What's happening these school holidays in Whanganui?
Actifun Horse Riding offers a popular holiday programme that includes horse riding, trekking, archery, quad bike riding and more. Photo / Supplied  Whanganui organisations are all set for another set of school holidays, with a variety of programmes and activities across the region that are sure to keep children entertained. Actifun Horse Riding will run its holiday programme in the first week of the holidays, offering day programmes as well as a week-long camp. Based in Holmwood Rd at Kaitoke, Moira Wainwright said what she offered was entirely dependent on the kids attending. With horse riding, trekking, archery, quad bike riding and more all on-site, the programme was a popular option during the holidays. "It's awesome because it can be quite hard trying to find things to do in winter. As long as you keep them happy and warm, they're going to have fun. "I tailor each experience depending on who we have. Every experience is different. I think that is my unique brand." With 30 years of experience, Wainwright said the programme was always popular and there were just a few spots still open for these holidays. "I offer a quality service that teaches kids skills. It is a learning experience and a whole lot of fun. I build confidence with competence." The Riverland Family Park has expanded its offerings just in time for the school holidays, opening their Pit Stop Cafe. Offering burgers, hotdogs, coffees and more, owner Michael Wilson said food has been on their radar for the last few years. "We've wanted to do something for a while. We make a really good burger." Nine months ago, the park invested in some new action go-karts, giving drivers a whole new experience. "Some people in Whanganui might not know, but these are literally up there with the top ones at the moment." As well as go-karts and mini putt, Riverland Family Park also has a range of mountain, tandem and e-bikes available for hire. The Whanganui Boys and Girls Gym Club is offering a full programme across the two weeks with swimming, arts and crafts, sports, baking and movies among the options. For more information, contact admin@whanganuigymclub.co.nz  The Whanganui District Library is holding its programme, Puanga, with a variety of arts and crafts as well as storytime over the two weeks of holidays. For more details, visit www.whanganuilibrary.com. On Friday, July 16, Sustainable Whanganui is holding a Matariki-inspired creative workshop from 10.30am to 2.30pm at the Harakeke Room at the Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre. The workshop is free but registration is necessary. To register, call 06 345 6000. From Wednesday, July 14, to Sunday, July 18, the Royal Whanganui Opera House is hosting the Performing Arts Festival. Run by the Wanganui Competitions Society, there is a vast range of piano, instrumental, vocal and speech and drama performances across the five days. Tickets can be purchased from the Royal Whanganui Opera House booking office. In terms of weather for the first week of holidays, Monday is mainly fine with some light winds and partly cloudy with a high of 13C. On Tuesday, it is expected to be much the same, with a chance of a small shower in the afternoon and southeasterlies gradually dying out. Wednesday and Thursday look to be mainly fine, with clouds developing on Thursday. Friday is when the weather is expected to take a turn, with northerlies strengthening and showers developing. On Saturday, rain is expected to develop, with showers all day.