Hayman Park destination playground takes fun to spectacular new heights

07 Jul 2023

The Manukau community, and residents from across Tāmaki Makaurau can now enjoy the upgraded destination playground at Hayman Park featuring the tallest playtower in Aotearoa.

Recently transformed into a new epic adventure hub, Hayman Park is part of the Transform Manukau project led by Eke Panuku, in collaboration with the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board.

Transform Manukau sets out the approach for how Eke Panuku and its partners will transform Manukau over 20 to 25 years.

Hayman Park is the first of its kind in South Auckland and is a great addition to the ongoing work of the board, the Governing Body and Eke Panuku to transform Manukau, and I also want to thank local Iwi for blessing the project from the start to completion. Their input is always crucial to council and our communities says Councillor Lotu Fuli.

The playground’s new features include:

• New Zealand’s tallest tower – 12.8 metres
• advanced safety features
• motion sensor lights on every level
• security cameras
• staircase for caregivers to stay close to children
• three climbing walls, two slides, four rope climbing bridges / tunnels, a see-saw at the top, games on the walls, toy binoculars and telescope, toddler friendly activities
• large adult size swing set and two flying foxes
• ground level activities for those reliant on caregivers, including musical instruments such as chimes and a xylophone, a spinning wheel, moving platforms and talk tubes
• basketball half court - requested specifically by local board
• bump track and flow bowl

Accessible Play:

Accessibility peer reviews by Ben Richards and Be Accessible covering all of the play aspects, and many of the suggestions put forward during this were integrated into the final design.  As a result, the playground provides a high level of universal access and a range of inclusive play opportunities for a wide variety of ages and abilities. These include:

• Rubber mats across the entire new addition to the playground which enable wheelchairs and strollers to get up close to the equipment. A simpler/continuous ground also helps those with autism
• There are lots of ground level activities which are designed for those reliant on caregivers, and include large musical instruments such as chimes and a xylophone, a spinning wheel, moving platforms and talk tubes
• There are lots of ropes at ground level too which are designed to help with strength improvements (e.g. hanging off these builds upper body strength)
• For those more adventurous or mobile, there's a wide set of stairs with handrails going all the way up to the top to help caregivers guide/assist kids up each level of the tower.