4a Rangataua Road, Ohakune 4625
Sprawling adventure park with pirate ship, 5.3m Carrot Rocket, two flying foxes, pump track, endurance course - excellent for primary+tween ages. A small river winds through and reviewers describe kids paddling/damming it. Flat paved 1km loop is pram-friendly but wide-open with no fencing between play zones and creek. Toddler kit is basic swings only.
The description says the park is flat and paved throughout with mobility aid access, and a review confirms parking and wheelchair access to all parts of the park and walking tracks.
Ohakune Carrot Mennesson Adventure Park is anchored by a 5.3 metre fibreglass Carrot Rocket and a climbable pirate ship built from a real ship's lifeboat, a playground built for photos as much as play. Equipment suits a wide age range, from toddlers on the swings to older kids on the endurance course and pump track, and the flat, paved layout suits a pram or wheelchair covering the loop in one go.
HistoryPlayground established: pre 2019.
Source: services1.arcgis.comHistoryThe park opened on 30 September 2016. Development cost approximately $450,000 ($300,000 cash, $150,000 in-kind), with Ruapehu District Council contributing $45,000. The Ohakune Growers' Association, Ohakune 2000 community group, heritage brick sales, and 700 hours of community work contributed to the build. Volunteer project lead Dave Scott said the aim was for families driving between Auckland and Wellington to stop in Ohakune.
Source: nzherald.co.nzHistoryThe 7.5-metre fibreglass Big Carrot was built for an ANZ Bank television commercial, then donated to Ohakune and installed at Rochfort Park on 29 September 1984. Proposed by Peter Hammond on behalf of the Ohakune Growers Association in 1982, the carrot attracted community debate about its placement and suitability before landing at its current Rangataua Road site. Many New Zealanders lined SH1 to watch it travel from Wellington to Ohakune.
Source: nzherald.co.nzHistoryIn 2023 the Ohakune Carrot was voted NZ Landmark of the Year in a nationwide public vote run by Caltex NZ. The park won the Healthy Park Award at the 2019 Recreation Aotearoa NZ Parks Awards in Auckland. Judges called it a "wonderful case in point of what a small community can achieve with focused dedication to a communally accepted vision." Recreation Aotearoa subsequently invited council to enter the park in the international Green Flag Award.
Source: scoop.co.nzHistoryThe Treasure Island pirate ship zone was created from the lifeboat of the Russian cruise liner Mikhail Lermontov, which sank in Port Gore inlet in February 1986 (one fatality among 700+ aboard). Paul Scarf, owner of Powderhorn Chateau, towed the lifeboat across Cook Strait shortly after the disaster, and it sat in long grass for decades before being donated to the park. Master craftsman Wayne Gunnell built the pirate ship structure; artist Tina Drayton created the vegetable pirate characters. The ship was officially unveiled on 8 November 2025.
Source: nzherald.co.nzHistoryPeggy Frew, the park's founder and a central development figure for over a decade, was awarded the Queen's Service Medal in the 2023 King's Birthday Honours for her fundraising and community service. The park attracts approximately 10,000 visitors monthly and is described as an internationally recognised attraction.
Source: nzherald.co.nzCultureCarrots arrived in Ohakune in the 1920s via Chinese settlers. The region around Ohakune produces two-thirds of the North Island's carrot crop. The park's vegetable character sculptures are named Crimson King (swede), Sir Lancelot (Brussels sprout), Perla (potato), Panorama Parsnip, and the carrot itself. A heritage path features naming bricks for local growers, and information boards cover vegetables, Chinese grower history, and forestry.
Source: visitruapehu.comOn siteEquipment includes vegetable statues, carrot car, climbing frame, novelty slide (tubular slide), carrot rocket, slide, see-saw, swings, basket swing, climbing net, balance beams, eagles nest, confidence course.
Source: services1.arcgis.comOn siteJunior-suitable items include vegetable statues, carrot car, carrot rocket, slide (suitable for young child), basket swing.
Source: services1.arcgis.comOn siteA 5.3-metre Carrot Rocket was unveiled on 1 April 2023. It was built by Poipoi boat builder Max Laver over five months using marine plywood, foam, and fibreglass. Funding came from $20,000 raised by English YouTubers Josh Carrott and Ollie Kendal (Jolly / Korean Englishmen channel) through sales of the book "Once Upon a Time in Carrotland." The rocket features an audio countdown system.
Source: nzherald.co.nzDaytime high in °C · % = chance of rain · data from yr.no
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