Best playgrounds in Westland

Hokitika holds the district's only two real playgrounds, an easy walk apart, then the map goes quiet until Haast, far south near the start of the Haast Pass road. Cass Square Playground threads climbing walls, slides, a flying fox and talk tubes through a bespoke clock tower echoing the town's own, inside a fenced, parking-handy yard. A few streets over, Lazar Park leans inclusive, built by the Hokitika Lions Club: a nearly seven metre Black Forest Tower, a wheelchair-accessible carousel and a flying-saucer basket swing on soft bark. Further south, the playground opposite Wilderness Backpackers in Haast has a slide, climbing gear and picnic tables, at the edge of World Heritage wilderness.

Weather off the Tasman moves in fast here, so mornings are the safer play window and the Hokitika Museum covers a wet afternoon. Cass Square is the one spot where school-holiday parking gets tight. For anyone driving the Haast Pass towards Wanaka, the Haast playground is the last real stop to burn off energy before the road climbs into the mountains.