Inside the creepy water park that was once New Zealand’s largest but is now left to rot after its billionaire owner fled
Abandoned, torn apart by the weather and left to rot – one of New Zealand’s largest and most beloved water parks is now an apocalyptic wasteland.
Enter the iconic Waiwera Hot Pools Auckland was central to the local community before becoming a haunting reminder of better times.
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After decades as a destination spot, the resort closed its doors in 2018 with the promise of a major renovation.
But the gates have remained firmly closed, hiding what former visitors have described as a “horror movie.”
Trash floats in green swamp-like pools surrounded by roofless, graffiti-covered buildings.
The entire site is littered with weeds, broken plaster, the remains of chairs, pool covers and dead palm trees.
But the decline had long set in since the former Russian billionaire owner jumped ship a few years ago.
Known for the medicinal properties of its waters, Waiwera was the site of the country’s first tourist spa in the 1880s.
From the 1960s onwards, the spa was continuously developed and modernized to accommodate the increasing influx of tourists in the summer months.
And by the 1990s it had been transformed into an exciting water park, which really had its heyday in the early 2000s.
Every year, up to 350,000 people splashed around in the warm water.
And in 2005 it boasted a number of large water slides, the names of which are still well known to former visitors, including The Black Hole, Twister and Speedslide.
In total it now had 25 swimming pools, including a movie pool and an adult pool.
The park also made money by bottling the famous local water and selling it to restaurants, bars and shops.
Local news channel, The spinoff, described the Waiwera Hot Pools as “a place of hopes and dreams” for all the children who grew up in the area.
A site that “put us on the map” until it was “mismanaged and forgotten,” the outlet said last year.
It referred to Russian Billionaire Mikhail Khimich who became obsessed with Waiwera after trying the water for the first time in 2008.
In 2019, he leased all the land and associated businesses, including the water park and hotel.
However, critics accused the businessman of only being interested in the water bottling business, while he put his energy into promoting the brand worldwide.
Under his leadership, Waiwera Artisan Water began to be shipped internationally and once even won an award for “the best water in the world”.
However, the water park was neglected, underfunded and quickly lost its luster.
It began racking up one-star reviews online as visitors despaired over the “terrible” conditions.
Decay was creeping in, there was algae in the pools, exposed nails at pools and children were getting hurt on the rusting slides.
A few upgrades were made in 2012, but customers said it was far too little too late.
The resort continued to suffer from declining visitor numbers and business closures.
In 2017, plans emerged for major and costly renovations to restore the park to its former glory and also add a brand new section with pirate-themed water slides and a café.
It closed in December and the public was told the renovation could take up to two years.
But it never opened again.
Khimich reportedly fired all employers and construction workers were seen at the site, but they appeared to want to remove it. The spinoff reports.
All the slides were removed, except for the beloved Twister, and the rest of the park was left to rot.
It turned out that Khimich had gone bankrupt and had two years’ worth of unpaid bills on the resort.
He fled the country, leaving the property and reportedly leaving behind hundreds of thousands of debts.
“It looks like something from the Syrian war,” a local man told the YouTube channel. The Information Department.
“It should be bulldozed,” said another.
“The place looks like a bomb site,” said a third.
Now it is back in the hands of its long-term owners, who hope to carry out a complete renovation costing as much as £120 million.
Last year The Sun told the sad story of Water park L’Aquatic Paradiswhich is also called “the creepiest in the world”.
The creepy Spanish The theme park has been abandoned for almost thirty years, leaving locals rotten, rotten and terrified by the grim urban legend behind its closure.
And thousands of miles away, another eerily abandoned water park has terrified local residents.
Ho Thuy Tien Park in Hue. Vietnam was abandoned in the jungle 17 years ago, after only two years of being open.
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