My favourite place was the castle.
I loved it and spent many hours playing hide-and-seek or just going from turret to turret and climbing the narrow spiral stairs right to the top.
I used to imagine I was a princess (still do sometimes) and this was my castle.
It was a marvellous place to play.
On Monday I discovered that Splash Planet is also a marvellous place to play.
I'd been there a few times to have a look but had never played there.
I was in charge of a 7-year-old and a 5-year-old. Within two minutes of finding a place to put our gear, they were at the water's edge urging me to hurry.
So hurry I did and off we went around the lazy river, aka the never-ending river.
We grabbed floating sponges and floated around and around.
Well I did, they dived under them, jumped off them, did handstands, tried to tip me over and generally made a lot of noise.
Next we headed to the heated indoor pools and they convinced me to go down the slide (official name "Heated open/enclosed body slide").
I was a little reluctant but then thought, what the heck. I held my breath and waited for the light to go green, then pushed off.
Suddenly I was in darkness, sliding flat out, expecting to turn one way and going the other. The ride bursts into light and is over in seconds.
As I splashed to a halt at the bottom I thought "actually, that was quite fun".
The children were already climbing the stairs to do it again, a pattern that was repeated countless times until I suggested we pop back to the lazy river.
Back in the water we went but this time we only went around once before they decided it was time to go on the castle slides.
The castle is unrecognisable from my early days and I did feel a bit sad as we climbed the sodden stairs.
At the top there are several options — all slides. After a short discussion we decided on the "Sky Tunnel - enclosed body slide".
Crikey, I was yelling by the time I hit the water. It was pitch black and much longer and faster than the other, although in saying that the entire ride would take less than 30 seconds.
Again my body slid in the opposite direction I was expecting it to go.
I went first so I would be at the bottom for my charges. We were all laughing as we climbed out of the water and headed back up the stairs. This time I went on the "Super Cruiser - open body slide". No dark bits.
I was cautious for the first five or six slides, then found myself laughing and throwing myself around the curves.
It was fun. However I got a little bit too cocky in the end.
The children were going down on mats, so I thought I'd give it a go.
"Does it make you go really fast," I asked them.
"No, it's just more comfy," they giggled.
I knew it would make me go faster but wasn't counting on just how much.
The little people were desperate to go before me so they could watch me come out the other end.
They are both confident in the water and I knew they would be safe.
So off I went in the enclosed slide.
Oh, my goodness. I was flung back so I was lying on my back and laughing so hysterically I couldn't get up.
I was flying and at the end I did a sort of flip and landed face down in the water.
We all laughed so hard we couldn't speak for a minute or two.
Then came the words "Let's go do it again" .
I found I just couldn't muster the energy to climb those stairs one more time — they went alone. Finally, after almost five hours of swimming and sliding we called it a day.
Splash Planet is a great asset for Hawke's Bay.
The staff were friendly and helpful, and the place was clean and tidy.
I do have a wee gripe, though. Because of the nature of the activities I knew our belongings would be left unattended for long periods.
I was told I could put my valuables in a locker for $2. Cheap, I thought. So my phone, purse and car keys went in the locker.
However, I was amazed to find I had to pay $2 every time I opened it. Really — I think that's a little bit over the top.
• Linda Hall is Hawke's Bay Today's assistant editor.
