Kiwis love to swim outside, whether in a pool, the ocean, rivers, or lakes, but even the most beautiful swimming sites can be dangerous. There are various Upper Hutt pools and swimming holes that you and your family may enjoy. However, to thoroughly enjoy your swimming experience, there are a few things you need to keep in mind to keep everyone safe while having a good time. Aside from familiarising yourself with the swimming area and following LAWA's swim smart checklist, it is critical to have the necessary swimming skills to stay safe in the water.

To swim safely in rivers and lakes in New Zealand, one must use caution and consideration, especially given the absence of patrols and signage at some swimming spots. As a guide, follow these actions:

  • Utilise the Land Air Water Aotearoa website to assess the water quality at the swimming hole of your choice.
  • Never swim alone; only do it in open water if you are an experienced swimmer.
  • Inform someone of your group's location and your estimated return time.
  • Check the water for dangers both upstream and where you intend to swim.
  • Never swim after taking drugs or alcohol.

Swimming pools and spa pools are commonplace for many New Zealanders. They offer fantastic chances for friends and family to come together and enjoy themselves, but you must still exercise caution. Keep in mind this advice:

  • Walking rather than running around swimming pools is best.
  • Always follow the pool's safety regulations.
  • Pay attention to the lifeguards' directions.
  • Avoid diving into a pool until you are confident it is deep enough, and always look around before getting into the water.

At Fulton Swim School, we place a high focus on safety. Everybody can learn securely and confidently in all of our swim school locations thanks to our implemented mechanisms. We teach our students the "Do the Five" method to help them learn the five most important safety precautions to take before entering the water and swimming. 

Fulton Swim School's Upper Hutt pool offers swimming lessons for children as young as three months old up to adults. Our swimming lessons are organised so that everyone starts swimming at the proper level for their swimming capabilities, not essentially their age. In this way, they won't consider swimming to be particularly difficult. We adapt as your child grows older or their swimming ability increases to ensure they acquire the most refined water safety techniques. We educate students on water safety techniques such as water acclimatisation and respect, building confidence in secure entries and exits, breath control, survival swimming strokes, floating, mobility, and improving standard strokes so they can swim farther and more quickly.

All our instructors are certified by Swimming New Zealand, and many have received NZSCTA teaching honours. We limit the number of students per instructor to a maximum of five. The building has plenty of seats, including a viewing deck and chairs beside the pool. On-site restrooms, baby changing stations, showers, and changing rooms are available.

The constant temperature of 32 degrees in our pools ensures that all young and old swimmers are always cosy and comfortable. The pool's depth varies from 0.8 to 1.2 metres, and we have various benches to help students. We utilise the bare minimum of chlorine required by law because we have a cutting-edge water treatment system, which means we don't use any toxic chemicals that aren't necessary.

Swimming Spots near Upper Hutt

After taking a few classes at Fulton Swim School and feeling comfortable with your swimming abilities, it's time to cool off at one of the swimming holes near Upper Hutt.

Arena Aquatic Centre

The Arena Aquatic Centre at Te Rauparaha Arena is popular with visitors from all over the world. It's an entertainment area as well as a pool.

The Arena Aquatics facility includes:

  • a heated, 25-metre, seven-lane pool with a minimum depth of 1.2 metres and a maximum depth of 2 metres
  • a toddlers' pool with a minimum depth of 0.4 metres and heated up to 38 degrees
  • a heated leisure pool with free-form waves, a beach-style entrance, a maximum depth of 1.6 metres
  • heated spa pools
  • a hydro slide with some height restrictions
  • a "lazy river" 
  • inflatables for youngsters on special occasions. 

Aqua jogging is also a highly sought-after form of exercise that they offer. Swimmers of all levels can enjoy the water thanks to the staff-operated pool hoist and the aquatic wheelchair. There are also lockers for rent and various changing rooms available (gender-specific, family rooms, and persons with reduced mobility). They treat their swimming pools with ozone, which allows them to use less chlorine in both the lane and recreational pools.

Stokes Valley Pool+Fitness

They offer a 25-metre indoor pool with a separate learning pool adjacent and amenities for those with impairments. There is a sauna, spa pool, an outside space with a playground for kids, and a BBQ.

Huia Pool

A hydrotherapy pool for fitness and rehabilitation, a gym for health and well-being, and a specially constructed pool for Huia's wildly popular Swim City lessons are just a few of the amenities. The learn-to-swim pool was built to accommodate the escalating demand for water safety lessons. The construction of a new facility will also free up space in the current children's pool and allow more area for lane swimmers and recreational users in the main pool. The new pool is 25 by 10 metres and is housed in a separate structure.

Cannons Creek Pool

With a 25-m length, 1-m depth, and a consistent temperature of 30 °C, their swimming pool is ideal for teaching young and older adults to swim. They are open every day of the week in the centre of Cannons Creek. Nearby schools utilise the pool, but they also schedule public swim times.

On Saturdays and Sundays, you can reserve Cannons Creek Pool for a celebration from 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. It doesn't have to be a birthday, but it will undoubtedly be a special occasion. They offer a wonderful playground and open-air BBQ area with picnic tables. You provide the food, non-alcoholic beverages, and utensils while they supply the seats, tables, sun umbrellas, lifeguards, and poolside entertainment.

Wrapping Up

On those sweltering days over the holidays, we hope this post will provide you with plenty of suggestions for places to take your kids swimming in the Upper Hutt area.

We strongly advise you to go through with your kids our five safety tips for staying safe in the water before visiting one of these pools:

  • Always be supervised.
  • Learn to swim.
  • Never swim alone.
  • Look for hazards.
  • Become familiar with first aid.

If you visit any of the abovementioned pools, we wish you a lovely time and ask that you tag us in any fun pictures you take this summer. You may find us on Facebook and Instagram.