Oamaru, New Zealand (February 6, 2026)
It took just over five hours drive to get to Oamaru from Te Anau. Why? Because it’s a national holiday here in New Zealand. This one is called Waitangi Day. According to Wikipedia:
“Waitangi Day (Māori: Te Rā o Waitangi), the national day of New Zealand, marks the anniversary of the initial signing—on 6 February 1840—of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Treaty of Waitangi was an agreement towards British sovereignty by representatives of the Crown and indigenous Māori chiefs, and so is regarded by many as the founding document of the nation.”
After 5 hours of driving in our car, listening to political podcasts about the 3 million document dump of the “Epstein Files: Worse Than You Thought” (the name of the episode) and a detailed discussion of our president’s corrupt dealings, including a half-billion bribe from the United Arab Emirates and an attempt to steal $10 billion in taxpayer money in the form of a lawsuit against his own IRS.
I’m not enjoying witnessing the total collapse of any shred of integrity in US politics nor witnessing the end of democracy in the United States. But, I’m lucky to be here in New Zealand where we have the luxury of turning our attention to other matters while our government crumbles. It’s fitting that we are here to celebrate the “founding document” of New Zealand instead.
Victorian-era bike that my father-in-law, Dick Knies actually rode!
After a sobering political discussion in the car with Elena and Violet, we were ready for some much needed exercise. We checked into our very unique and boutique hotel (the Criterion) and discovered the BEST playground we’ve come across in the past 7 months. If you’ve been reading my blog, you know this is a HIGH BAR as Violet and I have loved so many unique playgrounds all over the world.
This was my very first attempt at being on a legit hamster wheel for adults. Why doesn’t every playground have one of these? Or, at least, and adult playground where you sign wavers and then have a ball “going for it.” This was sooo much more fun than running on a treadmill at the gym. And you could speed up and slow down once you “got it.” Here’s the breakthrough moment (with Violet’s help, of course):
Now, this SINGLE feature alone would be fun enough, but there was so … much … MORE! Sure, wooden balance beams are great for starting out with testing your balance, but for a real challenge, how about a long strap? Yep, you’ve seen them anchored between trees with professionals working on them. This one is free for anyone to try. It’s a much, much more difficult one to walk across. Neither Violet nor I mastered it despite multiple attempts.
Balancing on a true “tight rope” in the form of a synched strap
Again, very cool, but these two together wouldn’t make it the best we’ve seen so far. And, in truth, this one is missing some of the other most fun elements of playgrounds in different parts of the world such as a ground-level trampoline and GIANT climbing structures. But what this one had were a few more tricks up it’s sleeve including:
Combined jungle gym swing set for all ages.
And a zipline. Yes, I know, there can always be “more”, but this one was really good. Both Violet and I could climb up, zip across (going full speed) and the stopper at the end would spring us about half way back. Better hold on tight!
Violet pushing off for a fast zipline across the playground.
But wait, there’s more. How about a combined jungle gym climbing structure that goes up about 3 stories connected to a slide that has a vertical drop that ensures anyone would barrel down it? I loved this one. On hot days, I could imagine turning this into a water slide, because it has THAT kind of a drop built in.
It’s at least three stories tall. The man at the bottom is at least 6’
And there’s a pirate’s nest built of ropes. Granted, this one was for the younger kids, but that didn’t stop us from exploring it and checking it out. Violet enjoyed the climb up, even if it wasn’t as challenging as some of the others.
Violet is queen of the pirates — be sure to seek permission to board
And check out the biking “training” ground. When I was first learning to ride my bike, I would have spent HOURS here. There’s around about, stop signs, yield and two lanes so that you can practice which side of the street to bike on. It’s brilliant. And it feels a bit like a race track, so I’m sure siblings have it out competing for who is faster here.
Shall I continue? There really was something for everyone here. Violet and I spent a good hour playing together. The only thing missing was my son Will who would have LOVED this playground. It had swings, slides, a hamster wheel, a zipline, lots of things to climb on, a merry-go-round, lots of benches for parents and grandparents, and old trains converted into smaller kid climbing areas. All of this was set in the back drop of the ocean.
Boats in the harbor — more “toys” for adults to play with ;-)
Lastly, there were lots of former trains, cranes, tractors and similar equipment converted into monuments and artwork just to set the scene further around this playground. It was very well architected.
In case you thought that I spent all my time on the playground and didn’t check out the town of Oamaru … you’re mostly right. But to get to the playground, we walked through the center of “old town” and had a peek at the shops on our way to the playground (and on our way back). It’s cute. Reminds me of Old Sacramento, California (and yes, I refuse to refer to this part of Sacramento as “Old Sac” as that feels like all kinds of wrong).
So, overall, great first impressions and loving our time here so far. Tomorrow we will visit the Penguins and (fingers crossed) we’ll get a good view of them coming home from a long day of fishing. Can’t take any pictures for this one, but I’ll share what I can along the way.
