Ohakune Carrot Park: Fun and fitness options for visitors of all ages

Ohakune Carrot Adventure Park champions Peggy Frew (left), Elaine Mott and Dave Scott look back over nine years of development. Photo / Bevan Conley

Ruapehu’s vegetable-themed attraction, the Ohakune Carrot Adventure Park, entices an average of 10,000 visitors every month.

That’s according to Dave Scott, a member of the remarkably small team that has overseen the development and maintenance since work to establish the park began in 2014. The park opened in 2016 and Scott, along with Elaine Mott and Peggy Frew, has continued to volunteer time and effort to the facility with support from various funding organisations and individuals.

Frew, who received a QSM in the 2023 King’s Birthday Honours awarded in June, has been responsible for most of the fundraising for park facilities.

The most recent addition is a double zipline flying fox near a picnic table funded by the Nation family who produced Ohakune’s famous chocolate éclairs for more than 80 years.

A double zipline flying fox is the newest attraction at the Ohakune Carrot Adventure Park. Photo / Bevan Conley

The Nations are one of several local families and individuals who have their names on plaques or etched in to bricks on tables, benches and walkways.

“Pub Charity has funded a lot of the play equipment,” Frew said. “Local businesses and individual donors have also helped a lot.”

The park has grown around the giant carrot sculpture installed on Rangataua Rd in 1984. It was donated to the town after it was featured in an ANZ Bank advertisement.

Although Ohakune is best known for carrots, local growers also produce some of the country’s best crops of parsnips, swedes, brussels sprouts and potatoes.

Characters based on the four vegetables, along with a carrot named Munch Manchester, were created by sculptor Mike Walsh and added to the park in 2016 to keep the original carrot company.

The park also features undercover exercise machines, swings, slides, climbing ropes and hopscotch. The original wooden Mazda carrot car installed in 2016 has been replaced with a weatherproof fibreglass model.

The parsnip sculpture had sustained some recent minor damage but Frew said locals and visitors generally treated the park facilities with respect.

She said the exercise equipment had been well used and seemed to be in great order.

“The supplier, Gym Guru, has scheduled a check on the equipment but it seems to be fine,” Frew said.

A cycle track and obstacle course were also very popular.

The park now has a sign with an aerial view of it, painted by Raetihi artist Paula Charlton, and Mott said it was popular with children.

“A child had misplaced his mother at the park so I asked him to show me on the map where he had last seen her,” Mott said. “He went off to look for her, then came back to show me where he’d found her.”

The Ohakune Carrot Adventure Park now has a colourful, child-friendly map painted by Paula Charlton. Photo / Bevan Conley

The area, also known as Rochfort Park, was once part of the branch railway line to Raetihi with yards for stock to be transported by train.

The Ruapehu District Council owns the land which has been completely transformed over the past nine years thanks to the efforts of the dedicated trio who are supported by Frew’s husband, Ron, occasional volunteers and work crews performing community service.

There have been extensive native plantings, creating walkways to different areas of the park and one that leads to Clyde St and the famous Chocolate Éclair Shop and the other eateries and shops in the town centre.

“It has been suggested that we have a coffee cart at the park,” Frew said. “But why would we do that when a short, pleasant bush walk beside the Mangateitei Stream takes you to some excellent local coffee vendors.”

There is also a rhododendron walkway and a small number of exotic plants, such as winter roses, growing alongside the paths.

Scott, Frew and Mott each have a small section of the park named after them and each was arranged in secret by the other members.

“Peggy’s Way” was installed while Frew was out of action with a broken hip and she returned to find a dedicated section of walkway, a bench and shadecloth.

A short walk beside the Mangatetei Stream leads Carrot Park visitors to Ohakune's eateries and attractions. Photo / Bevan Conley

In April this year, the park attracted international attention with the unveiling of the carrot rocket funded by English YouTubers Josh Carrott and Ollie Kendal.

The duo had discovered the park while on a visit to New Zealand and Carrott believed he had found his “spiritual home” there.

Money was raised via sales of Once Upon a Time in Carrotland, Carrott’s “autobiography” which was written and published by Kendal without the subject’s knowledge.

The venture raised $20,000 and the interactive rocket sculpture was created by Poipoi boat builder Max Laver.

Frew said the rocket had been popular with visitors of all ages and all the attractions at the park were user-friendly for everyone.

Liz Wylie is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. She joined the editorial team in 2014 and regularly covers stories from Whanganui and the wider region. She also writes features and profile stories.