Paradise Valley Springs

Another "must see" while in Rotorua is one of their wildlife parks. We chose Paradise Valley Springs and it was gorgeous. It was another wet day but it kind of made the rainforest even more beautiful. Being a nature lover I was enamoured by the gardens and all the animals. The redwood, the tree fern, silver ferns, everything. The major feature of the park is that a major trout spawning stream for Lake Rotorua runs right through the park - Ngongatoha Stream. Apparently nearly 20,000 trout spawn in the stream each year. The water is crystal clear and you can feed the trout and other animals throughout the park. There is also a lion park, farm walk with goats, sheep, horses, etc. The kids couldn't wait for this part where you can pet the lion cubs. I did the same thing when I was a little bit older than Phoebe is now at this very park - only without the cage. The cub I pet was a lot smaller than this one who was 10 months old. The keeper was in the enclosure with us and told us that both of the cubs were 1kg in weight when they were born and at 10 months weighed 80kg. They were huge - just look at that paw! I love the image of Ben's hand over the lion's paw.