Floating water park in final consenting stages for Tauranga

A massive inflatable water park planned for Tauranga Harbour is expected to bring thousands of visitors to the city centre.

If the plan goes ahead, the floating water park will be erected on the Tauranga waterfront and will be the largest in New Zealand and the first in the Bay of Plenty.

The water park would be operated by Dialled Indoor Trampoline Park and owner Kel Travers said not only would the water park bring an element of fun to the area, it would also provide new job opportunities and attract more visitors.

An inflatable water park could soon be on the waterfront if the project is approved. Photo/Supplied.

The plan has been welcomed by Tourism Bay of Plenty and Downtown Tauranga.

The Wipeout style inflatable obstacle course would measure 20m by 35m and would be made up of 50 individual pieces, which Travers had purchased from China.

From Boxing Day to Easter Weekend, Tauranga locals and visitors of all ages would be able to test their agility and balance on the inflatable course.

"The location is exciting, having it at The Strand will encourage people to the area...it will bring a bit more of an edge to Tauranga."

Travers said he would be employing 20 to 25 seasonal staff members to run the water park and he had already received "hundreds" of applications.

"I've got great people applying for jobs, qualified lifeguards and white-water river rafters," he said.

Safety was the number one priority of the water park and Travers said there were many safety initiatives in place.

Every participant would have to wear life jackets, a safety briefing was done before each one-hour slot and lifeguards would be monitoring the area.

The bright green, yellow and blue inflatable would have a range of activities in an obstacle course layout including slides, a rope swing, giant jumping pillows and a balancing beam.

An application had been made to the Bay of Plenty Region Council and Travers said he was in the final stages of gaining all the necessary consents.

A 3D image of the proposed inflatable waterpark. Image/ Supplied.

Travers said the announcement of the water park's arrival happened prematurely on Facebook but said the post had "gone viral."

The post had more than 9000 likes, nearly 7000 comments of people tagging their friends and more than 3000 shares on Facebook.

An online booking system for the water park went live on Monday and Travers said he had already received multiple bookings for the summer.

"Over the weekend I had an employee working to purely answer the phone because we've had so many inquires."

Downtown Tauranga spokeswoman Sally Cooke said anything that would attract people to the area was "welcome" in the city centre.

"From what I can see it looks like a good, safe commercial operator will be set up."

Cooke said the location of the waterfront was "absolutely fantastic" as the public would get to utilise the area around the tidal steps.

"It will be great to see people more connected with the water," she said.

Tourism Bay of Plenty head of marketing Kath Low agreed that the water park would be a positive initiative for Tauranga.

"We are always keen to see new ventures and attractions set up which will entice visitors to stay longer."

Low said Tourism Bay of Plenty was pleased to see interactions with the waterfront after the success of the tidal steps and said the water park would be "very complementary."

Prices

Single Splash 5-9 YEARS OLD
Induction Training
Life jacket Included
50 minutes in the Aqua Park
Must be accompanied by a paying adult/guardian. Ratio 1 adult to every 2 children
Swimming ability required
$13

Single Splash 10 + YEARS OLD
Induction training
Life jacket Included
50 minutes in the Aqua Park
Swimming ability required
$16

Double Splash 5-9 YEARS OLD
Induction training
Life jacket Included
2 sessions in the Aqua Park
Must be accompanied by a paying adult/guardian. Ratio 1 adult to every 2 children
Swimming ability required
$22

Double Splash 10 + YEARS OLD
Induction training
Life jacket Included
2 sessions in the Aqua Park
Swimming ability required
$29