Another popular stop for Oceania coach tours is the Riverside Restaurant at Huka Prawn Park.  The restaurant sits on the banks of the Waikato River, only a few kilometres from Taupo.  It is a spectacular place to sit and eat fresh prawns alfresco either on the terrace or indoors.

For Oceania’s more actively inclined tour coach passengers, there are a host of water-based and prawn-themed activities like prawn fishing, prawn bikes and prawn golf.

More than six hectares of parkland are dedicated to the production of fresh New Zealand prawns.  Visitors can encounter these tasty little crustaceans up close and personal either by hand-feeding baby prawns or catching the adults for dinner!

Fast facts:

–       Huka Prawn Park was founded in 1987 by Aquatech Farms Ltd and is New Zealand’s only Prawn Park.

–       Due to a depletion of wild stocks in the ocean, Huka prawns are raised commercially in a controlled environment.

–       Huka Park is able to breed tropical prawns in captivity by using waste geothermal heat from the power station next door.

–       The Giant Malaysian River Prawn (Macrobrachium Rosenbergii) is best for commercial production – the female spawns up to five times per year.

–       The oldest prawn grown at the park was a 68cm male called ‘Horse’.  He was two years old when he died – of old age.

–       Huka Prawn Park’s alfresco Restaurant is Taupo’s only Riverside Restaurant and can seat 400 guests at a time.