Thomsons Bush

Thomsons Bush's playground sits inside a 33-hectare remnant of kahikatea swamp forest a short walk from central Invercargill, giving an otherwise modest set of play equipment a genuinely wild backdrop. It suits school-aged children best, with picnic tables close by for a bush-set lunch stop.

Equipment

Equipment includes tyre swings, a see-saw, a play module combining hanging, sliding, and climbing features, and a platform reached by a pole and steps. Everything sits on bark surfacing among the native trees.

Access and Inclusion

About 3.5 kilometres of well graded, mostly flat track loops through the reserve on both sides of Queens Drive, making the walk and the playground approach usable for prams and a wide range of visitors. Pedestrian access runs in from Queens Drive, Preston Street, Gimblett Street, and the Waihopai Walkway, with off street parking on Queens Drive. Dogs must stay on a lead throughout the reserve.

History

Local Maori knew the original forest as Taurakitewaru, and the site holds strong ties to iwi. J T Thomson's 1857 survey shows how extensive the bush once was before it was cleared within twenty years of European settlement. From the early 1900s the river flats were a popular picnicking and swimming spot, and since 1998 the Friends of Thomsons Bush have run pest and weed control with Invercargill City Council.