Local school holiday programme providers have a wide variety of activities to keep children entertained these school holidays, which start Monday (September 28) and run for two weeks. 

Kahu Youth has a jam-packed programme for kids eleven years old and up. 

Kids can kayak to Ruby Island (Thursday October 8), visit Clip ‘n’ Climb in Queenstown (Tuesday October 6), take part in a ‘Nailed It’ bake-off (Wednesday September 30) and much more. 

Activities must be booked in advance but Kahu Youth’s ‘The Crib’ will be open throughout the holidays from midday to 6pm, “for everyone who wants to hang out and relax,” a Kahu Youth representative said, and on Fridays and Saturdays Crib drop-in sessions run until 10pm including “free time, a shared meal and yummy baking.”

Learn more here.

Sports, including ‘bike squad’, ‘skills fun day’ and much more are part of each providers’ schedules.

At Wanaka Kids Club, which offers after school care and holiday activities (for ages five to 13), there is yet another busy lineup of activities to keep kids entertained.

“We design our programmes so that kids really get a choice as to what they want to do and all our staff are just big kids at heart,” Wanaka Kids Club representative Tom Finden said. 

Activities include trips to Cromwell Bike Park and swim centre (Wednesday October 30), Wanaka Lavender Farm (October 1), half-days out with the ‘Bike Squad’ (multiple days). 

There is also a ‘Cirque du Kids Club’ day (Friday October 2), a ‘Kids X Factor and Clip n Climb’ day (Thursday October 8) and lots more. 

Tom said Wanaka Kids Club had received renewed accreditation for the Out of School Care and Recreation (OSCAR) subsidy. “[We] can now offer up to 50 hours a week of subsidised care for lower or middle income families,” he said.

Find all the Wanaka Kids Club activities here.

Kids at Wanaka Kids Club enjoying a paintball outing.

Queenstown Lakes District Council’s (QLDC) school holiday programme in Wanaka caters for children aged five to 12 years old. 

“There's sport, games, trips out and a swim everyday to keep kids busy and active,” a representative said. 

Activities for the term three school holidays include a movie day at Cinema Paradiso (Friday October 2), a ‘fundamental skills fun day’ where kids can learn from Sport Central’s Nicola Boemo about lots of different games (Wednesday September 30), and a day at Basecamp Wanaka (Thursday October 1).

All the details can be found here.

PHOTOS: Supplied