Midway Park

Midway Park's pirate ship playground sits on a strip of lawn right behind the dunes at Pukehina Beach in the Western Bay of Plenty, with the sea showing over the dune grass and the sand a short walk away.¹ This beachside play space is on the ocean side of Pukehina Parade; the rest of Midway Park, with its courts and tracks, is across the road.

Equipment

Everything sits in one big timber-edged pit of soft beach sand. The ship is a two-tower unit flying pirate flags, with hull panels at each end, a porthole and ship's wheel, a hanging bridge between the towers and a metal slide off each one. A sit-on sand digger stands out front for the littlest diggers. There are no swings here, and the towers are low, so it suits under-fives and junior school kids more than confident older climbers. Bigger kids can cross to the skate ramp, pump track, tennis court and outdoor fitness equipment in the main park.¹

History and Cultural

The council adopted a concept plan for Midway Park in June 2022 after 34 public submissions. It added an asphalt pump track, a sheltered BBQ picnic area, basketball half courts and a 0.9 km fitness loop to the existing skate ramp, pumice BMX track and hardcourts, and kept vehicle access so community events such as Autorama can carry on.² Submitters also asked for more shade, and a shade sail went into the plan.²

Practical Info

Expect full sun on the sandpit. It is not fenced: a rope and post edge runs along the Parade side, and a sandy track leads straight through the dunes to the beach, so keep runners in sight. A picnic table, a bench on a concrete pad and a bin sit beside the play area, and the concept plan shows an existing toilet block in the park.² A Google reviewer warns that the surf is untamed, so take care with children in the water; Pukehina Surf Rescue lifeguards patrol the beach daily through summer.¹ For a flying fox, Maramarua Park is about 1.2 km along the Parade.¹