Waitārere Fairy Garden & Middle Earth Adventure Park

This once secret playground among the trees in the private forest to the south of Waitārere is one of a kind. The playground is mostly made from recycled and up-cycled items, with most pieces of equipment being made out of rope and wood. An old quad bike, boat, huge buoy, tires and a jet ski (basically anything that might be found lying around a seaside property) have been repurposed as playthings in this magical spot. One person’s junk is definitely another person’s playground.

For obvious reasons, this playground has no health and safety check, so you definitely play there at your own risk but a lot of thought has clearly gone into the equipment so that there’s something for all age groups, including adults who seem to have as much fun as the kids.

Getting to Middle Earth feels like an adventure in itself. You walk along a path between the back of houses on Hydrabad Drive and the trees and low and behold, after a couple of metres, there’s a fairy garden and further on Middle Earth adventure park.

There is a definite sense of fun at this playground and the ingenuity is very Kiwi.

As it’s nestled in the forest, it’s sheltered from the weather – you won’t notice a light drizzle or wind.