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Kia Ora Mini Farm

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  • 21-06-2010 6:04pm
    #1
    Goreygal
    Registered Users Posts: 131 ✭✭


    Hello All

    I was aware of the Farm as my nephew had gone there on a school trip etc. and thought it would be a great place to take some visitors to the area who have kids. All in all 6 adults, 2 x 8 year olds, 1 x 9 year old and 2 x18 month olds in strollers were in our group. On arrival we were impressed with the outside area .. parking is plentiful, it is well signposted etc.

    However on entering to pay we were shocked to discover the fact that the criteria for whether we paid for the 18 month olds told to us was "if they can walk they pay". Most places are free for under 3 year olds and considering how little the toddlers would actually interact with the animals I think it is unreasonable to charge such an amount particularly in the current economic climate. Our foreign visitors were also extremely shocked. We insisted we would keep the children in the buggies and therefore they would not be "walking". As we suspected the toddlers were not interested at all in the animals but were obsessed with the bubble machine blowing in the shed.

    The older kids loved it and I have to commend the other staff; they were approachable and interacted fantastically.. offering to open cages that we were looking at... encouraging the kids to handle the animals etc. I would advise anyone going to bring a picnic though as at €3 for a coffee lunch would be an expensive event.

    What is other parents/guardians experiences of paying for under 3s into places?


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    #2
    lolli
    Registered Users Posts: 1,173 ✭✭✭lolli


    To be honest I found it very dear. The staff were friendly and helpful. It is a nice place but theres nothing out of the ordinary in it. I have nearly as many animals at home :)

    I thought the coffee shop was awful. No choice at all. I thought there would be some nice things for lunch like maybe homemade soup and fresh brown bread. All we got were over priced tea and scones. Their gift shop is a let down too.

    Its crazy that they are charging for toddlers. They'll lose customers that way


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    #3
    Goreygal
    Registered Users Posts: 131 ✭✭Goreygal


    I agree Lolli... it's much smaller than the website implies. The "owner" actually came out to check on us in the shed to make sure kids were still in their buggies.... I was carrying one so just looked at her and said "he's not walking". We were prepared to walk away if she insisted on charging for them .. and then she would have lost 9 paying customers.

    We let the toddlers roam free once we were out of the shed. And there are no staff over at the paddocks explaining about the animals which I think would have been good. The older boys loved the toy tractors dotted around the central green but most of them were broken/had no pedals and we had an injury with one of the boys feet slipping off metal bar of pedal innards and scraping up his ankle.

    The fire engine ride is a bit of a let down as the inside is converted to a "bus" so looks nothing like a fire engine :-(

    TBH I won't be recommending it whch is a shame as it could be a really good day out and as "Brendan Bites" said in the Independant on Sunday... all tourist places should have a copy of the Avoca cookbook and use that for their food.


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    #4
    jpb1974
    Registered Users Posts: 3,017 ✭✭✭jpb1974


    Just out of curiosity - What was the adult admission cost?

    I'm pretty sure the other half went one day with her aunt and our young lad and they had to pay a fairly heft entrance fee which basically put them off going back.


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    #5
    Goreygal
    Registered Users Posts: 131 ✭✭Goreygal


    Hi

    It's €7 per person irrespective of age; we were told if you can walk you pay the fee!!! Hence they would charge for a 12 month old if it was seen toddling up to the entrance! Interestingly I could not find their prices anywhere on their website either.

    There is a small barn with the usual hedgehogs, guinea pigs, chickens, an exotic bird called Jeffrey then there are 6 pens outside with a llama, couple of Alpacias, a pig, some sheep and some goats and a mule. Joining these 2 areas is a central green for kids to play on and a picnic area. It would be hard work to stretch the animal viewing out to more than an hour and a half or so. Their website advises that you can "spend all day there" but I can't imagaine how you would fill a whole day there.



    Gg


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    #6
    Judgement Day
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,549 ✭✭✭✭Judgement Day


    I haven't been to Kia Ora but it sounds like yet another attraction not able/prepared to go the extra yard and provide a really top-class visitor experience. A lot of these attractions rely on school tours and a continued stream of unsuspecting visitors who haven't heard anything negative about them. They should all be subject to some sort of annual vetting by Bord Failte or some similar body as they are doing long term damage to our tourism industry just as surely as 'zombie' hotels, rip-off prices etc. I started a thread on a similiar vein here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055910072


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    #7
    nicnac
    Registered Users Posts: 247 ✭✭nicnac


    I went to Kia Ora the other day and thought it was amazing. We happily paid for our two toddlers. The park is for kids. If they did not charge in for under threes then how would they make enough money to pay for the feed for animals etc. The facilities there are fantastic with a massive range of outdoor and indoor equipment.

    I didn't think that there was anything wrong with the coffee shop. The staff were ultra polite and we very much enjoyed our stay.

    It is a pity that you would not let your toddler enjoy the day instead of holding them the entire time - for the sake of 7 euro. That is what shocked me about the post!


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    #8
    dm1979
    Registered Users Posts: 283 ✭✭dm1979


    Kia ora is great, been many times and this year had a birthday party there, its not just animals there is go carts and mechanical diggers and a small maze with a slide. Don't get me started on the staff, they go out of their way to make you feel welcome and there is no time limit, outside food is ALWAYS welcome, they even let you eat your own food I the cafe, you can have your picnic rain or shine. Yes you pay in but that's it no extra expenses, no pressure to buy little bottles of juice @€;2 each or snacks for the kids bring your own, a great and cheap day out. There is not many places to bring the kids nowadays were you don't have to pay for anything extra.


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    #9
    lolli
    Registered Users Posts: 1,173 ✭✭✭lolli


    This original thread is over three years old. In the last three years Kia Ora have done lots of work to the pet farm. It is a lot better now in comparison to what it was in 2010.

    I have brought my daughter there a few times since they have done it up and I now think that it is a wonderful place to bring children for a day out.


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    #10
    nicnac
    Registered Users Posts: 247 ✭✭nicnac


    lolli wrote: »
    This original thread is over three years old. In the last three years Kia Ora have done lots of work to the pet farm. It is a lot better now in comparison to what it was in 2010.

    I have brought my daughter there a few times since they have done it up and I now think that it is a wonderful place to bring children for a day out.

    I didn't notice it was 3 years old. Just goes to show! Nice to see a small business turn things around so well.


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    #11
    Brian 2014
    Registered Users Posts: 1 ✭Brian 2014


    I visited Kia Ora farm in December 2014 and have a similar experience to the previous posts. When we arrived, family of 2 adults and 3 kid's, we were asked to pay full price for everyone including the 15 month old child which was 16 euro for each child and 7 euro for adults. I taught this was to much for the baby and was discussing with my partner. At this stage the woman behind the counter became annoyed and basically became confrontational. This put a bad taste on the visit. We will not be going back, which is a pity as we had previously visited. The santa experience itself was fine but the whole experience was disappointing.


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    #12
    nicnac
    Registered Users Posts: 247 ✭✭nicnac


    Brian 2014 wrote: »
    I visited Kia Ora farm in December 2014 and have a similar experience to the previous posts. When we arrived, family of 2 adults and 3 kid's, we were asked to pay full price for everyone including the 15 month old child which was 16 euro for each child and 7 euro for adults. I taught this was to much for the baby and was discussing with my partner. At this stage the woman behind the counter became annoyed and basically became confrontational. This put a bad taste on the visit. We will not be going back, which is a pity as we had previously visited. The santa experience itself was fine but the whole experience was disappointing.

    I disagree. The entry charge is how they make their money! They are a business and have overheads to cover. Kia Ora is great value for money. I'm sure your children (baby and all) enjoyed the experience. We're regulars at Kia Ora and have never ever found any of the staff confrontational. Quite the opposite actually.

    By the way. I don't work for them.


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