Top 10 cool Numat playgrounds to beat the heat this summer!
This holiday season we are expecting some long hot summer days. To keep the kids entertained, we’ve come up with a list of all the best free public parks to cool off at.
This top ten list shows you some of our favourite Numat surfacing projects from all over New Zealand. We’ve focused on playgrounds with water play features or close access to water activities to make sure you and the kids will be entertained all day.
Find the one closest to you and plan a day trip. Don’t forget the sunscreen!
- Cornwall Park, Hastings
- Anderson Park, Napier
- Queenstown Gardens Playground
- Potters Park, Auckland
- Scarborough Park, Christchurch
- Margaret Mahy Family Playground, Christchurch
- Marlborough Park, Auckland
- Royal Reserve, Auckland
- Foster Park, Rolleston Christchurch
- Marlow Park, Dunedin (Dinosaur Park)
1. Cornwall Park, Hastings
This brand-new park had its grand opening on the 21st of December! So, if you want to be one of the first people to test it out, you’ll need to visit soon. The playground is designed to blend in with its surrounding landscape of tall trees and a beautiful feature pond. Created for all ages and abilities with a 10-metre-tall Acorn Village climbing structure, wet play area, flying fox, trampolines, electronic interactive memory game and lots more to keep your kids exploring all day long.
Don’t forget to bring your togs and park up for the day with great toilet facilities, picnic seating, drinking fountains and shade sails.
Numat products used: Pour’n’Play and PermaTurf
Location: Roberts Street, Hastings
Designer: Creo
What to bring: Kid’s togs and towels – Picnic lunch.
Find out more about this playground
2. Anderson Park, Napier
Winner of the NZRA Outstanding Park 2018 award, Anderson Park playground is a truly stunning destination for local Napier families. With a key focus being accessibility, the imaginative playground includes slides, flying foxes, swings, functional artwork with messages in braille, interactive music elements and a water play area. This is the perfect spot for families due to its offering of different zones for different ages groups and abilities.
With this all being within walking distance of local shops and a supermarket, why not pack a picnic and spend the whole day.
Numat products used: Pour’n’Play and PermaTurf
Location: Greenmeadows, Napier
Designer: Boffa Miskell
What to bring: Kid’s togs and towels – Picnic lunch.
See full case study
3. Queenstown Gardens Playground
Numat worked alongside Reset Urban Design and JFC Construction to deliver Queenstown’s first destination playground. The playground is in the beautiful Queenstown Gardens near the shoreline of Lake Wakatipu. It’s a perfect cool-down spot to sit and enjoy the lakefront.
The whole playground is a multi-sensory experience with musical elements, bridges, and a mixing of rough and smooth textures as well as the classic playground equipment like swings and slides that are a crowd favourite.
Numat products used: Pour’n’Play and PermaTurf
Location: Marine Parade, Queenstown
Designer: Reset Urban Design
What to bring: Kid’s togs and towels – Picnic lunch – Bread for feeding the ducks.
See full case study
4. Potters Park, Auckland
Potter’s Park is a long time favourite for local Auckland families and visitors over the holiday break. With its recent developments sectioning the park into three main activity areas – multi-staged playground, splash pad zone, and basketball court – Potter’s Park has something for all ages. Points of interest include a large turf mound with a colourful fort on top, multi-coloured pour’n’play paths and play zones, colourful basketball courts, and a splash pad. Make sure to have a look at the playground redesign and see if you spot what childhood game the park is inspired from.
Beyond the play area, there’s plenty of seating and picnic tables and lots of shade provided by well-established trees – perfect for a lazy sunny summer afternoon in the park.
Numat products used: Pour’n’Play, PermaTurf
Location: Balmoral Road, Mount Eden, Auckland
Designer: Senior Landscape Architect, Nina Rattray
What to bring: Picnic lunch – Basketball – Kid’s togs and towels
See full case study
5. Scarborough Park, Christchurch
Numat provided the surface for this seaside project in Sumner, Christchurch. The design was completed by Christchurch City Council Landscape Architect, Jennifer Dray, and incorporates a marine theme with blue water, sandy yellows, and red starfish, reflecting its beachside location.
Named as a perfect place for exploring, this destination playground has plenty of play options including a large rocking horse (a nod to the previous playground in the same location), dancing snake rope swing, and a 5.8-metre high climbing tower. The result is a playground that is a real winner with local families and visitors from the wider Christchurch area.
Numat products used: Pour’n’Play
Location: Sumner, Christchurch
Designer: Christchurch City Council Landscape Architect, Jennifer Dray
What to bring: Kid’s togs and towels – Picnic lunch – Beach bucket and shovel
See full case study
6. Margaret Mahy Family Playground, Christchurch
Margaret Mahy Family Park in Christchurch is a multi-million dollar destination playground that boasts a multitude of play options including; a splash zone, pour’n’play ‘hills’, a four-meter wide slide, double flying fox, sandpit, climbing nets, trampolines, tunnels, and an 8-metre high tower with a spiral slide.
In addition to the many play options available at Margaret Mahy Family Park, there are public BBQs, a picnic area, and food and coffee carts nearby on most days. And with newly added shade sails, the park is a comfortable, family-friendly place to bring the kids on a hot summer’s day.
Numat products used: Pour’n’Play and PermaTurf
Location: Manchester Street, Christchurch
Designer: Head designer Catherine Hamilton, consultant Tina Dyer
What to bring: Kid’s togs and towels – Picnic lunch – Coins for the BBQs
See full case study
7. Marlborough Park, Auckland
In 2017, the Auckland Council set out to upgrade Marlborough Park in Glenfield. They wanted the project to include a modern playground and a full-size basketball court.
Numat were called in to provide the surfacing for the project which would be Pour’n’Play for around the in-ground trampolines, water-play features, and the play equipment which included a basket swing, rope net, slide, and tunnel mounds. An existing basketball court area was extended into a full-court and resurfaced with vibrant blue and yellow acrylic surfacing which provides colour, grip and a durable surface.
Numat products used: Pour’n’Play, PermaTurf
Location: Glenfield, Auckland
Designer: Park Central
What to bring: Picnic lunch – Skateboard, BMX, or scooter – Basket Ball or volleyball
See full case study
8. Royal Reserve, Auckland
The ambitious design of Royal Reserve Playground gave Numat the perfect opportunity to showcase the strong design capabilities of Pour’n’Play. The playground is laid out with 3 separate areas. The pre-schooler’s area, school-aged kid’s area, and a big hillside slide which is a major feature of the park.
The playground incorporates a big slide, large climbing structures, trampolines, hill mounds and swings. The surrounding seating area is perfect for watching the kids or looking out over the Royal Reserve playing fields. The park was already a favourite for local families and is now more popular than ever due to the new playground surfaces.
Numat products used: Pour’n’Play
Location: Massey, Auckland
Designer: Stellar Projects & LA Works
What to bring: Picnic lunch – Bikes & Scooters
See full case study
9. Foster Park, Rolleston Christchurch
In the town of Rolleston, the Foster Park playground appears like a patchwork of colour. The first destination playground built in the district, it has a large range of play options including, a large slide, climbing ropes, a hamster wheel, swings, flying fox, carousel, and little kids train.
The park has some great seating areas, perfect for sitting back and watching the kids play.
Numat products used: Pour’n’Play and PermaTurf
Location: Rolleston, Christchurch
Designer: Council Project Manager and Landscape Architect, Phil Millar
What to bring: Picnic lunch – Gear for a game of catch
See full case study
10. Marlow Park, Dunedin (Dinosaur Park)
As part of a big upgrade project for many playgrounds and parks in Dunedin, Numat were called in to resurface Marlow Park. Known by locals as the “Dinosaur Park” due to its large dinosaur play equipment, Marlow is the perfect location for an afternoon of play, being just a 1-minute walk from the beach. This park has everything, from a water play whale, a variety of playground equipment, and grassy areas to let your imagination take over. There is also a cycle area that can be used by the public as well as booked for educational purposes.
This large park is also right around the corner from a highly recommended Takeaways on Marlow a great fish and chip shop, the perfect stop for your beachside picnic lunch or dinner!
Numat products used: Pour’n’Play
Location: St Kilda, Dunedin
What to bring: Picnic lunch – Skateboard, BMX, or scooter – Kid’s togs and towels
Did you find a great playspace escape near you? If not check out our playground map showing playgrounds all over New Zealand, so you can beat the heat and spend some quality time outside with your family this holiday season!