Activity Category: Playground

Volcanic Playground , Rotorua

The equipment here is fairly traditional – swings, slides, monkey bars, things to climb and balance on but there’s a reasonable range including a section for younger kids (not fenced or sectioned off). As a whole, there should be something for a good range of ages. There’s also a large grassy…

Leamington Domain, Cambridge

Lots on offer here for outdoor fun. There’s a good playground (several slides, swings, obstacle course including monkey bars), although it’s near the main road with no fencing so kids with a tendency to run off, will need to be carefully monitored. Miniature trains also run on Sundays, weather permitting, including a…

Parana Park, Hamilton

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This park on the edge of the Waikato River, has a large water feature in the form of a summer pool, made up of 3 separate pools – very popular with kids of all ages. Note the warning sign near the pools though, advising that due to the natural location, kids…

Minogue Park, Lake Rotokaeo, Hamilton

The playground opened in 2015 with several different pieces of equipment especially suited to younger kids like the mini trampolines, set into the matting. There’s also 2 mini tunnels set into the grassy hills, dual flying foxes, a mini spider web climbing rope and a bike track goes all round the…

Hamilton Lake Domain (Rotoroa) Playground

This playground is popular for its big fort-like structure with bridges, a steep and decently long tunnel slide, bucket swings and water channels that can be turned on/off and kids can try to redirect or dam up the flow. There should be something for all ages at this playground. It’s worth…

Westburn Reserve Mini Road Bike Park, Burnside, Christchurch

On the West-side of Christchurch CBD, the mini road has road signs, roundabouts, stop junctions etc for kids to practice their road safety skills when riding. Any wheel-based ride on from bikes, to trikes to scooters work well on the smooth concrete. They’ll also get good practice using their brakes…

Hairy Maclary Sculptures and Waterfront Playground, Tauranga

If your kids have ever been into Hairy Maclary books, it’s worth stopping at the sculptures on the waterfront which bring all the main characters of Lynley Dodd’s most famous books to life. The bronze sculptures can be climbed on and provide a good photo opportunity. Just nearby there’s also the…

Memorial Park, Tauranga

Something for everyone at this park – 2 playgrounds (including slides coming out of a rocket ship!), mini putt (see under ‘contacts’ for more details), outdoor pools in the summer months and a miniature train. There are also BBQs, lots of grass for running around on and big old trees providing…

Beach, Swimming and playground at Hardinge Road, Napier

The closest safe swimming to Napier is at Hardinge Road where there’s a small sandy beach and kid friendly swimming. There’s a playground at Spriggs Park with equipment for younger and older kids, grassy areas for picnics and a concrete path going all the way along from the port to…

William Nelson skatepark, Hastings

This is a world class skatepark designed for multiple ages and levels of kids with skateboards, BMX bikes, or scooters. Some say it’s the best skate park in the country, but you can let your kids decide! The designers have thought about younger kids too by including a small playground with…