Ingenuity makes getting wet fun
The Waterworks, Coromandel
Scattered around 2 hectares of native bush along the Waiau River, The Waterworks is a collection of quirky and crazy water-powered contraptions that are heaps of fun for everyone to watch and, even better, to operate.
Where is it?
It’s a 10-minute drive along the scenic 309 Rd from Coromandel Town, but only you know how many years you’re leaping over to revisit your inner child.
Why go?
Who wouldn’t want to listen to a tune played on old knives by a perforated oil drum spurting water? Or watch a skeletal metal man endlessly ride a bike in a pond? Or have a mini boatrace, or turn handles to operate a squirt gun that, if you’re energetic enough, might sprinkle a real live chicken?
There’s a lot of squirting to be done here, lots of it competitive, all of it thoroughly wetting.
Most of the equipment has had a former life as something quite different: re-use and recycle is taken to heart here, and there’s much evidence of a No 8 wire mentality.
It’s all about using ingenuity for having fun, with a bit of sneaky education here and there about water as a power source.
See how a water wheel works, pedal a bike hard to shoot water as far as you can, see how water can make a clock work or generate electricity to light a lamp, use it to make music.
But it’s not all about the wet stuff: there are the classics like a low-tech flying fox, variations on the see-saw, a bamboo xylophone, a human-sized hamster wheel. And if all that hasn’t got the kids (or you) wet enough, there’s always the swimming hole in the river.
Insider tip
The Waterworks holds special events, discount days, family fun days and competitions – you can find out what’s on by signing up for the newsletter on its Facebook page.