Aotea Lagoon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aotea Lagoon is a lagoon located just north of the Porirua city centre in New Zealand's North Island. It, as well as two other lagoons, were created from Porirua Harbour by the construction of a causeway for the North Island Main Trunk Railway, but when State Highway 1 was realigned to run alongside the railway, the lagoons were partially filled in. The decision was taken to save Aotea Lagoon as a recreational facility for the surrounding suburbs, and it opened in 1980. The facility was developed by the New Zealand Ministry of Works, who initially intended to fill in the lagoon to create playing fields, but after pressure from the local council, the lagoon was kept.

A miniature ride-on railway is built along the shore of the lagoon and features a tunnel. A children's playground is located at the northern end, and at the southern end are gardens in which weddings are sometimes held.