Waterworld
Someone asked me what day it was today, and I had absolutely no idea. We’re somewhere between Christmas and New Year’s and there is nothing I have to get to. It is glorious! However, after checking the weather this morning, we decided that we were 100% going to make it to Waterworld today. The wind has calmed down and the temperature creeped up enough to be bordering on hot. It was the perfect day to spend some time on the water playing on this gigantic playground in the sea:
My daughter asked me where the name “Waterworld” came from, and I couldn’t resist and said, “Well, it all started with a man named Kevin Costner….” She wasn’t interested after that. Waterworld in Auckland is a huge, inflatable course that travels around the different beaches throughout the area. There are obstacles to go through, slides to go down, wobbly bridges to cross, a rope swing to try, and a blob to bounce off of, to name a few things. (Actually, the thing is modular so I imagine it changes from time to time as sections fall apart and people are looking for something new.) It was a bit like summer camp for an hour, and if you’ve checked out my Big Bula Waterpark post, you know I love a good waterpark. If you’re going to be near one of it’s stops this summer, it is worth the NZ$19 cost of admission. (Alas, with today’s exchange rate, that’s about US$13.49).
Before you go make reservations - It is possible to walk up about 20 minutes before the hour and get in on a session, but it is equally possible that the sessions will be booked up as they are limited to 50 people at a time. To be on the safe side and save yourself a bunch of disappointed kids, visit here and book your spot. The website is a little quirky, so after you enter your name, email, etc., you’ll hit “next” and it may look like its sent you to the bottom of the page, but scroll back up to the top of the page and you’ll be at the next step to pay. It took me three attempts before I figured this out. Also, they only take PayPal.
The schedule this year is:
Dec 19-24 St Heliers
Dec 26-30 Kohimarama
Jan 2-7 Browns Bay
Jan 8-13 Mission Bay
Jan 14-19 St Heliers
Jan 20-25 Kohimarama
Jan 26-31 St Heliers
Feb 1-6 Lake Pupuke
Mar 6-11 Kohimarama
Mar 12-17 St Heliers
Apr 1-6 Lake Pupuke
Apr 16-21 Mission Bay
Apr 22-27 St Heliers
If you have young kids, check the tide schedule and try to book your session during low tide. (Another good site to check is Tideschart.) It made it so much easier for my younger kids to get from the shore to the waterpark and to feel comfortable slipping and sliding off the inflatables because they could easily stand in the water. The downside to going at low tide is that they don’t let people fly off of the blob if the water is too low. Also, if you’re going with kids between 5 and 9, there is supposed to be a 2:1 kid to parent ratio, though I never saw them check this, and I saw quite a few parents start off with their kids and then wander back to shore about ten minutes later.
Check in is quick - About fifteen minutes before the start of your session, you’ll get outfitted with a lifejacket and have a safety briefing. There is a fenced off area to store a bag with any beach essentials you brought with you, but I definitely wouldn’t bring anything of value. They also had ample sunscreen on hand for people who wanted to top up. In case there is any questions: top up. The sun is brutal and reflects off the water. Put on double or triple the amount of sunscreen you think you need. The extent of the briefing was “don’t dive in head first and leave your lifejacket on.” They were very casual about the whole thing before letting our group of fifty wade out.
Be prepared to be silly and fall on your ass and slide off into the water. I was far from graceful 99% of the time. I wished I had worn a bathing suit that didn’t give such bad wedgies. Perhaps go for a more boy-short cut? I fell more in our hour on this thing than I have in living memory, I’m going to have a few impressive bruises tomorrow - especially on my right knee - and it was worth it. My son and I especially enjoyed ourselves. My five year old wasn’t as gung-ho about the experience, mainly because she was too short to do a lot of the obstacles and got tired of purposely hopping in the water to keep moving around the loop. Seven seems to be a sweet spot for this activity.
This was an activity that I think we’ll remember. I’m already looking at the schedule for the rest of the summer and thinking about when we’ll make it back.
