We have lift-off! The Sputnik playground from Te Anau’s waterfront has been refurbished by Fi Innovations. This play equipment, with its eye-catching giant red ‘satellite’ balls, yellow tunnels and blue frames, has been a long-time favourite with children.

Thousands of enthusiastic children had worn through the gelcoat on the slides. The sun and rain had weathered the exterior. Quite a job, but a very worthwhile project.

The first stage was to dismantle the components and load them onto a big truck for transport to Invercargill.

Back at our workshop, the fibreglass parts were repaired, re-gelcoated and/or re-painted.

Before Christmas, it was all transported back to Lion’s Park and re-assembled. This upgrade ensures that future generations of kids can enjoy this iconic ‘space age’ feature.

More info on Te Anau and its parks