Best playgrounds in Central Hawke's Bay

Waipukurau holds both of this district's playgrounds, an easy pairing on foot. Russell Park is the big one: scooter and bike tracks lead into a skate park, high-back accessible swings and a rotonet keep school-age kids moving, and the splash pad turns hot days into a paddling pool. A'Deane Park, a short walk away, is the quieter counter-move, a fully fenced junior playground with infant bucket swings inside heritage gardens, built for toddlers who need shade and a fence more than a flying fox.

Waipawa, the council seat seven kilometres away, and the smaller CHB farming towns lean on school grounds after hours, since neither has a stand-alone playground here yet. A'Deane Park's garden setting dates to 1922, when the land was gifted to the old Waipukurau borough, and still does the same quiet job today. Time a visit to Russell Park around a hot afternoon for the splash pad, and save A'Deane Park for a calmer day with younger kids.