Month: February 2022

Treetops Adventure St Ives

February 22, 2022 / Outdoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life / 0 comment

Treetops Adventure St Ives

Soar to new heights on the rope courses and ziplines at Treetops Adventure St Ives, located at the St Ives Showground on the southern border of Ku-ring-gai National Park, Sydney.

The newest in the Treetops Adventure parks, St Ives Tree Ropes Course Park boasts 95+ aerial obstacles and 10+ ziplines which can be experienced on their 8 tree ropes courses. Courses start at 1m for the littlest climbers, up to 15 metres for older kids and adults.

Each climbing session at Treetops Adventure St Ives goes for 2.5 hours, which includes gearing up and a safety talk.

The climbing sessions run somewhat differently now at all of the Treetops Adventures parks, regarding children who can climb alone and those who need an adult to climb with them as a course supervisor.

Tickets are required for grown-ups who will be climbing as course supervisors. Tickets are not required for ground supervisors. See below for details on the age groups, courses and adult supervision required.

Juniors (3-7)
No Grown-Up access on Junior & Junior Pro courses
1 Adult : 4 Juniors
Ground supervision only

Child (8-12 yrs)
1 Adult : 4 Children
Course supervision required

Child (13-17 yrs)
1 Adult : 15 Children
Ground supervision only

Courses available for each age group

JUNIOR
3-7 YRS
2 courses

BEGINNER
8+ YRS
2 courses

INTERMEDIATE
8+ YRS
2 courses

ADVANCED
10+ YRS
1 course

EXPERT
13+ YRS
1 course

What to wear

Secure, enclosed shoes (such as sneakers) are required. Treetops recommends wearing appropriate clothing, suitable for both the harness and physical activity. They do not recommend crop-tops, shorts and skirts that can ride up when worn with the harness. Long hair must be tied back. Gloves are provided but you’re welcome to bring your own gloves or purchase your own pair at check-in.

KidZip sessions are available if you would prefer any kids aged 8-12 to climb without a supervising adult from your own party. In the KidZip sessions, a group of 20 or so climbers are taken through the various courses with a Treetops Adventure staff member.

While the KidZip option is an excellent one if you prefer not to climb yourself, be aware that the group is large (20+ climbers) and moves extremely slowly with only one staff member supervising. In our sessions, the kids only completed three ropes courses in the two hour period and spent a lot of the time waiting for the rest of the group to catch up. I would certainly advise the better option to get better value and more exercise would be to climb as a group with your own supervising adult.

There are drinks, ice blocks and snacks available at the check in / booking desk, however there is no cafe at the facility or nearby. There are plenty of picnic tables to bring your own food however.

Before or after the climb, check out the excellent St Ives Showground Playground.

There is plenty of parking available – drive all the way to the Treetops Adventure through the St Ives Showground.

Treetops Adventure St Ives
450 Mona Vale Rd, St Ives
Hours: School Term Mon-Fr, 10am-5pm, Sat & Sun, 9am-5pm
School & Public Holidays Mon-Sun, 9am-5pm
Closed Christmas Day & New Years Day
0434 377 865
stives@treetopsadventure.com.au
treetopsadventure.com.au/location/st-ives

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Hotel Review: Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort & Spa

February 8, 2022 / Australia, Blue Mountains, Katoomba, NSW, Travel / 0 comment

Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort & Spa

Escape to the luxurious Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort and Spa for a weekend of pampering, delicious food and relaxation.

Just 90 minutes’ drive from Sydney CBD, Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort & Spa the perfect place to unwind and relax, in the heart of the World Heritage Listed Blue Mountains National Park.

Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort & Spa offers 89 spacious guestrooms and suites, each room featuring elegant décor with Wedgwood wallpaper themed in pink, green or lilac, high speed Wi-Fi access and LCD TV and DVD player.

We chose a deluxe twin room which include two queen size beds. Each deluxe twin room also features a spacious marbled bathroom with full sized bath and separate walk-in shower, individually controlled air conditioning, iPod docking unit, ergonomic work space, laptop-sized safe, mini bar, tea and coffee making facilities, 24 hour room service, ironing facilities, hairdryer, APPELLES bathroom amenities and dry cleaning service.

Check in time is from 3pm and check-out time is 11am.

We ordered room service. The door came quickly and was fresh and hot.

Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort & Spa has fantastic facilities available to guests, including a spa, tennis court, reading room, games, room, 13m outdoor infinity pool and 10m indoor pool. Both pools are heated year ’round. There is also complimentary mountain bike hire available.

The gardens are also stunning.

There are several dining options at the hotel: the award-winning hatted Darley’s restaurant, a more casual lunch and menu and high tea service in The Lounge, and Orangery Restaurant, which is where daily breakfast is served.

You can read about our previous high tea experience here. Lilianfel’s has one of the best high teas we have ever experienced.

The Lounge is beautiful, bright space filled with comfortable lounge chairs.

Our package included a delicious breakfast at Orangery Restaurant. Choose from a continental buffet of cereals, pastries, breads, fruit and yoghurt, plus a selection from the hot menu.

Complimentary parking is available onsite located opposite the front of the main hotel building or Darley’s Restaurant. There is also undercover parking available underneath the main building.

Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort & Spa
5/19 Lilianfels Ave
Katoomba, NSW
lilianfels.com.au

Find things to do in the Blue Mountains here.

Boongaree Nature Play Park, Berry Playground

February 4, 2022 / Australia, Berry, NSW, South Coast, Travel / 0 comment

Boongaree Nature Play Park, Berry Playground

Boongaree Nature Play Park is located in the town of Berry on the NSW south coast. The first stage of the playground opened in January 2022.

On the outskirts of the beautiful country town of Berry lies a fantastic new regional playground, Boongaree Nature Play Park.

The Nature Play Park has seperate play areas for younger and older kids. Equipment includes a dual, accessible flying fox, sensory play area, swings, slides, climbing nets and exercise equipment.

The giant hamster wheel was a huge hit with kids of all ages.

There is a large grassed area for picnics, BBQs, covered picnic tables and amenities with lift and change facilities.

An accessible play area is located at the front of the Berry playground, including a ground-level carousel and accessible swings.

There is also a water and sand play area with pumps located at the front of the Berry playground.

Bring bikes and scooters to try the new skate paths with traffic signs.

A skate bowl is located towards the back of the playground, which looks to be scheduled for replacement with a newer skate park in the next phase of the playground, due to start 2022 quarter two. A fenced dog park is also planned.