Four Waiwera water slides find new home in Northland adventure park

Although the iconic Waiwera pools are now a thing of the past, some of the water slides have found a new home at a Northland adventure park.

Adrenalin Adventure Park posted on social media teasing the arrival of a new attraction, telling visitors they were in for an “exciting journey through history”.

“We’ve preserved a cherished piece of New Zealand’s past that has been a source of joy for countless families,” the park shared, along with photos of dismantled slides.

Social media users were quick to guess correctly the slides were salvaged from the Waiwera location and Adrenalin owner Cody Rouse told the Herald his park had successfully scored four of the slides.

“We’ve got Bob’s Mistake, The Black Hole and two others from that same area that were actually in really good condition, so we won’t have to do too much to them,” he said.

Many were hoping their collection would include what was arguably Waiwera’s most iconic slide, “the Twister”, but unfortunately, it was damaged beyond repair by vandals.

Rouse said when he saw the park being demolished, he immediately saw the opportunity to preserve a part of New Zealand’s history.

After his call with the site manager, he was down at Waiwera park at 8am the next morning to work out a deal.

Rouse and his team then spent the next month and a half working massive 17 to 20-hour days to remove the slides in order to not hold up the demolition team.

“It’s been a long couple of months, but it’s going to be worth it,” Rouse said.

The slides, which usually would cost between $500,000 to $1 million, were given to them almost for free. Rouse only supplied the labour and fuel for the machinery they used.

He was excited about the new clientele the slides would bring with people wanting to experience the nostalgia.

Rouse hoped the slides that required “little engineering” and went straight down would be ready by December, however, slides with a lot of curves like the “Black Hole” would need some more time.

“If not by the end of this summer, then we’ll definitely have everything up and running by the following summer,” Rouse said.

The Adrenalin Adventure Park is on Lake Edwin in Northland and will reopen for its summer season this weekend.

Demolition of the iconic pools has been ongoing since August this year after being closed for six years prior and for sale for 16 months.

Images from the once-famed attraction have shown pools partly filled with green water, the tall wood water slide in poor condition, once-loved elephant statutes surrounded by grime and dirt and gardens in a poor state.

The pools were originally going to be given a new breath of life but were too badly damaged by vandals, according to Greig Staples of owners Urban Partners.

“The prospect of a much-needed upgrade in 2018 initially brought excitement, but when the operators went into liquidation the resort was in an unviable state. Since then, it has been an ongoing struggle to secure the site against vandalism, which has degraded the property further. It is now at the point where the existing structures offer no value to a buyer and it will be a positive for the wider community to remove what is left of the buildings,” Staples said.

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.