Let's play! An EPIC playground experience, challenging and meaningful fun for everyone.

Set inside the stunning, sandy and shallow Caroline Bay in Timaru District you'll find a special playground designed to tap into childrens adventurous fantasies.

This playground embraces a range of ages, stages, abilities, and sizes to foster inclusive play. Embark on an fun-filled journey exploring the shipwreck, conquering the lighthouse slide tower, engage with the mahika kai-themed play area, challenge yourself in the floor-is-lava obstacle course, and soar through the air on a 50 m tandem flying fox and under the watchfull eye of the taniwha. Let imagination run wild and draw inspiration from the stories and history of the area while you play at the bay.

Situated within Caroline Bay Park, this destination playground stands as one of the Southern Hemisphere's largest, making it a must-visit for families holidaying in South Canterbury. Bring along your bikes, skateboards, balls, and picnic gear to make the most of the surrounding amenities, including a paddling pool, tennis courts, basketball courts, bike polo, skate park, and a bike skills park.

This playground was a voluntary community initiative by "CPlay" to create a new destination playground at Caroline Bay - by the community - for the community, and officially opened 10th December 2023.

Let's play, have fun and create memories.

The new playground,  surrounded by existing tennis courts, paddling pool, skate park and bike skills park, with view out to Caroline Bay, Timaru. - Photo South Canterbury Drone Photography

Come play at Caroline Bay playground

• A fun and free experience for residents, visitors and tourists.
• More sensory and accessible equipment and landscaping to suit a range of abilities, body sizes, and ages.
• More challenging and open ended and imaginative play equipment to stimulate physical and mental activity. 
• Safer, stronger and more durable play equipment and surfacing.
• Year-round comfort with improved drainage, seating, tables and shade.
• A space to connect to our Māori and European stories, history and heritage, themed to Caroline Bay environment, and history. 
• A place to learn through moving, communicating, noticing, interacting, wondering and experimenting.
• Over 40 play pieces including mahika kai areas with a mound in the shape of a tuna eel and a whare play house, 14.5m long shipwreck, 10m high lighthouse, floor is lava challenge, slides, trampolines swings, mouse wheel, 50m double flying fox, and the Timaru District's nostelgic yellow horse from the 1960s!
• The entire playground area is now one of the largest in New Zealand, 16,288.86 m2 (the largest at the time it was built), including the paddling pool, courts, bike skills park, and skatepark.

There's lots of play to be had at the bay!

Thank you to everyone who has supported the CPlay volunteers. Your contributionsthrough support, donations, supply and work, has helped create a playground where everyone can grow stronger, smarter, and happier together. Let's play!