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Roll on into Queenstown - it's got one of the best skate parks in the country.
Skateboarding is a massive movement throughout New Zealand with both teens and adults alike enjoying the fast 'n' furious adrenalin rush that comes with fanging around on four wheels beneath a small board. With so many excellent skate parks being built around the country, they're a place for communities to come together and enjoy both the sport itself and a common space to hang out. Localist spoke with New Zealand legend and skate park builder Jason Parkes from Premium Skate Park Designs to find out the top skate parks in New Zealand that you should be skating at right now. Be prepared to ride these and feel stoked as!
1) Mangawhai Skate Park
"This is such a cool skate park because it's a real community project that's always growing and changing," says Jason. "And the people at Mangawhai have really got behind it, which is why it was one of my favourites to be a part of." Plus, it's got two decent bowls, a fast set of stairs and a whole lotta fun tricks for both bowl and street skaters, scooters and bikers alike.
Based in Albany, Auckland, Hooten Reserve is a bit of a hidden gem for skaters and the place that local riders love to go. It was built by Jason and his team to include both options for bowl skaters, as well as to create a street skate plaza that's the stuff of legend. "There's a few skate shops near here and some sweet places to go and get supplies so it's a place where people can skate all day," says Jason. "And if you get there early it's not crowded."
Nestled in the heart of the Waikato, it might not seem like the first place you'd find an excellent skate park but the Ngaruawahia Park is fast getting on the radar of the best skaters both here in New Zealand and from around the world. "It's recently had a refurb," says Jason. "Now there's a super-sweet snake run and it's growing in popularity."
Life doesn't get much better for Kiwi kids than being able to surf in the morning and skate in the afternoon or vice versa so it's no surprise that the beachside town of Raglan on Waikato's West Coast allows adrenalin junkies to do this. Jason loves this park because of it's cool location and the fact it combines both surfing and skating together. "There's so many cool elements in this park that it attracts all different kinds of skaters," he says.
"I designed a park that's got a bowl and street skating all in one," says Jason. "And it's become really popular, which is cool as." Indeed, Hastings Skate Park, which was commissioned by the Hastings District Council, is a hit with the locals and has created a positive youth culture with both skaters, scooter riders and BMX enthusiasts hitting up its quarter pipe, rails, stairs and bowls every day of the week.
It's the adventure capital of New Zealand so it's no surprise that Jason and his team were commissioned to create a "sick-as" skate plaza complex that would cater for both local and international skaters alike. When the mountain is closed in the summer, "this place goes off!" explains Jason. "What's cool as a skater is that there's so many options and the concrete is super smooth."
7) Wanaka Skate ParkBoasting one of the most epic views in New Zealand, the Wanaka Skate Park sits directly in front of the majestic Lake Wanaka and below the Remarkables. "I spend a lot of time in Wanaka each year and this is one of my personal favourites, in terms of smooth and fast skating," says Jason. "The new Wanaka bowl is a really exciting addition and we've had enquiries from all over the world about hosting events there, including Bowl-a-rama (the world skate bowl riding series).
8) Lynfield BowlThey say there's no skool like the old skool and that's why Jason cites the Lynfield Bowl in Auckland as one of the places people like to skate in Auckland for not only its fast runs but also because there's a whole lot of nostalgia in this bowl. "I grew up skating in the late eighties and this reminds me of the stuff I used to skate as a kid," explains the North Shore local. "There's something pretty cool about that feeling as a skater."
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