There’s nothing better than packing up bags, piling the kids in the car and hitting the highway for a good old-fashioned family road trip. While holidays are all about ditching the rules, we've put together some tips to make your trip more fun when you have little ones in the car.

New Zealand is home to a bunch of quirky, delicious, highly unique food. Make sure you try the following when you're visiting!

1. Whittakers Chocolate 
2. Pineapple Lumps 
3. Marmite
4. White Bait Fritters
5. Pies
6. Classic Sunday Roast
7. Hangi 
8. French Fry Sandwich

New Zealand is well known for its breathtaking scenery, wonderful beaches and exciting adventure destinations. Don’t miss a single opportunity to explore on your trip - after all, you’ve come so far to be here! Here are our Canopy Tours ‘top things to do in New Zealand’ - the greatest hits of our awesome little country, so to speak.

New Zealand is known for being full of adventure! You will always be able to find something that will push you to your limits. From ziplining through ancient forest to racing down giant sand dunes, New Zealand tourism has it all. We have put together a list of things you just can't leave New Zealand without trying, we call it....THE ULTIMATE NEW ZEALAND BUCKET LIST.

1. Bungy Jump in Queenstown
2. Walk the Routeborn track on the West Coast 
3. Eco ziplining tour in Rotorua
4. Whale Watching in Kaikoura
5. Kayak in the Abel Tasman
6. Winery Tour in Napier
7. The Squeeze on the Waikato River
8. Diving on Great Barrier Island
9. Cathedral Cove in Coromandel
10. Dune Surfing in Te Paki

It goes without saying, Summer is the season of road trips and exploring top places to visit in New Zealand. With warm weather and long days, it’s hard not to ditch the jeans and shoes for shorts and jandals. So, in saying that, we have put together a South Island Summer Road Trip itinerary especially for you.

When it comes to choosing what to do in New Zealand on vacation, you can't beat a natural hot spring. Dotted all over the country, our hot springs have some of the best scenery and look out to spectacular views.  They all will undoubtedly provide you with relaxation and an amazing experience.

Here are our top 6 Natural Hot Springs in NZ:

1. Otumuheke Pool
2. Butchers Pool 
3. Kaitoke Hot Springs
4. Welcome Flat Hot Pools
5. Hamner Springs 
6. Maruia Springs 

New Zealanders are well known for being innovative and creative. These ten kiwi inventions have gained world wide reputations. Check out how they were made and the talented inventors behind the amazing ideas!

1. OGO Ball 
2. Jet Boat 
3. Bungy 
4. Electric Fence 
5. Shweeb
6. Spiral Hairpin 
7. Jogging
8. Martin Jetpacks 
9. Springfree trampoline
10. Referee Whistle

1. OGO ball 

Inventor: Andrew and David Akers

The Akers brothers, Andrew and David were walking along the beach one day and came up with the idea of having shoes to walk on water. They then decided that a more practical idea would be a giant ball that rolls down a hill. Adrenaline junkies jump inside the inner hollow plastic ball reaching up to speeds of 50kph. The OGO balls are created onsite at OGO and it takes 2 people 80-90 hours each to create one OGO ball. Five to six different types of high quality plastics are used to make these awesome OGO balls.

New Zealand prides ourselves on having a huge range of Eco tours. Eco tours are the opposite to standard mass commercial tourism and offer experiences that don't disturb natural areas and have a low impact on the environment. Conservation is extremely important in New Zealand and we are now working hard to preserve our native forests and animals. Eco Tour activities now have very a important role in educating and contributing to New Zealand's conservation. Rotorua Canopy Tours loves to educate and inform kiwis and visitors everything about native forests, eco tours and how you can contribute to conservation. 

Photo: Native forest which is home to Rotorua Canopy Tours Eco tours

In the native forest where we take you on our Rotorua Canopy Eco Tours, there are many different forms and species of fungi you can find in-between trees, plants and on the canopy floor. Here are some of the fungi that can be found in the Dansey Road Scenic Reserve:

1. Blue Mushroom 
2. Stink Horn Fungus
3. Icicle Fungi
4. Purple Coral Fungi
5. Honey Fungus

One of the benefits of the Rotorua Canopy Tour is that you get the opportunity to see many types of fungi in the native forest. The blue mushroom is a type of fungi that is very eye catching and can be found in the Dansey Road Scenic Reserve. The Dansey Road Scenic Reserve is where Rotorua Canopy Tours take their customers on a eco-tour, ziplining through New Zealand native forest. The bright blue fungi is hard to miss on the forest floor so have a look out for it while you are on your Rotorua Canopy Tour. 

Check out these 8 interesting facts about the blue fungi: