About Us
Who we are
Paradise Valley Springs is a privately owned, family-run wildlife park in Rotorua. Every dollar that keeps the park running comes straight from the people who visit, there’s no outside funding behind it.
We encourage hands on or close contact with many of our animals and hope to foster an appreciation and love for wildlife through connecting with animals, while also educating visitors about the challenges a lot of our native species are facing on a day to day basis
Our History
We first opened to the public in 1939 as a trout springs. The park was bought from the original owners in 1975, and it’s stayed family-run ever since.
The trout are still here. Over the last 40 years, we’ve added a growing range of mammals and birds, along with ongoing developments to the park itself.
Our Environment
The park is set in a very natural and well-maintained New Zealand bush environment. We are fortunate to have a freshwater spring onsite that supplies all of the park’s water needs, along with an on display water bottling plant. The Ngongotaha Stream winds throughout our park, home to many wild trout.
All of the wildlife on display is found either wild (both native and introduced) or farmed around New Zealand – with the exception of our African lion pride and for this reason the lions are housed and displayed in a slightly separate area of the park.
We also work to control introduced predators like rats, stoats and possums across our 48-acre slice of Paradise. It’s paying off, recent sound recordings have picked up native long-tailed bats flying over the park at night.
Qualmark
We hold a Qualmark Silver Sustainable Tourism Business Award, New Zealand tourism’s official mark for a safe, high-quality and genuinely sustainable visitor experience.
