We love NZ Adventure Parks!

Tuesday, 17 January 2012

The Fleming and McComb families all went to Waimarino Adventure Park today. It's a park on a river with lots of water based activities which might sound a bit dinky but I promise they weren't. After I had paddled for a few hours I watched the rest of them get up to various only-in-NZ(?) activities such as  

Kayak Water-sliding - of course - why hasn't anyone else thought of putting a person in a kayak then sending them plummeting down a high straight waterside so they rocket into the water at a gadzillion miles an hour. Awesome! This photo is of Robin mid air..

Water sliding with a mat - straight into the river from height - thus you also hit it at a gadzillion miles per hour but without the protection of a kayak!.. 

Rock Climbing - that little speck high up there is Jett - Jon, with all his (zero) rock climbing experience, was belaying him..

The Blob. It's hard to describe it but imagine a giant inflatable pillow attached to the side of the river. Above one end on the bank there is a scaffold from which someone (the blobber) launches themselves onto the mat from 5 meters above.   On the other end someone (the blobbee) sits, awaiting being launched up into the sky and out into the river when the jumper hits the other end of the pillow. It's hilarious. Especially when a big guy jumps, sending a little person well over twice as high as you can see Zali being bounced here.  Or when they do a 'double blob' where two people jump at the same time and the sitter is launched towards the moon. They do actually have to wear helmets and life jackets for this one! Jon and Robin both got absolutely cannoned into the air in double-blob experiences..

They also had a rope swing.  It was way high of course.. That's Jonno just letting go there..

There were of course some other more sedate activities available such as kayaking, paddle-boating, a little adventure course and there was a 5 metre high diving board into the river (of course).  It was fun. Apparently they do after-school care programs - how cool would that be - we though it was exciting enough when Zali got to catch a fish during her after-school care but that seems positively sleep inducing compared to this!