The Huka Prawn Park is an aquaculture venture and tourist attraction located 10 minutes north of Taupō. It was started in 1987, and is currently New Zealand's only prawn farm. [1] It can produce over 30 tonnes of prawns a year. [2]
The Huka Prawn Park grows giant Malaysian river prawns ( Macrobrachium rosenbergii), by using geothermal waste water from the Contact Energy Wairakei geothermal powerstation. It uses 250 tonnes per hour in summer and 400 tonnes in winter of over 90 °C geothermal waste waster in a system of heat exchangers to heat water from the Waikato River to rear the prawns. [2]
The park offers activities such as prawn fishing, guided tours of the park, and an activity loop with a number of interactive water features. [3] Visitors can make use of stand up paddle boards, pedal boats and an aqua trike to pedal over a pond full of prawns. Huka Prawn Park has become one of the major draw-cards for tourists to the Taupō region. It now has more than 75,000 visitors a year, with a large number of Chinese among the international visitors. [4] It uses a mascot, Shawn the Prawn, for marketing purposes. Shawn the Prawn often visits his guest on school and public holidays.
38°37′47″S 176°06′02″E / 38.62981°S 176.10068°E
The Huka Prawn Park is an aquaculture venture and tourist attraction located 10 minutes north of Taupō. It was started in 1987, and is currently New Zealand's only prawn farm. [1] It can produce over 30 tonnes of prawns a year. [2]
The Huka Prawn Park grows giant Malaysian river prawns ( Macrobrachium rosenbergii), by using geothermal waste water from the Contact Energy Wairakei geothermal powerstation. It uses 250 tonnes per hour in summer and 400 tonnes in winter of over 90 °C geothermal waste waster in a system of heat exchangers to heat water from the Waikato River to rear the prawns. [2]
The park offers activities such as prawn fishing, guided tours of the park, and an activity loop with a number of interactive water features. [3] Visitors can make use of stand up paddle boards, pedal boats and an aqua trike to pedal over a pond full of prawns. Huka Prawn Park has become one of the major draw-cards for tourists to the Taupō region. It now has more than 75,000 visitors a year, with a large number of Chinese among the international visitors. [4] It uses a mascot, Shawn the Prawn, for marketing purposes. Shawn the Prawn often visits his guest on school and public holidays.
38°37′47″S 176°06′02″E / 38.62981°S 176.10068°E