Whangarei Aquatic Centre

“Pretty big place! Lots of swimming to be done here they even have a gym and a sauna! The baby pools are very cute and nice and warm inside. Plenty of parking but a little tight! Water nice and warm for the babies 👶”

“The Whangarei Aquatic Centre seems to be dated and rundown. It definitely needs some maintenance or even a complete revamp. It's in a prime location and has the potential to be the jewel in the crown and a tourist destination with some clever planning and forethought. Situated around the vibrant Town Basin area and close to the world famous Hundertwasser Art Centre, Clapham's Clocks, Whangarei Art Museum, Hātea Loop Walkway and in the shadow of Mount Parihaka. There's plenty of parking but the current design has been poorly executed because the carpark is located so far away from the main pool entrance and they have not taken into account families with babies and toddlers or elderly people. There's plenty of mobility parking and there's a designated drop off and pick-up point for people with a disability, that provides easy access and egress right outside the main pool entrance. There's a large outdoor BBQ area with a few tables. But unfortunately there's no children's playground, shaded area or outdoor swimming pool. There's an outdoor diving pool which has been there since it opened in 1965. It's looking very dilapidated with rust coming through the paint on the steelwork and mould on the diving boards and it's the first thing you see upon entering the pools. They have a good selection of heated indoor pools including a tots pool, wave pool, water slide, hydrotherapy pool, spa pool, sauna, 25m lane pool, gym and cafe. They seem to always have sufficient numbers of lifeguards on duty doing a great job. They do not provide lock-up lockers! However there's a limited number of small pigeon hole shelving attached to the wall if you really want to risk losing your phone, wallet and keys! The Whangarei Aquatic Centre is popular and has served the community well for a long time but in it's current state it clearly needs some maintenance. Really obvious things like trip hazards in the BBQ area, bags left in walkways because there's not enough lockers, poor lighting, paint peeling off the walls in the changing room, broken door locks and tiles, rust coming through the paint on the waterslide steps and dive tower, mould, dirty windows. Most importantly I'm not sure what the water quality is like and how often it is tested but I imagine it would have to comply with strict water quality safety standards, however they obviously missed the slimy green sand in the spa pool on the day I was there. To me the overall standard of maintenance is poor and it hasn't just happened overnight. Not sure if it's due to poor management by CLM or a lack of funding by WDC or both? The Whangarei Aquatic Centre is owned by the Whangarei District Council and is managed by private company (CLM) Community Leisure Management (according to Stuff 2 days ago) The Whangarei District Council has proposed a record high 17.2% rates increase in 2024, almost double that of it's previous highest increase (according to RNZ) There's definitely room for improvement and CLM and WDC need to have more transparency and accountability. The Whangarei community and rate payers deserve better!”