Surrounded by bush and hidden away, take the 309 Road through Coromandel to end up at the “quirkiest theme park in NZ”. Over 70% of recycled materials to construct these attractions along with wood from a sustainable forest, water powering attractions which is heated by solar power, wastewater filtered and recycled to be used in the vegetable garden, and the cafe using local suppliers and organic produce is what makes this attraction eco-friendly and sustainable. A theme park with no electricity!
The entrance is lined with flags, welcoming people from around the world. Your eyes will be instantly drawn to the ‘Slim Turner’, the most photographed thing at Waterworks. Made of random items replaced a couple times a year, this wheel has water continually flowing through from the creek across the way.
The start of New Zealand cheeky humour starts outside with this photo:
On this exact spot, at 12 noon on the 5th of April, 1807…
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING OF HISTORICAL NOTE TOOK PLACE
Walking through the cafe and out the doors, you make your way through a beautiful and yummy vegetable garden, onto the start of these “kiwi ingenuity” attractions. I have heaps and heaps of photos, but I don’t want to go through everything and spoil the fun. All I can say is that this should definitely be on your list of things to do. I am sure that you will find yourself laughing at signs as well as yourselves. My cheeky husband even tricked me into pulling a lever which had water squirting down from above me. We made our own fun throughout Waterworks as we tried to squirt each other and became intrigued with the amount of interesting and creative attractions there were. It literally is fun for all ages, and I am pretty sure that David enjoyed acting like a big kid. Check out his attempt at the human hamster wheel trying to go completely around…
My favourite thing had to be the flying fox. Do you know anywhere else where you can just walk up the steps, grab the rope, and off you go? Luckily David tested it out first, however, as I am lighter I went zooming across and flung up quickly toward the tires. Yes, a few tires at the end is what stops you from going any further. We were full of laughs and continued going on the flying fox only to find an even better one in the bush just further along.
Remember how I mentioned that I went flying toward the tires…
- Not your typical washing line!
Xylophone ~ Bamboo Maestro
Flying Bikes…
The Waterworks displays over 70 creative attractions, a play park with flying fox, human hamster wheel, garden, cafe, sand, swings, a swimming hole, and so much more! In an effort to protect our environment for everyone to enjoy, The Waterworks is definitely an environmentally friendly business that provides opportunities and fun for everyone which I hope that you are able to experience. Plus, if you continue down the 309 Road, this narrow dirt track will take you through farmland, pine forests, and beautiful native bush with other stops that you won’t want to miss! If you are staying in the Coromandel region, Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach are two other destinations that you also won’t want to miss. If you are following us on Facebook, you may have seen a photo over the weekend of a beautiful beach. I will fill you in on the rest of our weekend adventure tomorrow.
Ka kite apōpo
Check out The Waterworks website for more information, & feel free to ask me any questions as well.
looks very interesting and so much fun! We’ve been past it but have never had a look. will have to add to our ‘things to do’ list 😉
Yes, you should definitely check it out next time. When my family came over in 2009 we stopped, but didn’t go in. I had no idea what was all inside, but I now know that they would have loved it. There is heaps to do there which I am sure that you will enjoy.