New Zealand's largest inflatable water park opened in central Otago on Sunday.
Kiwi Water Park is Cromwell's newest attraction, bringing in hundreds who braved the cold water of Lake Dunstan to try it out.
Co-owner Emily Rutherford says she first thought the park would work well in New Zealand after seeing how popular they were while living overseas.
But she never thought she'd make it happen until COVID-19 forced her to return home.
"Initially I booked a three-month ticket home, then I realised pretty quick this is going to be going on for a few years, so I thought I'd run with this idea I'd had for a few years," says Rutherford.
She says it wasn't easy to get 10,000 metres of inflatable equipment from one side of the world to central Otago in the middle of a pandemic.
"So many times I thought this might not happen... we had a lot of issues trying to get the consent, we had a lot of issues trying to get the cranes and the mooring blocks, we had a lot of shipping issues getting the containers from China."
But after a long wait, the park finally opened on Sunday.
In Otago gold and blue, the water park is the country's largest, with an obstacle course, a boat swing, diving boards, and a huge blob.
"It's just so surreal to actually finally see it all set up and started and people on it. It's an amazing feeling," Rutherford says.
Kiwi Water Park is only open for the summer.
