People who tell you how lucky you are to work from home in the school holidays know nothing. Keeping three children happily entertained while maintaining non-school-holiday production levels is no easy feat. I managed it this week by promising them a fun Friday afternoon out if they refrained from dismembering each other until then.

Where we went

We went to the Wet & Wild Waterslide Park which has popped up next door to Snowplanet just north of Auckland.

What we did

They don’t take bookings, so we turned up for the two hour session starting at 12.30 on a Friday afternoon.

How it went

The Waterslide Park is only open until 31 January 2016 so it’s pretty lo-fi, but that doesn’t make it any less fun.

Parking is easy – right next to the venue (well, paddock really). We paid our $20 per person, got our wristbands and we were off. Well, almost. Apparently it’s more fun if you have something to slide on. There are mats for hire at $1 each, but for maximum fun you’ll need an inflatable ring. You can bring your own or purchase them fully inflated for $4-$7 each. Personally I’d have liked to see these for hire as I’m pretty sure most of these will end up as landfill.

With the kids all sun screened up and rearing to go we headed up the hill to the slides. There are four of them ranging from a toddler slide through to the 100m long Downhill Dragster. The King Cobra looked like alot of fun with a steep drop at the end into the pool, but sadly it’s kids only.

The kids scattered to the four winds while I queued for the only slide adults are allowed on – the Downhill Dragster. Looking around not only was I the only adult in the queue, I was also the only adult in the whole place in togs holding a red inflatable ring covered in dolphins.  There must have been at least 45-50 adults there and not one of them sliding! Still, that meant the queues were relatively short – much, much shorter than they had been at last years’ failed Monster Slide event.

Finally it was my turn. The slides all have inflatable pads at the start so you can get a good run up. I opted for a more sedate start, but still gathered plenty of momentum – wondering if the small, shallow pool at the bottom was going to be enough to stop me. It was – and with a huge smile on my face I headed back up the hill for another turn.

This was 2 hours of complete and utter fun, and not just for the kids. The kids slipped and down all four slides, while I got at least 10 runs down the dragster – each as much fun as the last. In fact, I almost considered paying for the next session so we could slip and slide some more.

The park is open for another week and I have a feeling we’ll be back. Next Friday afternoon. So long as the kids haven’t dismembered each other by then.

What I’d recommend

Get there 10-15 minutes early. You’ll be allowed in, and the queues will be at their shortest as people from the previous session leave.

Take your togs and have a go yourself. It’s a lot of fun, and life’s too short to spend 2 hours sitting in a paddock staring at traffic on the Northern Motorway.

Take snacks and plenty of water – there are food and drinks available but they’re at the bottom of the hill by the carpark. It’ll take too much valuable sliding time to have to go there.

Leave the valuables at home as you’re belongings will be unattended if you’re all sliding.

What to take

Your eftpos card – credit cards aren’t accepted.

An inflatable ring if you already have one.

Sunscreen and a sunhat – there isn’t a lot of shade around particularly if you are in the queue for the slides.

 

This experience was chosen and paid for by me without any input or sponsorship from the event organisers.