Adrenaline Adventure Park to debut famous Waiwera slide this weekend

Nearly six years after Waiwera Thermal Resort shut its doors for good, the turquoise of yesteryear is now dominating a hillside in rural Northland.

Nestled alongside Lake Edwin in Ruatangata West is Adrenaline Adventure Park, and it is here that entrepreneurial brothers Cody and Klay Rouse have spent the past year putting their plan into action.

The first slide built with pieces from the resort will be ready this Saturday, November 2.

The slice of New Zealand history will be open to the public to reignite their childhoods or those who missed the glory days a chance to create new memories.

The abandoned Waiwera Thermal Resort lay in disrepair in 2023, but not before Northlanders Cody and Klay Rouse rescued some parts of the once-thriving attraction. Photo / Paul Menezes

The slide comprised pieces from all four the brothers acquired last year before the resort was completely demolished.

While many looked in dismay at the end of a famed era, Cody and Klay saw an opportunity.

Waiwera Thermal Resort once drew visitors from far and wide, and parts of its history are now in the hands of Northlanders Cody and Klay Rouse. Photo / NZME

They’ve managed to utilise expert opinions, a bit of Kiwi ingenuity and lived on “next to nothing” to bring their promise of the slides to Northlanders and beyond.

“We had these plans and wanted to keep pushing through,” Klay said.

“The Waiwera slides have a history and a lot of people want to go back to their childhood and whatnot,” Cody said.

At first, they hoped to have the slides at the main hub, featuring a two-tower cable wakeboarding experience and New Zealand’s largest inflatable water park.

Cody and Klay Rouse at Adrenalin Adventure Park in Ruatangata West. Photo / Tania Whyte

“We looked at different places while trying to keep the business in this area, but the tower we needed was a 10-metre tower and we were looking at around 100 grand [for the tower alone].”

They instead started looking to the south and decided the hillside would be home to their “hydroslide hub”.

A pump will send 80 litres of water a minute from Lake Edwin and down the slide this Saturday as part of a special pass that will include hydroslide entry.

“We have mixed and swapped some parts [of the slides] around, there were just a few pieces that were broken or missing so we kind of mixed and matched,” Cody said.

The pair and their team are still working on the other three slides - and one of them may not have even been used before.

Nestled at the shores of Lake Edwin now sits a slide salvaged from Waiwera Thermal Resort. Photo / Blackhawk Film Production

While the slides are no doubt the most exciting part of their new summer offerings, the pair are also excited about a brand new 180-metre-long inflatable obstacle course that is due to arrive on November 8.

It will take about a week to put up but soon visitors will not only be able to experience the Waiwera magic once more - but what could be the largest inflatable water park not just in New Zealand - but worldwide.

“We will have both courses running for a little while which may make it the biggest course in the world - or very close to the largest,” Cody said.

The pair have been determined to continue expanding their business despite Covid-19, Cyclone Gabrielle and a struggling economy.

“I do think people have had enough of just not having fun and everyone stressing. The amount of calls and interest we’ve had, I do think it’s going to be a better year - here’s hoping,” Cody said.

The slides from a once-thriving Waiwera Thermal Resort now sit dismantled ready to join an already completed slide in Northland. Photo / Brodie Stone

“Just because of the recession we’re going to drop our prices a bit so people can afford a nice day out. But because the slides are such a huge investment they will have to [eventually] be an add-on cost,” Klay said.

In other news, the pair announced they plan to open another inflatable water park in Mangawhai.

“The beautiful thing about it is that the courses we bring here we can use for a couple of years, swap them around and bring in new ones so our customers are constantly getting a brand new course,” Cody said.

The pair agreed that it is special to them that they can offer something world-class to a region they’ve grown up in.

“What we’re trying to create at this location is a place where there are activities for everybody. An activity hub for all of Northland and the whole country.”

“We’re only open six months of the year and it’s tough for us but we still try to deliver where possible,” Klay said.

Brodie Stone is an education and general news reporter at the Advocate. Brodie has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.