a great touch that the restaurant will cook and serve you your catch (with garlic butter if you like) at no extra charge.
E.Awesome place for the whole family to enjoy. Prawn fishing takes a bit of patience and practice.
a.Had the whole place to ourselves ( no tourists). Ordered full platter of prawns. 23 all together but very expensive. $103.00 BETTER OFF JUST BUYING 2 DOZ. much cheaper. Not good value for money. Quite a rip off actually especially when they are hatched by the thousands and they catch them in their own prawn pools
L.It's OK but it's more for the kids to enjoy as I went there wasn't much to see, besides the Trouts and feeding them. But I must admit that the activities they have there were fun and awesome. Staffs were friendly and helpful as well. Oh and one thing when you book in it says 12am-1am it's means 12pm-1pm lol. But yeah the Lake View was beautiful 😍 I loved the view. You will find it when you walk in the right tracks. Just follow the Shrimp guy.
B.Enjoyed the rides..wish there were more water rides that kids can go..
n.Great place to spend a day if you like prawns and if you are patient and lucky enough you might catch one! Fishing experience, water play, boating, fish feeding and a lot more.
T.This was a great experience, unfortunately went with my boys who are both under 2 so couldn’t do the boats and they didn’t have patience for the fishing. People actually caught prawns while we were there and big ones too I was so impressed.
I would highly recommend this park here, maybe for kids over 5 would be more enjoyable.
A.good fun
A.Unexpectedly good fun for the family. Well thought out tourist venue with excellent food and fast service in the restaurant.
D.Cafe was average but the prawn fishing park and walk kept the kids entertained for a couple of hours.
J.You won't catch a big feed but it's a pretty fun experience.
G.We love to go there spend half of the day with kids. Although not very successful on fishing.
N.Good place to visit. Was a shame we couldn't catch a prawn but still good
P.Very pleasant staff and a lovely atmosphere
R.Only open 1 pool in the rainy day and people are too crowded. Can’t get the shrimps
It’s a pity to waste such good place for only place you can catch shrimp in Nz
J.John the tour guide was absolutely awesome. Super informative and kept it interesting! The only downside would be the cost hasn’t been reduced as prawn fishing is no longer an activity offered but overall great time at the prawn park today. Cheers!
C.Exceptional and accommodating staff. From the front counter all the way to the restaurant; they all smile and greet you like they actually want to be there. Very refreshing to see. Mitch the tour guide was also awesome. Price was very reasonable considering you can bag and keep whatever you catch. It shocks me to see harsh customer reviews just because they didn’t catch anything. That’s not what it’s all about. A great day out and would recommend!
H.Had some fun there and caught a prawn
g.This place is really a people hit when you visit Huka.
Sadly, we are vert hungry at that time and people ,heaps of people are taking queue.
So we left. Quite a lot of customers on Easter 2021
Though.. i need to taste the prawn next visit.
D.Wasnt too impressed. Location is amazing but food is not great, also very stingy with it. Asked for a brownie with ice cream. Ice cream was the size of a 50 c piece rolled up. All icy and hollow in the middle but was charged an extra 1.50 for it. Just seems very stingy. The prawns were good ( 3 stars) as was the service which gets the 4 stars, but stop being stingy. Generosity is nice. Dont go cheap on me dodson!!!
D.The tour was fascinating and we still had a good time between the pedal boats and foot baths, but would really love to come back when the prawn fishing has returned
r.Fun, interactive and could easily spend the whole day here
N.One of the best places to visit in Taupo. It is always free. Love Taupo.
G.Best place to visit, there's fishing, there's lot of fun water activities and hot foot spa. Loved pedal boating.
A.Nice water parks for the kids just next to Huka Falls Jet boat starting point.
C.Great place to visit, jetboat, and eat alot of prawns. Fishing is super hard, don't think you'll be feeding the bros for lunch. If you just wanna eat em, buy them
Y.We've been here twice as the experience was enjoyable. May not be much, but catching 4 prawns felt like a great achievement considering we only saw 3 other people catch them while there. This takes a lot of patience and recommend first timers to go on the tour first where they provide tips on the how-to-dos before going straight for casting out the lines to catch prawns. Otherwise there are other activities available for everyone on site as well as a restaurant to take a break and have a meal. Staff at front desk where we purchased tickets were fine, but the staff at the line and bait station were friendlier and more helpful. Will probably make this a yearly tradition.
S.Great place super friendly waitress did a Great job serving out big table
S.Who knew that’s how your caught prawns... very entertaining afternoon
V.Pretty much empty, price is too high for the experience they provide
A.Lots of activities to do with kids of all ages even when the prawns are off their bite. Special needs, student & gold card discounts.
R.Enjoyed our day at the prawn park. Love prawn fishing although very hard to actually catch them. We couldn't get into the restaurant/cafe because of the constant queue so that was a disappointment and we were all pretty hungry when we left. Pack a change of clothes and a few extra snacks.
I.Great experience, lots of activities for the kids. No prawns in the main lakes due to harvest, footbaths were a highlight. Dinner was less filling due to the prawns head taking up.so much of the weight.
A.Worth a visit. Very expensive but still something to try once.
H.I rode the Huka Falls Trail. Great place to stop for lunch.
A.No fishing for prawns....had the 9ark to ourselves. Cool fun in the rain
D.Awesome for the kids definitely was a good half day with the kids definitely will be back
F.nice ambience while eating prawns.. food was great.. staff are friendly..
S.Entertainment for the whole family. Young and old, so much to do 4 hours is not enough.
G.Good fun and something everyone can do. Quite expensive really considering you are mostly feeding their prawns!! They may need to adjust their prices a little for the domestic market.
They are not that easy to catch and it is quite funny watching everyone trying so hard to catch a prawn with a bamboo pole and a tiny hook. It is hard to stop, thinking you will try just a bit longer.
There is a playground area with water cannons more designed for summer and paddle boats which are really hard work, especially on the knees.
The restaurant is good and the prawns are huge but quite expensive. The fish and chips were very fresh and well cooked.
There is a good place outside the restaurant to watch the jet boats and a place to put your feet in a small hot pool.
You can go on a rainy day as there is a covered area for fishing and steam coming off the pool. The prawns must love it and it keeps the area reasonably warm too.
M.Came here with my partner & we shared 1/2 kilo of prawns for $53.00. I also got glass of feijoa wine for $9.00 which tasted delicious.
K.Loved it. Good value for money. Lots of activities for kids.
P.Prawn is so fresh and sweet. Love your curry.
C.Such a fun experience to do with the family but it’s very hard to catch the prawns. Don’t go mid winter or your fingers will freeze off! There’s little dingies where you can pull yourself into the middle of the lake if you want to which was quite cute for photos. The restaurant there is also great family area. Amazing view if you sit outside or close enough to the glass inside in winter! Quite romantic if you ask me. We took kids with us and they had a great time and you can also ask them to cook the shrimp you caught! Or you can take it home and cook it yourself in some butter.
K.Very yummy. Good service. Things to keep everyone amused
A.Little bit expensive for what it is, but it's a nice spot, I'd recommend it
B.It was ok, no prawns biting which is 80% of the attraction.
C.After a long road trip, a kg of glazes garlic prawns serve with a nice local beer are a great appetisers to bring the spirit back into the groups next journey.
T.Honest review from a local: I used to love coming here quite often, it’s great for kids and adults alike but feel as though it is becoming more of a tourist trap. Prawn fishing was a favourite in our household (you can go in winter too because there is heated seating) but with each visit we catch less and less prawns and we weren’t catching full buckets to begin with, but now we would be lucky to catch one or two, so now we don’t even bother going out there unfortunately. The little fish in the ponds will eat all your bait before the prawns have a chance to eat it! The restaurant is very expensive but the food is outstanding! It’s more for tourists now than frequenting locals in my opinion.
I.Food was amazing. Couldn't do activities due to the weather. Definitely going next time we go past Taupo
A.Love the garlic prawns.
Though the restaurant was busy, there was no compromise on service.
Helpful wait staff. Thanks for bringing out the kids foods out quickly.
R.We drove from Auckland just to experience the fun activities here and we were not disappointed. The prawns as well as the fish and chips taste good. We didn't have the chance to do the boat fishing since there was only one boat available when we visit. Overall, our family loved the park and the food.
A.Lots more to do than you might appreciate. Take a moment to take the tour, and on a cold day look out for the heated seats when fishing for prawns. There's a pleasant short walking track too
M.Great little place fir the kids but many things were not useable
C.Lots of fun, can easily spend a good day here. Not much prawns available for catching, which was the only disappointment, spent 3 hours for maybe 1 catch. The park is nicely laid out. Lots of fun for the kids with paddle boats and water play. Will definitely go again!
C.Lunch was kind of boring but okay. Missed opportunity for promoting their prawns.
C.Love huka prawn park! Only caught 3 prawns between 4 of us in 5 hours but still had loads of fun (and did better then many others... Laugh?!?!)
Lots of others things for the kids to do as well. 👍
L.Our second visit here and throughly enjoyed ourselves. We were lucky and had great weather so enjoyed the “Shaun the prawn” walk. Lots of water activities for kids and adults..and the foot spa at the end is a lovely treat. We also enjoyed the quick tour of the hatchery and a brief history of the prawn farm. The restaurant is lovely and has an extensive menu. Only disappointment was the lack of prawns in the ponds..we were warned about this by staff on arrival but feel this should be reflected in the admission price...
M.A fun time at the park. Lots of little things to keep you entertained. Enjoyed the tour including putting hand in to feed some little prawns. Did the fishing but prawns weren’t biting so no catch. Good family fun at this place.
X.Nice restaurant and good taste and fun park for leisure
R.Definitely visiting again ..
E.Great deals. fun for the kids . It was warm and inviting on a windy cold day. Warm friendly hosts would recommend the coffee
S.Interesting.worth going. A bit pricey. But worth it for the chance of eating fresh prawns.great for kids.
N.Took 2 hours to catch 2 prawns, and the price for 1/2kg steamed prawns in the restaurant was $53.. not really domestic tourist prices. The park would be awesome to bring kids to in summer, lots of water based fun activities.
P.Sounds like a boring place, but it's great. You can feed the prawns n stuff and there's heaps of activities especially for small children.
S.Lovely setting yummy prawns. The prawns seem fatter this year! Great wine and service too. Garlic bread was yum.
C.Great facilities and lots to do, could definately spend the whole day there. Kids love it!
S.What a wonderful place for taking the family
Plenty to do
Plenty of shade for everyone
And a great cafe
C.Not fun when you go to a prawn park to catch a prawn but there's only 2 ponds in action and get told it's quite hard to catch any! So yip saw one person catch a prawn in one hour, hopefully I didn't pay full price due to the maintenance taking place, but may have?
On the other hand there's cool water features everywhere, staff were friendly, park is well set out and my kid had great fun.
Could possibly go back one day just not around March!
J.Great place to take kids for boat ride, catch prawns plus other rides and activities. Sadly this time around couldn't catch any pawns as the prawn catching farm area was closed
N.Price us quite high, but the prawns are fresh and big.
C.Fun to do prawn fishing and the prawn that sell in restaurant is yum.
T.So much for the kids to do! So much fun!
M.We spent a few hours at Huka Prawn recently and had good fun.
Unfortunately we didn’t catch any prawns which was disappointing but mind you we only gave it 15-20 minutes so probably not long enough.
These guys have done a good job of coming up with plenty of things to do for the kids. There’s water pedal boats, playground, heaps of interactive water foundations - enough for a family to stay at least half a day. There’s also a good tour of the nursery where you can feed baby prawns, super cute.
What I like is that if you do catch prawns they’ll cook them up free of charge. But don’t count on catching enough for lunch.
V.The restaurant is great especially if you love prawns! They have a good variety of non-alcoholic drinks. Try the aloe vera drink!
I.Great time to spend with family fishing prawns. It's better when the water is clear then you can actually see the prawns. Couple more times we went and the water was too brown in 4hours only managed to catch two. I really enjoyed the tour. Friendly staffs.
D.Fun place for a day out. Restaurant staff are super friendly and helpful. Food was very good too. The person handing out the rods should explain how to catch the prawns as I couldn’t see any information anywhere. Will definitely be back!
L.Love this place. Found it hard to leave
J.Lovely spot but very over priced for locals visiting!
T.Excellent meal, very helpful staff, very nice environment.
A.It's kinda hard to catch the prawn, waiting for 3 hours and only catch one small prawn, especially if they are aiming for kids then it's really hard for the kids to catch the prawn, other entertainment was okay.
n.It was a cold rainy day and I wasn't keen on going, but the kids wanted to so I thought we would go 1 to 2 hours max. We loved it so much we stayed the whole day. Plenty of undercover spots to fish from with geothermally warmed seats to sit on, and even better is that we all caught a few prawns The staff were amazing, helpful and friendly. They cooked our prawns in garlic butter sauce for free and the restaurant had some great lunch options to supplement our catch. Highly recommended for a family day out. I also thought the price was very reasonable!
M.You can play all day there. Just fun!
D.This place is amazing! Little kids and kids at heart will love it. The guided tour(included in entry fee) takes you for a behind the scenes look at how the prawns are bred and gives you some history/background about them. Then you are let free to try your hand at catching some! They can be difficult to catch so while your chances are high to get a few of them there is a slight change you might not get one. They also have an walk around track with adventures along the way.
J.Wasnt expecting to visit here on my travels but glad I did. An unexpected day out! Was only planning on spending the morning here but eneded up spending the whole day. Catching the prawns actually made time go by quickly. The restaurant cooked what we had for the day at no cost at all. Would recommend paying a visit if in the area.
R.Nice to visit! Especially if you are a big fan of prawns like me!!!
B.Took the kids here for a few hours and ended up staying the whole day. Great experience with a variety of activities to do - while the prawn fishing is the highlight there are fish, boating, interactive activities and a nature walk. The one downside is the place is such fun that is does get a lot of people - hard to fault the place for this.
A.Great time with the kids, heaps to do 👍
D.Love the fries
Prawns were fresh
Lovely, fast service and if you lucky, as I was, and it is a sunny day, sitting outside is lovely
C.Okay, this restaurant is literally the bees knees. If you give a bad rating I’m pretty sure you didn’t eat. Food is legit. Will travel 5 hours for that ❤️
A.Too cold and damp to take in outdoor experience but will certainly be back in warmer weather. BUT had a very very good prawn lunch in a neat warm environment. Staff were very attentive, with pleasant natures.A most enjoyable time was had by all.Will be back
R.Great location and setup, good table service and prompt but there are only 2 choices on the entire menu for prawns from the park - the Prawn Park!!! 0.5kg and 1kg - the other prawns served are all imported......!! no kids menu prawn options - in the end we had 2 x 1kg servings of local prawns to satisfy 2A/2C - not for the faint hearted at $98/1kg serving.
J.Great family day out. Nice and simple fun, nice facilities and friendly staff. Nice little walk around the grounds as well as trout feeding. Parking is somewhat limited so expect to park further along the road when busy. Don't expect to catch lots of prawns but it's more fun than it seems.
A.We went to the park as a late twentys couple and were entertained for a good few hours. It's great how much is included in the ticket price. But this is really designed as a kids day out and is on the money for that. We didn't catch any Prawns... Its difficult so don't go with high expectations on that front.
C.Pricier than it used to be, not so much improvement on their environment and food quality though.
M.It's back with the freshness and quality! Have not been back for almost 10 years due to disappointment at last visit but on this visit, it has redeemed its name again. Fantastic service and prawns are fresh as :)
R.Staff are friendly and helpful. Apart from the double charge from booking online, I highly recommend spending the day here with the family! This was one of the activities I was looking forward to most whilst our stay in Taupo and it was beyond my expectations!
M.What a great fun day for young or old. Great activities and the prawn fishing was fun. The restaurant was fantastic with good food and service. Good value for money.
S.Interesting place with delicious shrimp dishes.
J.Thank you to all the staff at the park and restaurant for your excellent service and food. Special thanks to Restaurant manager Rachel that made our visit an absolute memorable experience.😎
M.Visited the Prawn Park on the Saturday during a Taupo weekend getaway and really enjoyed it here. Will come back again. Lots of fun activities for all ages but the definite highlight was the restaurant and the prawns.
If you love eating prawns, then you DEFINITELY need to visit here...prawns are huge and SO delicious!
S.Thanks to Sarah, our amazing tour guide, she gave us advise on how best to catch prawn. She went above and beyond to help us enjoy out day and we had a great day out.
X.The entry price and experience seemed to be of good value and the concept of Prawn Park was very interesting. The reason for the low star rating was that it seemed like it was losing its maintenance fees or rather seemed a little dead. The idea of prawn fishing and engaging with the activities there was great but it didn't produce enough enthusiasm in comparison with the whole atmosphere. Many features include the foot bath in the warm waters and the feeding of the trouts, and other water activities along with the Prawn Fishing. It is an excellent time waster for families with children - however, be warned! The prawns are harder to catch than you think!
A.Great place for kids. And, fresh yummy prawns
D.Very nice. You can sit and watch the jet boat go by and soak your feet in the outdoors bath while having a nice coffee and a bite to eat. I didn't try the prawn fishing but it looks like a great family activity
J.Stopped for lunch. The battered prawns were delicious and the kids mini hot dogs had a generous portion of fries. There was a cosy in door area and outdoor seating on a deck with a view of the river. The service was excellent, friendly and helpful - thanks for looking after us so well Rachael! The children got menu's to colour and there was a small kids area too. We didn't have time for activities as these shut at 3pm during winter hours. But we may be back to try these another time!
J.Went to have lunch. About 30% more expensive than what you'd expect to pay normally, but creamy, strong flavour prawns. Went in the winter so wasn't so busy. Not sure if that impacts on quality of service or food. Most discerning aspect of the trip were the unfavourable reviews, surprisingly happy experience.
S.It was an interesting day out, even with a lot not opened, the kids enjoyed the water play, glad we went. Staff were awesome, helpful and friendly.
J.This is a great place to take the family for an outing. There is more than just prawns to catch. It's actually a park to play as well, with pedal boats and a nature walk and playground. There's also a foot bath, but don't wear skinny jeans because you need to roll up your pants to your knees to use it. If you stand at the right spot you can watch the huka jet zoom up the river. There's even a coffee cart for parental caffeine fix... P.S. I personally get bored trying to catch the prawns but my 3 kids all love it and want to go back every year. Packed lunch or at least snacks are a very good idea because you'll stay longer than you think!
G.Park is kind of unique and different experience. Highly recommend others to visit.
C.Very fresh and big prawns. Freshly cooked and it was yummy. The restaurant has a very good view of the river and every now and then you can see a jet boat going past.
S.Loved it. Simply stunning views, excellent food & outstanding service even when they were superrrrr busy.
Even cared to come back and check; if everything is alright.
M.Nice place, they serve big helpings of taste pawns. And if you are not into pawns you can have a old kiwi favorite, fish and chips.
The river jet boat is also based there as well.
R.Very interesting to catch your own prawns. The restaurant will then cook it for you if you wish. The deep-fried potato chips served by the restaurant cannot be beaten. By absolutely no one nowhere. This place is child-friendly. Lively outside lawn area.
C.Great fun for the kids. Paddle boats. Water cannon. Cool little tour of the prawn hatchery and feeding the prawns by hand was a highlight.
K.This is the most underrated, awesome theme park in the world. Honestly, prawn fishing alone, was awesome. I just wanted to fish all day, could not get enough of it. If I could go back, I would have spent more time there. 10/10 reccomend this strange and wonderful place
L.The prawn farm was nicely set out and had many activities for the kids. We only caught one prawn over the hour that we were fishing which is a little disappointing.
The restaurant was extremely busy at the time, but the service and food did make up for the wait.
K.Fishing Prawn was a bit hard & took long. Not many things to do.
A.We had a lovely day with our 3 year old boy...we went on the boats which he loved...Daniel (customer service superstar) sorted out life jackets for us and minded our iPad while we were on the boat, and offered to take photos of us on the boat, you are a SUPERSTAR Daniel thanks!!! Our boy loved the park, the swings especially, and we had a nice tour around the hatchery! Highly recommend Huka Prawn Park!!!
S.So much fun...3 hours is hardly long enough.
R.Love this place, such a good family outing spot. Go every time I visit taupo. Good view, good playground for kids to enjoy. food is delicious shrimps were amazing. Definately a place to go ❤🧡💛💚💜
L.For a busy restaurant, good amount of staff, wasn't left waiting for f&b and people came to check on us.
T.Prawn dishes are very expensive. Leaves you hungry for 50 dollars. 5 dollars for one steamed prawn. Waste of money and very disappointing. I haven't tried the park itself, but as to the cafe.. the guys really need to reconsider the prices they set for prawns at the cafe given it is a prawn park and they have to be cheaper??
C.Had a lots of fun with two little boys and my husband as well which we got two of prawns in our hand after 30mins. My boys are only 1 and 2, defiantly bigger boy more enjoyed that younger one needs to carry all the time due to safety reason. So older than 2-3 years old much suitable.
Restaurant... we shocked with their local prawn price, so ordered 0.5kg, but we disappointed tasty of them.. personally I didn’t like much..
Other menus for Prawn curry and Prwan chowder was awesome!! Taste like imported prawn which was much better for us and eventually our toddlers had twice bigger than normally what they having.
S.Great activity for school holidays, heaps for kids to do n prawn fishing was good this time.
Tip - dont pull on first bit, let the prawn run away with it and wait for it to put the meat in its mouth, then pull up.
Staff very helpful when removing prawns from hook. 🤣
T.Beautiful scenery but the prawns are not too good
K.Wow what a place, all of us are in our late 20's and acted like kids here, so much fun! And so crazy cheap, and you even get to eat your prawns at the end! Included in the price.
j.Enjoyed our visit here. Highly recommend the tour, for all ages. Food at the restaurant was okay, a little pricey. Wasn’t able to catch any prawns, poor weather and didn’t get much time but it was fun!
k.Easy to find and not far from Taupo town ship. Just follow the signs. Very busy during tourist time but wait for outside table wasn't to long. Did take a little whole for waiter to take order but wait for food was short. Food is delicious and good quality. Not many vegetarian options unfortunately but there are garlic bread , salads and hot chips if you want them or like me just go straight for a dessert😆 tables outside are fun as you get to watch the huka fall jet boats.
L.Very well set out with lots interesting things to see and learn. The tour is fairly short and very interactive. Prawn fishing is a very Zen activity, particularly on a nice day. Lovely food and terrific service.
M.We got the garlic pita bread, fish and chips, and prawn curry. And for drinks, a lemon lime bitters and a mulled wine. All very delicious! Only criticism is that the prawn curry could've done with a few more prawns.
d.A whole lot more fun than what it sounds like.
Appears expensive, however is good value due to the amount time you can spend there trying to catch the little buggers.
Also get to cook and eat your own catch free of charge.
D.This is a true tourist spot but a great location for some fresh prawns. No vegan dishes.
Nice vie over the river.
Fresh food and nice service.
T.I feel the prawns were a bit over-priced considering that you're buying it from a farm. Expectations are that it'd be cheaper but maybe I was too optimistic in my expectations.
The prawn itself was a bit disappointing. It was definitely under-seasoned. We were all disappointed with it.
I came here with family who had visited NZ from overseas and if it was a good experience I planned to consider this place for any other future visitors we may have. Unfortunately, I don't think that will be the case.
R.**This review is only for the restaurant in the huka prawn park**
We did not have time to do the prawn park tour but decided to have lunch at the restaurant. Good food, amazing produce - prawns, but tad overpriced. Also, the minimum prawn bucket was 1/2 kilo, which was quite a lot for even 2 people to finish. They probably need to introduce a quarter kilo variant too. Desserts were simple, but tasty. Service could be a bit better.
R.Good way to spend a day, weather permitting, catching some prawns.
I think the time of year you go will greatly vary the number of prawns you get though. I've spoken to friends who've managed whole buckets of prawns from a few hours fishing, but we only came away with 2 specimens for our 3 hours efforts. This was during the January peak season though, so I'm thinking they were all caught already! Your mileage may vary, but definitely wear sunscreen and bring a wide brimmed hat (and a picnic lunch!).
N.We had an absolute ball! so much to do and learn and it was very well priced! We smashed some golf balls and then went on a tour, fed prawns (that's an experience!), went on the Shawn the prawn walk, had fun on the water challenge activities then we spent the afternoon prawn fishing :D. We are very keen fishermen/fisherwomen and it was a complete change for us haha. Amazing staff, all were so friendly and helpful, the BEST customer service we have had in so long!
So glad we went and next time we will definitely be staying longer!
M.Great idea, and the place is setup well. Things to do for the kids other than just the fishing. Loved hand feeding the baby prawn. Pity my prawn fishing skills weren't up to par, only managed to pull up one prawn after several hours fishing
K.I would like to give a huge Thank you to Rachel for her amazing customer service.
She went to all table's and strived up a conversation with her guest, offering to take photo's of them and making sure they were satisfied with the photo and their meal before moving on to the next table.
I observed her friendly nature shine through.
Rachel also helped us select our meals by suggesting the most yummiest prawn curry i have had and yummy cheesy bread.
We had our baby nephew with us and she offered to hold him while we enjoyed our lunch.
Thank you Rachel for your amazing Hospitality.
Your generosity is a great asset to your company..
Keep shining and sharing your smile with everyone.
Л.We were there a couple of weeks ago. Nice place for kids. However, we ordered the big plate of prawns for $100 in their restaurant and it was awful. The worst prawns we ever eaten
L.A few things to do can keep the kids busy for a while, the actual prawn catching was a but uneventful, not sure if we went at the wrong time of day, had some bites but were unable to catch any, some people that came before us caught a few. I liked the paddle boats, and the kids liked the water pump bikes
N.I know a lot of people that love these prawns. They are giant. However, if you like prawns with some texture, these are not for you. I have been there about 3 times and each time, the prawn is just a bunch of mush, which is disappointing for the amount of money you pay. I will not go back. That being said, a lot of people love them. You can also try to catch them, which I hear is fun but difficult to do.
T.An easy fun day to spend with the family. Plenty of fun things to do on the walk around the park. The Prawn farm tour was cool. The girls loved the paddle boats, playgrounds, foot spa and the Prawn fishing. Great day was had by all!
V.Was a great place to go as a group activity and would definitely go back with the kids. The restuarant was good value for money and the toilet facilities were clean. You do have to have a fair amount of patience and be prepared to spend some time here.
D.Tried this as something different and spontaneous. I was sceptical but others in my group were keen, so in we went. Paid the $26 each for the tour and fishing. We went on the nature walk which was short and really meant for kids (we had some fun anyway). Then we went on the tour which I found interesting. The tour also included tips on how to fish for prawns, this is important as other reviews complain about catching nothing, but maybe they skipped the tour or had bad luck. I had fun fishing and we caught a few decent prawns. We are total beginners at fishing and really enjoyed chatting, chilling out, and fishing. The restaurant was delicious, but too expensive. In all we had a good time and a good meal.
R.If I could do 2.5 stars I would.
2 stars is too low, 3 stars too high.
Whole experience can be summed up in one word. Meh.
Do I regret going? Not really. Would I go again? No way. Would I recommend it to others? Kinda sorta, maybe, depends what else you could be doing instead.
J.Fun, fun, fun! Not many prawns in the outdoor pools so we didn't catch any when we tried prawn fishing. John our tour guide was 👍👍👍👍👍👍
M.Skipped the food, as it was ramed! Kids seemed to enjoy it far more than we were expecting, but clearly the fishing of prawns was not a natural skill that any of us seemed to have, as we only caught three!! In about two hours. However! It is strangely addictive and there is no ifs and buts about you have hooked one, but they do wriggle off far more than you'd think. Try it!
Note: Expensive if the kids don't "get it" hence the rating.
Z.Great place. But looks like fishing the prawn is nearly impossible. No one that day was able to. The restaurant is excellent
J.Need to budget half a day to cover the activities - prawn fishing takes patience :) The water bikes and boats were fun for all the family. Didn't realise how much h there was to do and we were in a hurry so only spent an hour here - definitely not enough time!
T.Beautiful meals. We were fortunate to have gone on a stunning day and sat on the rivers edge while we ate our lovely prawn dishes. We did not have time to venture into the Park itself, but I can definitely recommend the restaurant.
E.It's a great place to eat delicious prawns but really that's about it. You can also try to catch some prawns yourself but it's very difficult to catch them. All in all its a good restaurant but not much more.
k.Such an excellent way to spend a day. We arrived at opening with the intention of only staying a few hours, next thing we're leaving at 3. So much to do, our kids just loved it! You also have the option to come and go as you please within the same day. Just brilliant.
S.Good value for money - nice date for a couple or to take the whole family. Signage for trout feeding not very clear so we missed it on our walk and gave our food to a family with kids. Otherwise a great place to visit.
M.Great day out for the family - nice to have a chance to do something a bit different. Catching prawns is challenging but addictive!
Don't waste your money on coffee served in the coffee hut though - it's really bad!
I.Food is fantastic, fresh and without long wait. Nice mineral feet bath is a lovely extra point to come. You can also add a farm tour and fishing.
R.The reviews of the prawn park were quite mixed and this made us a little uneasy as we had limited time to enjoy Taupo. We decided to have a go, and boy were we glad we took the time to go fishing!
As we arrived at the Prawn Park, we were greeted by a smiley young girl who was more than happy to answer our questions and give us some insider tips on how to catch the prawns. Needless to say we were buzzing with excitement!
A short stroll along the red line took us to a place, that quite frankly, we will never forget.
We picked up our two fishing rods, our bait and our bucket. And this is really our only gripe about the park. The bucket to store the prawns is shockingly small. Only a handful of prawns could fit in there.
We set up shop by the water, put bait on our rods, enjoyed the beautiful music and set about catching some prawns.
It started slowly, we really weren’t sure what we were doing. So we started looking up prawn fishing techniques online. The best one we could find that really seemed to work was a Lithuanian technique we found called the Butkevicius Whip.
Pretty much as soon as we started whipping we started catching prawns non stop!! (Note - the park has all these signs that say to just put your rod in the water but this doesn’t work at all... as shown by everyone else not catching any prawns).
Quickly we had prawns overflowing out of our bucket. My girlfriend spent more time trying to keep the prawns from crawling back into the water than she spent fishing, which probably wouldn’t have happened if they had some larger buckets! We ended up just tying the prawns’ legs together to stop them from trying to run away.
All in all, a fantastic experience, we came out with about 80 prawns, which works out to be less than a dollar a prawn!
Amazing!!! I’ll be back again soon :)
D.We had such a great day, sure we didn't catch a lot but had heaps of fun trying. Loved the extra activities like the gauntlets. Well priced for the family when you can stay all day.
C.Great place to hang out on leisure time. Prawn fishing is fun although I did not catch lots of them, too many small fishes eaten the bait.
N.This place is a blast. we went in thinking we would get bored quite quickly. five hours later and it was closing time and kids were still wanting to stay.
Caught Seven Prawn and cook them right there.
Wish we had known the kitchen could have cooked them for us. may have tasted better that way
S.This is actually such a fun place. I have never been so fearful to eat prawns in my entire life. These prawns have giant clippers and BOYYY are they angry. Having said that, I had a lot of fun fishing for these angry units.
Make sure you go to the tour to get an idea of how to catch them!
Outside of that it was a fun wholesome place
j.Went here with my girlfriend since she likes prawns and she enjoyed it but while at the restront she didn't find the prawns very fresh ( about as good as you find in the supermarket on ice ) unlike the ones you can catch in the fishing area
J.Didnt really do the activities there due to timing (activites end around 3pm) but visited the resturant. Fish and chips are good, prawn chowder was okay (tasted like curry sauce). Has a play area for the kids!
N.Real pleasure - if you've got kids a great day out. If your just adults I'd say less fun. But totally worth the entry fee. Go for the steamed prawns and garlic butter.
R.Great place to drop in for lunch, a must see in Taupo
L.1kg prawns were great. Had to wait a while but worth the wait. Waiting staff are lovely and helpful. You really need a lesson on how to eat prawns😂 and they give you one!
C.Nice park good for kids outing
D.Although there were no prawns it was kinda ok
It was ok my favorite part was the boats just add some ore undercover areas <3
W.Didnt catch any prawns-bummer but enjoyed the tour and the range of rides etc that were offered.
r.Perfect experience!
R.Great place to take your kids, also you can get the HukafallsJET from there which is a must do
K.Staffs are amazing. Super friendly and really helpful. Prawns was so fresh. It is my favourite place to visit in Taupo 😊
L.Our favourite place to visit in Taupo. Prawn chowder is the best!
S.Amazing destination and a whole whack of fun to be had for kids and adults, 1 price includes all activities and so many to choose from. Highly recommend.
E.Fun and learning experience to take your kids to. Lots of spraying water activities in the open so grab you swimwear and sunblock 👍
A.Food was good. Service great and the view awesome. Get there early. It gets full quickly.
W.Love it. One my first time, I got 2 prawns
P.Great place!! Loved the experience.
T.Quite a nice spot here if you haven't been before. Especially the prawn park as it is a fun experience to fish for prawns. Don't expect to catch a bucket load though either there aren't many prawns in the Honda or they've gotten really smart. The restaurant is a bit mediocre. Prawns are highly over priced and don't feel fresh. When I first came years ago it was very different. But with the number of tourists coming in now I guess they have to keep up with demand and there just aren't that many fresh prawns to go around.
A.A great theme park and well worth a visit. Educational guides by really knowledgeable people. Lots of fun fishing for those critters. Also a really great restaurant. It should be high on the "to do" list
a.Great place spent lots of time there. Too bad no prawn fishing available
K.Amazing facility. Was so good that our girls wanted to go back the next day.
S.Don't go prawn fishing there, expecting to catch enough for a meal; such an expectation is gonna spoil all the fun you could otherwise have! Trying to catch the prawns with a hook is fiddly, but quite hilarious at times. As long as at least one of your team gets one so that everyone has something to "oooh" and "aaah" about the day is a success. For lunch you can either pack a picnic or grab some actual prawns from the adjacent restaurant. There's also some activities for fishing breaks and playground equipment to keep the kids happy.
S.I only visited this place to have lunch at the restaurant. Prawns are king on the menu.. Ask the very friendly staff which menu items contain prawns that aren't locally farmed so that you can get only fresh ones! Everything was really good and would go back for sure to eat there! Good selection of local beers and ciders.
J.My favourite place to spend a day in taupo. Prawn fishing is extremely fun even though patience is definitely needed so not sure how it would be for the really littlies. Good restaurant but can also bring your own food and eat it within the park. Make sure to bring lots of sun protection if your planning on fishing because sometimes the pools with the shade are unavailable and no one wants sun burn
E.Great meal of prawns. Didn't pay to go into the actual park as it looked like very few prawns were being caught.
B.awesome place for fun and food, tour is a must and prawn fishing
E.We've been going to the Huka Prawn Park for 4 years running. We usually stay for about 4 hours and have a picnic lunch there. This year they opened up two other pools for fishing.
This was by far the least productive year. I'm pretty good at prawn fishing and catch three times as much as those around me but this time we only caught 5 prawns between us both. Last year I caught 10, and the year before 17. It was very disappointing, hardly anyone was catching any.
There are so many tadpoles and small fish eating your bait it does get annoying. The bait they give you is too big for the prawns, which only eat small pieces, so break up any of the large bits. Also watch out for the sparrows tipping over and eating your bait.
R.Great spot with a lot to do, from catching prawns, to feeding trout.
A lot of spots to have fun with water cannons and water bikes, and spots to relax with foot spas.
Well worth the visit, and the cafe is great!
J.Love the prawn park. Great place to take kids. The garlic prawns 1kg in restuarant are amazing. Prawn fishing is run and walk around the park. Highly recommend, a must place to visit in Taupo.
T.Fantastic family experience. For $69 for a family of up to 5 it's a good half day activity, including guided tour of farm and access to the prawn fishing ponds.
J.Went here after a few recommendations, and I just didn’t get it... $29 seems a lot of money to stand around a pond and it’s very difficult to actually catch something, 3 of us had one prawn in 3 hours :(
M.Nice settings overlooking the Huka Jet jetty. Quite relaxing watching the Huka Jet spins around up and down the river outside when it's not busy. Food is very pricey, the skewer of prawns looked/tasted very commercial, doesn't look like they were from fresh prawns from the prawn farm though.
A.Nice place to visit with family. Little Bit over priced since no prawn fishing at the moment though.
M.This is a great place to go where you can fish for as long as you like and have your catch cooked in the restaurant. Don't worry if you dont land anything, there's plenty on the menu. It's a easy location to find, right at the end of the Taupo bypass where SH1 meets the road to Rotorua, nestled next to the volcanic steam turbine electric power plant
j.Totally enjoyed it,lots of things for the children to do,affordable and great when your able to take the prawns you catch home,could do with picnic area with tables as the school had there lunch in front of the administration area,but definatly reccomend this awesome place.
S.Absolutely love prawns this is a must for any pro prawn human :)
J.Something cool for parents and kids. Heaps to do. Tuff day fishing for shrimp, little buggers just didn't won't to know about it. But paddle boats, feeding the trout and walking around checking the place out was cool.
D.A very peaceful place to while away a few hours. Easy to lose track of time while sitting down fishing for prawns, but definitely enjoyable.
D.Had a fantastic day trying to catch our lunch, with no success mind you. Also a swing of golf as well. Lunch was very tasty with a great lesson learnt about theses little creatures that live in recycled warm mineral water. Prawns are originally from Malaysia.
C.The Prawn tour is well worth the visit, even in the off peak season.
G.Did not manage to catch any prawns but still had a fun relaxing day
W.A unique experience, but not the most economical means of acquiring prawns by some margin. Great entertainment for kids along Shawn's walk. Cafe expensive.
B.Awesome place for fun all day. Great food too
B.Didn't catch any prawns after 2 hrs but good experience...good fun for the kids
s.Cool place, prawns are hard to get however, but a good way to spend an afternoon.
R.The food is good, without much variety, but expensive. The place has a small playground for kids, and the big one is inside of the park and you have to pay to access.
D.I visited this place for hukafalls jetboard ride. It was an amazing experience. The 360 spin was thrill. I had once in a lifetime experience as I had never done this in my past. The jetboat went to huka falls which was quite amazing. The water was giving an appearance as it was milk. It was superb.
m.Fun place to go to if you want a relaxing experience. It also feels like you become friends with other people fishing for prawns because everyone gets excited when someone catches something.
B.Great fun, got two buckets of prawns, did this in the rain fishing from undercover with heated seats! Different experience for the whole family.
J.Kids loved it, food was great!!!!!
N.Awesome place for friends and family outing. Very fresh prawn dishes from the restaurant. You will spend entire day here with lots of fun!
L.Great fun. Took a while and some pool swapping to get some excitement but once we got the spot.. perfect. Maybe 4+ hours, and about 9 prawns to take home.
G.I love taking visitors here. Wonderful outlook onto the river. Menu has great prawn choices. Not a cheap place to go but kinda special and worth going.
M.The restaurant serves super yum prawns! !
h.I just want to thakyou to mitz and jass I hope the names are correct they made this trip memorable to us....... We will never ever forget this trip in our entire life and thabknyou again from my wife too 😁
S.Nice venue, but not too successful
N.Food was some of the best in New Zealand and a lovely location. The only slight irritation was my wife's meal came out at least ten minutes after everyone else's meal .
M.Cool place to visit. Spent the whole day there. Great fun for adults and children. We will go back!!
M.Great place for a fun day out!! Friendly staff and good facilities. They have a very nice tour you can do. The restaurant can cook up your catch for you.
j.Family had so much fun
G.Very friendly staff in a nostalgic setting. No technology here just a great old fashioned wonder. Great for kids. The paddle boats were fun.
C.My grandchildren and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience thank you look forward to doing this again..with more grandchildren🥰
L.People can enjoy catching shrimp while your waiting for time to passed but if you have another sked to catch up then just go directly to the resto
K.Was a great experience. Never done prawn fishing. Caught a few and had them for lunch. Would definitely go back and spend the whole day there.
J.Fantastic!! A shame we couldnt go fishing for the prawns but was a great family day out
N.Such a simple thing but very enjoyable and relaxing. Tip: go for a wee walk with your prawn before trying to pull it out.
C.Absolutely awesome day out with the family, highly recommend, was so surprised with the amount of things to do was expecting something plain like the hatchery we have in Rotorua, well done Taupo we had a great time
J.Awesome place, heaps of fun for the kids and adults alike, row a boat, jump on a sup board, or a paddle boat.
j.Love this place, lots to do. Hopefully they bring back prawn fishing soon.
k.Really different experience thought the prawn fishing was quite expensive but the water features were fun but a little run down. The restaurant was excellent.
K.The battered prawns and garlic bread great but seafood chowder only just warm and the chips tasted burnt and were overcooked