Best playgrounds in the Southland region

Wide, flat grid streets put almost every playground within an easy five minute walk or two minute drive, wherever you start from. The far south latitude stretches summer evenings on long after dinner, so after-tea park runs are a real routine here. Central families gravitate to Queens Park Playground, a big equipped play area with a multi play tower, slides, spinners, swings and a themed Wonderland Castle corner, plus climbing gear for older kids. Appleby answers with Russell Square: a flying fox, a big carousel and a separate junior structure for the smaller ones, fenced and shaded for a full afternoon. Heidelberg's Elizabeth Park takes a different tack, a wooden fort playground paired with its own BMX track.

Parking is easy everywhere except Queens Park on a sunny weekend, when the Gala Street and Herbert Street gates fill first. On a wet day, Splash Palace's indoor pools and hydroslides are the fallback most families lean on. Thomsons Bush, a short walk from the centre, trades equipment for atmosphere: a kahikatea swamp forest wrapped around a modest playground that still pulls families in for the walk alone. Kingswell's McQuarrie Park is a straightforward multi play and slide stop for toddlers through to primary age, while Strathern's Arundel Playground adds a carousel, a snow rider and a balance beam for variety on an ordinary street corner. Summer's long light is the easy season; pack a windbreaker for the Foveaux Strait southerly the rest of the year.

The Mataura River splits the district's two playground trips neatly: one on the river flat in town, one up under the Hokonui foothills for a proper day out. Hamilton Park in East Gore keeps it simple, a swing set and bike track by the water with picnic tables close by, and the miniature railway that loops the northern end of the reserve draws families from right across the district on running days.

Dolamore Park is the bigger outing, eleven kilometres out under the Hokonui Hills, where a flying fox, climbing wall and slide sit inside ninety five hectares of native podocarp forest shared with the camping ground. It suits school-age and older kids best, and there's parking and a picnic area right at the play equipment. Between the two, the choice on any given day comes down to a quick town stop or a proper bush outing.

The shape of the parenting day out here depends on how far you've driven. Southland District is the rural ring around Invercargill and Gore: Te Anau on the Fiordland lakefront, Lumsden and Riversdale on the Northern Southland plains, Riverton on the southern coast, Tokanui in the Catlins, and Oban on Stewart Island. Most of the playgrounds are the small-town variety, one good build per village, often beside the rugby field or the swimming pool. Wind matters more than rain in this part of the country, so the sheltered sites win in spring and the lake and beach plays win on the calm summer afternoons families chase between Fiordland walks.

Te Anau is the destination stop, with Sputnik Playground for the toddler-and-zipline crowd and the refreshed Henry St Playground nearby. Lumsden's new railway-themed build at the Hero Street recreation reserve is the Northern Southland favourite for road-trippers stopping between Queenstown and Invercargill. Taramea Bay at Riverton ties a brand-new lakeside playground to safe family swimming, and Riversdale Playground is the Waimea Plains pit-stop families remember. Out east, Rata Park in Tokanui is the Catlins road-trip break before the Curio Bay run. Parking is rarely a problem anywhere, summer is the obvious season, and a good thermos beats a wet-weather backup in most of these towns.