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I’ve always loved water parks, mostly because nothing makes you behave more like a kid than sliding down giant waterslides into a big body of water. My family and I used to make an annual trip to Sun City each December and (obviously) the thing I looked forward to the most was The Valley of the Waves, with its epic waterslides and crystal-clear pools. It was like heaven to a kid. Luckily for me my love of waterslides has stayed with me and now at the ripe old age of 27 I still enjoy the thrill of getting soaking wet while sliding down an oversized PVC pipe - which is why I was so thrilled to find Pines Resort in Krugersdorp!
This past weekend my friends and I took a trip to Pines Resort and absolutely loved every minute of it. The water park is located about 25km from Johannesburg but it’s so worth the drive! Pines is a day resort and your entrance fee includes the use of swimming pools, waterslides and parking for vehicles outside the resort area. I loved that the resort has a huge amount of designated picnic and braai spots, complete with individual braais and grids. We picked a spot on the upper level of the grassy knoll and set up camp for the day with picnic blankets, a cooler box filled with drinks and plenty of snacks. There’s also a convenience shop on-site selling brickets, firelighters, drinks, snacks and anything else you may have forgotten.
The resort has three water slides – The Speed Slides, Mountain Slide and the Aqua Slide. My friends and I had great fun racing each other down The Speed Slides (two long straight slides that dart down a hill) and we absolutely loved The Mountain Slide which has three different levels with a slide and catchment pool on each level. The Aqua Slide was a little slow for our taste but is a fantastic slide for little ones who are still plucking up the courage to try the more daring slides. The resort also has a massive Olympic-sized swimming pool for cooling off, as well as a baby pool (with its own little slide) for the tots who are still wearing water wings.
Pines Resort is open from 09:00 – 17:00 on Saturdays, Sundays and Public holidays and fills up quickly. We arrived at 11:00 and there were already stacks of people there when we started to set up camp. Entrance changes depending on the time of year. During off peak season (1 September – 30 September and 2 January to 1 April) entrance is R80 per person for ages 7 and up, R40 for pensioners and little ones aged between 2 and 6. Peak season (1 October – 1 January) is slightly pricier with entrance being R100 for ages 7 and up and R50 for pensioners and little ones.
 
 
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