Kakanui Esplanade Playground

If you haven’t made the trip out to Kakanui yet, you’re missing out — this little playground sits right where the river meets the sea, and the views alone are worth the drive. It’s geared toward younger kids, nothing too wild, but they’ll probably ditch the equipment anyway once they clock the beach access and start poking around the river mouth. Keep an eye out for little blue penguins if you’re there around dusk, because sightings aren’t uncommon in this area. There are walking paths nearby if the adults need to stretch their legs, and the toilets are on-site which, honestly, is a bigger deal than people give it credit for when you’ve got small children in tow.