Tongariro South Domain playground upgrade welcomed by Taupō tamariki

Mountview School pupils Demi Paul (left) and Quade Brunning-Holland, both 5, are big fans of the new playground at the Tongariro South Domain. Photo / David Beck

A brand-new $1.2 million destination playground, which references the famous Ngati Tuwharetoa legend of the battle of the mountains, is proving a hit with local children.

While the upgraded Tongariro South Domain playground in Taupō is not open to the public yet, school children have been treated to scheduled visits to try it out.

The only problem so far is convincing them to leave at the end of each visit.

On Tuesday, Mountview School pupils had their turn and gave the new playground rave reviews.

Five-year-old Demi Paul says the playground is "nice and cool".

"It's fun to play on. The swings are my favourite because you can go fast."

A plan showing the design of the new Tongariro South Domain playground. Image / Supplied

Quade Brunning-Holland, 5, says it is "amazing".

"I like the big slide, you can slide down really fast."

Both students agree they had a fun morning and are eager to visit the playground again.

Taupō District Council's project manager for the new playground, Travis Delich says it is great to see children enjoying the final product.

"This has been two and a half years in the making," he said.

"I have kids this age as well. They got to see a lot of their designs and I did get their thoughts on it. They are very excited."

Delich said the goal with the new playground was to make it Taupō specific.

"Ultimately, we had to come up with a concept, which is the Battle of the Mountains because that's our story here. Then you have to take the whole area and ask 'how do we tell that story?' "

The playground will be open to the public from tomorrow.