"Best playground — ever!"
You may think this is a Dunedin City Council assessment of its latest playground upgrade, but it is actually an endorsement straight from the mouths of children who were using the newly refurbished St Clair Playground yesterday.
St Clair School pupil Gus Moran said he was a playground connoisseur and believed the new facility next to the Esplanade was the best he had seen.
And the 9-year-old should know.
"I’ve been to five or six playgrounds in my lifetime.
"It’s got an awesome obstacle course over there and a really cool slide down the hill.
"This will probably be my new favourite playground because Mum and Dad like drinking coffee.
"I don’t. It’s boring."
His friends Luca Choveaux and Zephyr Farrell, both 8, agreed with his ringing endorsement.
Dunedin City Council contractors removed the last of the safety fencing and reopened the playground earlier this week, just in time for the school holidays.
Children across the city will be eager to have a go on the new equipment, which includes a tube slide, sand play area, nature play area, palisade climbing structure, an easy swing bed and a new seesaw. The standing swing has been reinstated.
A council spokesman said there was a range of improvements aimed at making the park more adventurous and accessible for children of all ages and abilities.
Mana whenua also contributed to the playground’s design and theme, providing valuable opportunities to educate and connect users to mana whenua stories.
"We hope the refurbished playground will provide much enjoyment and entertainment to youngsters and the wider Dunedin community."
He said the work was part of the council’s ongoing efforts to provide improved play areas across the city, in response to community feedback.
"We’ve recently completed upgrades at Bathgate Park, College St and the Dunedin Botanic Garden, and these have proved popular with tamariki, rangatahi and whānau," he said.
