WHoW - Aquasports Park

About

Wai Huka o Waitaha is a merger of three exciting ideas - a Whitewater Park, a Surf Park and a Cable Wake Park for Christchurch - to be included in the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor (formerly the Residential Red Zone).

Story

For years it has felt for many of us as though we have been trapped in the roundabout of earthquake response and have almost forgotten what it’s like to be a city that can focus on fun. Those of us behind WHoW are hitting the “go button” on what we hope will set a precedent encouraging fun places for a new liveable city.
WHoW is a merger of a number of ideas that have been bouncing around for a few years now: The two big components are a Whitewater Park and a Surf Park, making up the concept of a fun aquatic park located in the east of Christchurch.
We at WHoW believe that the current engagement around the future use of the Residential Red Zone provides an opportunity to introduce a set of game changers for the city. We are asking for two very simple things;
1: Does the community of Christchurch see the value and potential of the project, on the understanding of course that the numbers stack up; and
2: That Regenerate Christchurch as part of its work looks to run feasibility studies on the project in partnership with us to ascertain the viability of the proposal.
Ian Fox will be representing the Whitewater Park component of WHoW, and Nick Mooney will head up the Surf Park component. The two proposals work in synergy with each other and will maximise the opportunity through co-location. Both Ian and Nick are well versed in their respective fields, with Ian having been an active whitewaterwater paddler for many years and Nick is an avid promoter of surfing.
Ian Fox: “We are just a couple of very keen people with some ideas that we see the merit of including in the future vision for not only the east of Christchurch but the city as a whole and for the benefit of all of New Zealand. We have an opportunity to take disaster and gloom and look to an alternative Christchurch that retains the interest of the population, and looks to bring more people to the city”.
Nick Mooney: “This is such a great project to be involved in and champion, I'm really looking forward to seeing what support and momentum we can gather now given how many people surf here in New Zealand already. I see a real need for fun engaging activities within the city, especially since the quakes- just look at the overwhelming support for the Christchurch Adventure Park and how many people were using it and hopefully will be able to again soon! I surf as often as possible and currently manage surf retail stores here in Christchurch with a good link into the local and broader surf community who are pumped at the prospect of these projects”.
Simply put, the project is looking to be included in the ideas and concepts for the future use of the Residential Red Zone and will be actively seeking support and partners to participate in the early stages of this proposal.
Wai Huka – Why Not