Nestled on a hillside at Northland's Lake Edwin sits an iconic piece of New Zealand history ready to open this weekend. Video / Blackhawk Film Production
The future looks turquoise for two entrepreneurial brothers who have adopted a piece of New Zealand history.
Tucked away behind farmland and rural roads in Northland’s Ruatangata West is Adrenalin Adventure Park, where four slides from the famous Waiwera Thermal Resort sit dismantled - but not for long.
The Advocate visited the park and found the striking blue slides ready to begin their new life at the hands of brothers Cody and Klay Rouse.
In surprisingly good condition, the slides had been mourned by the public until the pair announced on social media last week they had given them a new life.
Bob’s Mistake, The Black Hole and two others make up the four slides that will continue to be enjoyed by generations to come.
It’s expected that the straight slides will be relatively simple to put up compared to the cornered ones.
“It’s finding where you need to brace them and whatnot; where you get that speed,” Cody said.
“You can see that hill, coming down there, you’re going to get some speed,” he explained.
That’s why another future prospect may include different-sized ramps, but that will occur once the slides are fully operational. They can then measure how much speed each slide is getting and how much curve a ramp may need.
Their “10-year plan” is to create a space that draws in international visitors.
That’s why they put “everything” back into the park and allow “just enough to get by”.
Klay and Cody Rouse own Adrenalin Adventure Park, which is home to New Zealand's largest inflatable water park. Photo / Tania Whyte
“We want to create this not just as a hot spot for Whangārei, not just a hot spot for New Zealand, but a place that people from overseas want to come. People will fly to New Zealand just to come to this park. That’s our 10-year goal.”
Lake Edwin is home to a two-tower cable wakeboarding experience and New Zealand’s largest inflatable water park.
The park is expanding quickly, and has different areas dotted around the lake.
Waiwera slides will sit atop this hill overlooking the lake. Photo / Tania Whyte
“It’s going to be really good to keep a bunch of people on the slides and a bunch of people over here [on the other side of the lake],” Cody said.
A dedicated team worked up to 20-hour days to move the larger pieces in a race against time as they worked alongside the demolition team.
It cost next to nothing - just labour and fuel for the machinery used. They would usually cost between $500,000 to $1 million.
They left Waiwera armed with four slides, as well as other salvageable pieces including entire buildings, timber, and even some of Waiwera’s infamous bottled water.
The brothers have their own fond memories of Waiwera, and said it was sobering to see the renowned spot in such a dilapidated state.
Images of Waiwera Thermal Resort before its abandonment. Pictured is "The Twister". Photo / Paul Menezes
Their venture has expanded significantly in the five years it has been running.
Cody said he thinks it’s “really important” to have things to do, especially in a town like Whangārei.
“I think one of the main reasons why kids get into trouble and all that sort of stuff is because there’s not enough things to do in Whangārei,” he said.
“So bringing this back to our home city where we grew up, and being able to offer that to everybody in Whangārei is really important to us.”
Brodie Stone is the education and general news reporter at the Advocate. Brodie recently graduated from Massey University and has a special interest in the environment and investigative reporting.
