Best playgrounds in Porirua

A railway causeway once sealed off Onepoto Bay, and the sheltered saltwater lagoon left behind is now the biggest playground day out in the district. Aotea Lagoon Playground is built around a 7.4 metre climbing rope tower and a stainless steel slide, with a free splash pad running through the warmer months right beside it. Round the harbour at Paremata, Ngāti Toa Domain pairs a slide, swings and a bike track with picnic tables. Whitby's playgrounds lean natural: Whitby Walkway Playground is built around a timber fort and an eagle's nest claw swing, strung along the walking corridor that threads the suburb's edge on Porirua Harbour. Central suburbs still turn out for a good flying fox, and Ascot Park Playground, fenced and shaded, has been the neighbourhood favourite for years.

Parking is easiest at the big reserves; Aotea Lagoon added extra carparks when the splash pad went in, while the smaller streetside playgrounds in Cannons Creek and Waitangirua are a shorter walk from the car than a search. Cannons Creek Park's multi play structure pairs a slide with a supernova climbing dome and swings on bark, next to a wetland restoration project reshaping the eastern suburbs' green space. Spring and summer bring a stiff northwester through the harbour mouth at Titahi Bay and Whitby, so the bush-edged plays hold up better than the open coastal ones on a blustery afternoon. First-time visitors get pointed to Aotea Lagoon before anywhere else, splash pad included.