infonews.co.nz
INDEX
TOURISM

World's largest inflatable water slide inflated at Tekapo Springs

Tuesday 29 October 2013, 2:26PM

By Southern Public Relations

1230 views

The Trippo Slide, the world's largest inflatable water slide at Tekapo Springs.
The Trippo Slide, the world's largest inflatable water slide at Tekapo Springs. Credit: Tekapo Springs

The wait is finally over as the world’s largest inflatable water slide, The Trippo, was fully inflated at Tekapo Springs today (October 25 2013) after its long journey from the USA manufacturers.

The multi-award winning South Island tourism attraction will unveil its brand new Trippo Slide at an invite –only event next Friday November 1 2013.

The Trippo Slide will then open to the public on November 2 in time for the busy summer season, making it the first location outside the USA to have the attraction.

The oversized inflatable water slide with three slide chutes spans an impressive 11 metres (36 feet) high and 53 metres (175 feet) in length and will be located on Tekapo Springs’ outdoor skating rink during the summer season.

The slide will operate throughout summer until end March 2014 and will replace the company’s roller skating attraction which normally operates in summer.

Tekapo Springs General Manager Cathy Hemsworth said it was “fantastic” to have the slide on site as the anticipation had “been killing us”.

“The team and I are so excited to finally have The Trippo Slide at Tekapo Springs and we’re all fighting over who gets to have a go first” said Mrs Hemsworth.

The company had been looking for “an iconic and fun” summer activity for some time and the Trippo Slide literally “jumped out” as a perfect fit.

Mrs Hemsworth said news of the Trippo Slide’s impending arrival had been greeted with a lot of excitement from the Canterbury region and further afield.

“Since the announcement our phones have been red-hot with people asking more about The Trippo, when it’ll be open and whether they can book it for private functions. We’ve even had an enquiry from Auckland to lease it.”

“It’s a huge coup for us to be bringing the Trippo to New Zealand because there’s nothing quite like this in Australasia.

“People are really excited about it opening and that’s really great to see. We’re obviously on to a good thing,” said Mrs Hemsworth.

After some test-runs by eager staff, friends and locals next week, The Trippo Slide will be officially opened on November 1 by Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism CEO Tim Hunter.

“We’re delighted that Tim has agreed to officially open The Trippo,” said Mrs Hemsworth.

“It’s a pleasure to be officially opening the slide to the public,” said Mr Hunter.

“It’s an exciting and welcome addition to the Mackenzie region’s tourism offering and the addition of such a fun and quirky new product will attract a lot of interest from a broad range of visitors,” he said.
Pricing for The Trippo Slide will be $20 per adult and $15 for children up to 16 years for a single entry all day pass.

Tekapo Springs is an established tourism business on the shores of Lake Tekapo and provides year-round activities and fun for all the family. It has won numerous tourism and business awards since its inception just six years ago, including Category and Supreme Winner at the South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce Awards 2010 and Tourism Category Winner at the 2013 Awards.

This year Tekapo Springs were finalists in the Champion Canterbury Awards – the biggest regional business awards in the country.