Waimarino Adventure Park is a kayak and adventure destination located in Tauranga

Tauranga

Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It is set among native bushland on the banks of the Wairoa River. Within Waimarino Adventure Park is a Kayak Shop, Kayak School, Kayak Tours, a Corporate Venue and an OSCAR Childcare centre.

History

In the 1860s the property on which Waimarino now exists was among those confiscated by the government as a punishment to Maori tribes who sent their warriors to the Waikato wars. The land was surveyed in 1865 and made into crown grants. The Fairfax Johnson family were the recipients of this parcel of granted land in 1866 and sold it ten years later. Barry and Barbara Anderson were the eighth owners. Prior to the Anderson’s purchase, the Waimarino property had been on the market for two and a half years.

The establishment of Waimarino began as the vision of Barry Anderson. Anderson wanted to establish a kayak centre with an ethos of excellence for enhancing and encouraging youth development through sport. He believed that kayaking would enable young people to learn valuable life skills, understand themselves and build their self-discipline while in a fun environment.

Anderson served with the New Zealand Police Force for sixteen years in Wellington and Taupo before moving to Tauranga in 1971. In 1972, Barry and Barbara purchased a 6 acre property in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem which was to become the site for Waimarino. The lot held riparian rights to the Wairoa River. At the time of purchase much of the property was swamp and scrub land.

The name ‘Waimarino’ was the third title the property had been given by Barry and Barbara Anderson who were the eighth owners. In 1973 the name ‘Elmsdene’ was invented thanks to the presence of two enormous elm trees, one each side of the original track, leading to the existing dwelling. The ‘Elmsdene’ title only remained until 1975 owing to the Anderson’s opinion that it sounded too ‘English’. They felt the property needed a New Zealand identity that represented its surroundings on the river banks of ‘tranquil waters’. Barry and Barbara consulted Dene Reweti (of the Maori iwi Ngati Kahu) for the Maori translation of ‘peaceful waters’ and she suggested the name ‘Te Wai Rangi Marie’. Despite the beautiful sound it was difficult for visitors to pronounce so Rewiti offered the name ‘Waimarino’ as an alternative.

Following the purchase of twelve sport kayaks Anderson decided that Waimarino would be suitable for a public hire and instruction business. Waimarino was opened to the public on October 20, 1975 (labour weekend) as a sporting and recreation venue. Kayaking was not popular in those early days and the first ten years of the business were very quiet.

Barry Anderson established the Kaimai Canoe Club alongside Bill Ross, Kerry Smith and Peter Entwistle in 1975. The Club was originally formed to voice opposition against the Kaimai Hydro-electric power scheme.
Barry and Barbara Anderson sold Waimarino to their son Blair and his wife, Charlotte on 1 October 2003. Since then Blair and Charlotte Anderson have developed much of the grounds and added to existing buildings.

Sporting Achievements/ Kayak Sports

• Ursula Anderson attended the World Championships in England in 1993.

• Blair Anderson and Ursula Anderson were selected for the junior national kayak polo team in 1992.

• At the 2005 Slalom World Champs in Penrith, the N.Z. team of 15 had 10 members who were introduced to the sport and trained at Waimarino.

• Two white water paddlers, earlier attended the 2004 pre-Olympic selection event at Athens.

• Beijing Olympics: Luuka Jones became the first female competitor from New Zealand to compete as an Olympian slalom paddler.

Adventure Park

Waimarino Adventure Park is a recreational facility focused around the sport of kayaking and is situated on the banks of the Wairoa River just 10 minutes from Tauranga city.

The Adventure Park is open to the public year round which includes (and is not limited to) recreational activities such as:

• New Zealand’s only kayak slide

• Italian Pedallos

• Kayaking

• Tarzan Swing

• The Blob

Blobbing

Blobbing is an outdoor water activity in which a participant sits on the end of a partially inflated air bag and is then launched into the water after another participant jumps onto the air bag from a platform on the opposite side. The activity is popular at summer camps in North America...

• Climbing Wall

• Warm Thermal Pool

• Beach Volleyball

• Low Ropes Course

Corporate and Education Venue

In addition, Waimarino Adventure Park also offers corporate team-building options, conference & function facilities, and after school and holiday care programmes for children.

Corporate Programmes

Waimarino's new conference facility, "Waverley Room", has stunning views of the Wairoa river. Waimarino Corporate Team Building Programmes are designed to improve communication, identify natural leadership skills or unite a new team. The unique river-side facilities provide a diverse environment to achieve your group's performance objectives.

OSCAR Childcare Programmes

Waimarino provides afterschool care for children between the ages of 5 and 14. These programmes are designed to provide a safe and stimulating range of related activities and experiences to develop young individuals.

Waimarino OSCAR Childcare Programmes won the 2011 OSCAR Bay of Plenty Regional Awards for:

The Best New After School and Holiday Programme

The Best Family Programme

Best Youth Leader at a Programme

Kayak Tours

Waimarino offers a wide range of kayak tours which operate year round. The three most popular tours are the Evening Glow Worm Kayak Tour, Scenic Lake Rotoiti Kayak Tour and the Wairoa River tour.

The internationally acclaimed Evening Glow Worm Kayak Tour is Waimarino’s flagship tour. It is a fully guided three hour kayak tour to a hidden glow worm canyon on Lake McLaren. The tour is focussed on viewing the glowworm

Glowworm

Glowworm, or glow worm, is the common name for various groups of insect larvae and adult larviform females that glow through bioluminescence. They may sometimes resemble worms, but all are insects .-Classification:Major families are:* Lampyridae , found around the world...

 in it's natural habitat.

The Scenic Lake Rotoiti Kayak Tour is Waimarino’s latest tour and was released in October 2010. It operates during daylight hours at Lake Rotoiti which is a 45 minute drive from Waimarino Adventure Park in Tauranga. The tour includes a two hour kayak across Lake Rotoiti to a glow worm cave and a soak in the thermal hot pools.

The Wairoa River Tour is a gentle 10 km paddle down the Wairoa River (Bay of Plenty) from Omanawa Road to Waimarino Adventure Park. The tour is unguided allowing guests to kayak at their own pace past the rolling farm land and native vegetation. The tour typically takes two to three hours.