kingdragonfly: Fantastic links, especially
treesforcanterbury.org.nz: Creating a lawn alternative with native plants

FineWine:

Dichondra repens, (Mercury Bay weed), has leaves that become tighter when walked on. My brother swears by it.

Eva888: Does anyone know the name of the grass that grows on the foreshore of Kapiti around the play area. That stuff seems to grow across rather than upward and feels like a very thick soft carpet. It doesn’t appear to ever be mown. I’d grow it in a heartbeat.

Sounds like Kikuyu.  Doesnt seed, just spreads outwards

Edit: aah see you found it.  Very drought tolerent, can be mowed, but you will need reel mower to get it looking sweeeet

Eva888: Does anyone know the name of the grass that grows on the foreshore of Kapiti around the play area. That stuff seems to grow across rather than upward and feels like a very thick soft carpet. It doesn’t appear to ever be mown. I’d grow it in a heartbeat.

You also could consider non vegetation based permeable ground covering's. Gravel, Riverstones etc. Heaps of stunning photos of grass free landscaping online.

Or semi-permeable like ground level decking

That said I do like the look of Dichondra repens in photos.

Finally if it is mowing that is the issue, rather than just a dislike of grass, you could consider paying somebody to mow it, rather than going to the effort of re-landscaping.

neb:

Eva888: Does anyone know the name of the grass that grows on the foreshore of Kapiti around the play area. That stuff seems to grow across rather than upward and feels like a very thick soft carpet. It doesn’t appear to ever be mown. I’d grow it in a heartbeat.

Don't know the place but buffalo grass would be a likely candidate for something like that.

Bung: Buffalo is something you'd choose to grow. Kikuyu needs tight control, once it spreads you'll find it infesting any other gardens. We have stems of it growing in the walls. I found that out when it came out of an older PDL mains socket.

This stuff....

https://unreallawns.co.nz/

Grass is great especially in cookies, scones and coffee😇

neb:

Bung: Buffalo is something you'd choose to grow. Kikuyu needs tight control, once it spreads you'll find it infesting any other gardens. We have stems of it growing in the walls. I found that out when it came out of an older PDL mains socket.

Never really had problems with it, you just need to put boundaries on it, e.g. concrete mowing strips or verges. Actually I wish I could grow kikuyu here, tried twice with outrageously expensive seed and it mostly died off again after a month or so. The naturally-spread stuff is fine, but growing it from seed doesn't seem to work.

Eva888: I wonder if sprinkling sand is the answer to your kikuyu attempts. I note that it grows very well in Kapiti Wellington next to the dunes and there’s quite a bit of sand between and under it. I’m tempted to give it a go in a small contained area.

 

Never really had problems with it, you just need to put boundaries on it, e.g. concrete mowing strips or verges. Actually I wish I could grow kikuyu here, tried twice with outrageously expensive seed and it mostly died off again after a month or so. The naturally-spread stuff is fine, but growing it from seed doesn't seem to work.

I wonder if sprinkling sand is the answer to your kikuyu attempts. I note that it grows very well in Kapiti Wellington next to the dunes and there’s quite a bit of sand between and under it. I’m tempted to give it a go in a small contained area.

If you have a clay lawn watch out about spreading sand. If you get unlucky you will essentially create concrete.

Lots of organic matter first then like 10 years later sand.