Mangawhai funding ramps up activity zone

Funding has been secured to start building a cross-fit fitness gym at the Mangawhai Activity Zone (MAZ).The work will be funded from a $20,000 grant from the the Mangawhai Endowment Land Account (MELA) and $10,000 from Pub Charities.

MAZ chair Colin Gallagher says the zone is a family area so they were keen to incorporate something for adults.

“We see plenty of people exercising at the activity zone so that’s why we chose to put the money into a fitness set up,” he says.

The gym will comprise an exercise circuit consisting of 12 stations.

Colin says they will probably need around double the money to complete the project, but he hopes to get part of the circuit underway within the next two to three months.

A rocker boat for children was installed at the zone earlier this month and the first of three drinking fountains has been put in the playground.

Colin approached Kaipara District Council this month with a request for $500,000 to complete the activity zone skate area.

The upgrade would include a flow bowl and street plaza area to make it into a training facility for those interested in skateboarding at the Olympics, with the sport set to join the games in 2020.

Last December, an $11,000 cricket pitch was put down and is already being utilised by a coach for cricket training once a week. The project is being paid for from crowd funding donations on social media, which has so far raised $35,000.

In addition, a $36,000 pirate ship was imported from Germany and put in after designs for a castle proved too expensive. A total of $15,000 from the MELA fund will go towards putting shade covers over the ship.Colin says the zone is proving popular, with over 30,000 visitors between December 26 and January 31.