Christine Knight, Author at Adventure, baby!

Christine Knight

Christine is the editor of Adventure, Baby!

Franny’s: Kid-Friendly Restaurants, Park Slope/Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, New York

March 19, 2014 / Brooklyn Bites, New York, New York Food, Park Slope, Prospect Heights / 1 Comment

Franny’s is a firm neighbourhood favorite for families. As well as serving up a great pizza pie, Franny’s is committed to sustainable agriculture. They buy locally grown foods and serve seasonal produce. The vegetables, fruits, eggs, dairy, and fish are largely sourced from local and/or organic producers; all the meats at Franny’s are from sustainable sources, containing no hormones or antibiotics. It’s a place you can go to and feel really good about what you are eating there.

While this is all well and good, the question remains . . . Are their pizzas any good?? We dropped in recently with some hungry friends and proceeded to test out a significant section of their pizza menu, in search of the perfect slice.

Franny’s is a goodly size, with plenty of seating and space. We arrived at peak lunch hour with a party of four adults and two wiggly toddlers and were quickly seated at our table. Missy E was in a particularly squirmy mood since we hadn’t had time to stop at a playground beforehand to wear her out (not the smartest move we’ve ever made, but thank God we had the iPhones). Franny’s was our destination of choice because I was really feeling pizza that day, and our friends were big Franny’s fans. They also have a lot of tables so you’ve always got a pretty good chance of being seated straight away with no wait, even with a party the size of ours (Franny’s only tasks reservations for parties of 8 – 12).

Our umbrella strollers were stored in their stroller and scooter parking space (note — bring a folding stroller only as there is no room for the jumbo ones inside).

The service was adequate but nothing special. Not particularly fast, even though we had two toddlers with us who really did not want to be sitting down for long. We ordered four pies (it seems like a lot, but hey, don’t forget that pizza is a toddler crowd-favorite!). Tomato, Buffalo Mozzarella and Sausage ($17); Tomato, Basil and Buffalo Mozzarella ($16); Wax Peppers, Onions, Olives, Oregano and Provolone Piccante ($17); and Tomato, Buffalo Mozzarella and Meatballs ($17).

The pizzas come as one giant pie, requiring you to cut it up with cutlery yourself. The pies are pretty big — larger than personal, but not as big as family. If you’re particularly hungry and are sharing with a pizza-loving toddler, you and any other adults you dine with may want to order as we did (ahem, one each). The base is soft and pliable, with a crisp bottom (no soggy pizza!) and the high-grade toppings deliciously melt together. I’d prefer the toppings to be closer to the edge of the pizza since I prefer a higher topping-to-crust ratio. The pizza tasted as a great pizza should — mouthfuls of slightly sweet tomato sauce and stringy mozzarella.

Missy E ADORES pizza and was in absolute heaven. With the DIY pizza-slicing, we could cut her pieces into the perfect size for little toddler hands. Luckily I’d remembered her disposable bib, which was absolutely integral to saving the adorable outfit I’d dressed her in that morning. E eats pizza with gusto, shall we say. And in large quantities. Two adult size slices vanished into her tummy like she was a Toddler Pizza Houdini that day. Amazingly she sat still while she was eating — it was literally the only time she sat still for an entire meal. The rest of her time at Franny’s was spent running up and down the bench Alec and I were seated on. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it before — but so far E is a vegetarian like me, so the only pizza she was sampling was mine.

Little E’s friend who was dining with us and her parents is a few months younger. Not quite so active, she’s usually happier to sit rather than stand/run/drive the servers wild like Cheese does. It was the cutest thing to watch the two little pizza fans gorging themselves, and knowing that at least it was a relatively healthy meal (for a pizza, I mean!). Pizza is often my fall-back for Cheese because I know she’s guaranteed to eat it. At Franny’s, at least I don’t feel so lazy for our meal choice, because of the super healthy ingredients.

For dessert, walk a few blocks over to Ample Hills Creamery to complete a day of deliciousness.

Last bite: Great pizza that will cost you a pretty penny but that you can feel really good about. Enjoy easting local, seasonal and organic produce, and give your kids some big chunks of pizza to gnaw on (and enjoy slicing it up yourself).

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: Yes.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: No.
Kids’ menu: No.

Franny’s
348 Flatbush Ave
New York, NY 11238
Phone: (718) 230-0221
Hours: Sun-Thur 12pm-11pm Fri-Sat 12pm-11:30pm

Get directions.

The Grounds of Alexandria: Meet Kevin Bacon Over Brekkie + Sydney Park

March 12, 2014 / Alexandria, Eastern Suburbs, Sydney Food / 2 Comments

For a long time, whispers about an inner city cafe with a pet pig had been reaching my ears (and clogging up my Facebook stream), even while I was living in New York. On my return to the homeland, the first place I was dying to check out for breakfast was The Grounds of Alexandra. This family-owned and operated cafe was built within an old pie factory from the 1900s, retaining the rustic charm while serving up speciality coffee and wholesome food. The Grounds opens up into a garden filled with heirloom vegetables and herbs, which are picked every morning and used throughout the day in the cafe. Be sure to plan your visit for the first weekend of the month, when The Grounds hosts a market filled with fresh produce and other goods.

A big draw for The Grounds is its star, Kevin Bacon. The pig. This Kevin Bacon resides in a little petting zoo for kids, along with chickens and a sheep. He made headlines last year when he was pignapped (along with Bradley the lamb), turning up at an animal sanctuary in Victoria. Luckily for us, Kevin is fully recovered from his ordeal, and is back, along with Bradley, at The Grounds.

The Grounds also features a little playhouse or kids, fenced in (yay!), with a slide and little climbing wall. Considering the wait time for a table, this playhouse and the animals are saviours for parents of itchy-footed toddlers.

Our party included one small toddler, one medium toddler and one preschooler — and The Grounds had something to suit everyone. A cute kids’ menu suited the preschooler (who ordered the burger and fries), hot chips and a kid-sized smoothie for the toddlers (the soothie came in a jar shaped like a bear. The cuteness!!). The adults ordered the Avocado Smash (with poached eggs), Asparagus and Herb Frittata and Salmon with Quinoa. I didn’t note down the exact names of the dishes and prices, and then sadly realised they weren’t listed on their site (d’oh!!). The food was all absolutely delicious, from the smoothie and hot chips, to the famous Avocado Smash.

After our meal, we spotted a gelato stand in the cafe grounds, and ordered a scoop of Pavlova Gelato ($4). It was so good we went back for seconds.

The kids were all going a little nuts after having to sit down for lunch, so we drove down the road to the playground at Sydney Park. The playground is huge, and has great features for kids aged toddler and up, including the rope bridge below, huge slides, swings and a giant sandpit.

Last Bite: Delicious food, fun for the kids, and a nearby park. A perfect score.

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: Yes.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: No.
Kids’ menu: Yes.

The Grounds of Alexandria
Building 7A/2 Huntley St,
Alexandria NSW 2015
Phone: 02 9699 2225
Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-4pm, Sat & Sun 7:30am-4pm
Get Directions

Sydney Park
Barwon Park Road
St Peters, NSW, 2044
Entrance to the car park is off the Princes Highway, just after the turnoff to Sydney Park Road (just after the big chimney stacks)

Your New Regular Coffee Shop: Konditori, Cobble Hill, New York

March 11, 2014 / Brooklyn Bites, Cobble Hill, New York, New York Food / 0 comment

We are always searching for a new great coffee place that will deliver my flat white-obsessed husband with a consistent cup of decent coffee. His most recent obsession is Konditori, a Swedish cafe that aspires to combine the hominess of Swedish Coffee Culture with the edginess of Brooklyn. I’ve never been to Sweden, so I can’t comment on how accurately the cafe represents the “Swedish coffee hominess”, but what I do know is my husband has been stopping by this cafe twice a week on his way to deliver Cheese to pre school since it opened, and gets REALLY mad if Cheese isn’t ready for school in time for him to get his regular cup of jo.

Since I’m not a coffee drinker he promised me a good hot chocolate and selection of fine baked goods, which was enough for me to accompany him and Cheese on their regular coffee ritual one morning.

As well as a seriously good cup of coffee (the husband obviously has stamped it so) you can pick up a hand rolled kettle boiled bagel, gourmet muffins and Swedish treats like Cardamom Bread (coffee bread with almond filling), Kanelbulle (cinnamon rolls) and Coco Balls.

The cafe also has a fresh juice bar, which has a little IKEA train set running around the tip jar — a magnet for toddlers and adults waiting for their juices alike. Cheese was obsessed with the trains, and we were both very happy when told it was fine for her to take the train back to the table play with (bless you!).

In the back of the store is a huge foosball table (another prime toddler distractor) and plenty of room if you need to park your giant stroller.

I ordered a hot chocolate ($2.25) and one of the gourmet muffins ($2.50). I thought it was blueberry banana, but I could only find blueberries, so who knows, maybe I read the sign wrong. Either way, it was a good, solid muffin, and the hot chocolate was delicious.

I had to act quickly to snap Alec’s latte ($3.50) and croissant ($2.50) before they disappeared. Part of his weekly ritual with Cheese is for them to enjoy croissants together.

The Konditori staff were very happy to make a special “toddler” hot chocolate for Cheese. Basically this means I ask them to dilute the hot chocolate heavily with whole milk, and put it in a straw cup for her to drink. This both takes away from it being too chocolately for a toddler, and also brings it down to the perfect temperature for toddlers straight away, so we can skip the “you have to wait, it’s too hot!” talk.

Last Bite: Great coffee, friendly staff, and plenty of room and distractions for toddlers. Stop by to find us hibernating at Konditori all winter long.

Highchairs: No.
Stroller storage: Yes – room for strollers!
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: No.
Kids’ menu: No.

Konditori
114 Smith St,
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Phone: (646) 696-0257
Pries: $
Hours: Daily, 6am-8pm
Get directions

Date Night in Sydney

March 8, 2014 / Australia, Sydney Life / 2 Comments

On our recent trip back home to Sydney (another post on that coming later) Alec and I had a special night – our first away from E. Not Alec’s first time away overnight, but definitely my first, and our first together. Monumental! And all thanks to my wonderful parents who volunteered to baby sit their granddaughter even though she had a fever that required them getting up through the night and then my mum sleeping with her the rest of the night. Bless you Mum and Dad, you’re the best!

It was so wonderful to have some time with Alec to reset our relationship and to spend a bit of time enjoying Sydney again together. I found a great deal on a hotel we stayed at for my 30th birthday in The Rocks – the Langham (it used to be called The Observatory Hotel). The hotel is a beautiful old-school place, really luxurious and comfortable at the same time.

We kicked our night off walking around The Rocks, picking up treats for later at the Guylian Chocolate Cafe, and then with dinner at Pony, a restaurant that wasn’t there last time we were in town, and was absolutely amazing. Really delicious food (my ricotta pasta was perfect), kick-ass cocktails, and a fantastic vibe that was upscale trendy without being too try-hard.

Something that really struck me on this trip back is how much the food culture in Sydney has changed. There are lots of really hip new cafes and restaurants around town now – and all throughout the suburbs – which made for some culinary adventures that reminded me of how amazing Australia’s produce is.

After our delicious dinner and potent cocktails, we head back for an early night and rented a movie (we never get to watch movies anymore!).

The following morning, after breakfast at the hotel restaurant, we dropped by La Renaissance Cafe (the place to go for French pastries) to pick up treats for my parents, then head back on home.

One thing to be said for being back home, it’s great to have some more than willing babysitters!

Dear New Mum …

March 1, 2014 / Kids / 10 Comments

Dear new mum,

Yes you, the one who I see at my local park, swaying and rocking and shushing your baby in the carrier, walking in circles around the block to get your wailing, sleep-despising baby to give in to sleep.

I see the bags under your eyes. I see exhaustion in your face. I see how close to tears you are. I see it all and in you, I see me.

You probably look at me and my toddler – almost preschooler – and think I’ve had it easy. You watch as she plays independently on the jungle gym, face plants after a fall on the monkey bars, then picks herself up and declares that she will try again, all while I’m laughing with a friend, relaxing nearby.

It wasn’t always like this. It wasn’t always fun and stress-free to take an outing to the playground. I remember a time when I was the one power-walking around my neighborhood to the tune of a wailing newborn, too scared to look people in the face for fear of their reactions – rarely sympathetic, often wondering exactly what I’d done to that baby to make her scream like that. I remember holding my baby upright, all night long, for weeks on end, because reflux prevented her from sleeping any other way. I remember being so tired I literally collapsed every night into a coma-like sleep, only to be woken a few hours later, hoping that the screaming, miserable baby had just been a bad dream.

You are probably asking your pediatrician for help. Desperately begging for an answer to stop the crying, the wailing, the nights where your baby is up every half hour and you think you just can’t it take any more. You’re told patronisingly that they’ll “grow out of it in a few months”, which seems like a lifetime when every day seems to last an eternity.

Dear new mum. What I want to say to you is, you are not alone. You are me two-and-a-half years ago, drowning in despair and unable to find your way out of the newborn fog. It might not seem like it, and you might want to punch your doctor in the face every time he tells you that it will end, but he’s right, it will end, even though it seems like it won’t. In the meantime, don’t hide in the darkness. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Your baby is a hard baby and you need support. Speak up and be heard – your voice matters, your health and sanity matter.

Dear new mum. I was you not long ago. I want to tell you that I see you, I see how much you love your baby even though you also want to throw it out the window some days, because no matter how exhausted and lonely and miserable you are, you are still pushing yourself past your physical and emotional limits every single day, not giving up.

You might feel like you’re struggling through this alone and that no one sees you as your own person anymore, but you’re not invisible. I see you. You matter. And it will get better, I promise.

The Teahouse Camellia Gardens; Kid-Friendly Restaurants, Sutherland, Sydney

February 26, 2014 / Caringbah, Sutherland, Sydney, Sydney Food / 0 comment

Secreted away in Sutherland is The Teahouse Camellia Gardens. Follow winding roads and walk through beautiful gardens to find your way to the Teahouse, a tiny oasis of gentile calm in the Shire, where you can wisle away an afternoon elegantly, drinking tea, nibbling scones and looking over the lush gardens below. Or, if you have a small child, briefly enjoy this experience, and then use the playground next to the teahouse to wear them out.

Bookings on weekends are advised as the Teahouse is a popular spot for parties and baby showers. We arrived without a booking and did have to wait a while for our table. The Teahouse is laidback, with service a bit on the erratic side. We had arrived on a busy day, which may explain the service (I like to give the benefit of the doubt!).

As a popular family destination, the Teahouse features a large kids’ menu, with breakfast options (such as the Scrambled Eggs & Toast, $6.50), lunh options (including cooked “meal deals” for $10.90, or sandwiches from $4), and snacks and beverages, like kiddie shakes ($3.50). Since Missy E is a picky eater, we ordered her the shake, a juice popper (we were using sugar to combat jetlag at this point), and a bowl of Beer-Battered Chips ($5.50).

The rest of our party ordered various items from the lunch menu. Unfortunately, since it was such a busy day, many of the items were sold out, including the only vegetarian option. The staff were happy enough to make me a salad sandwich however (as long as it was on their only remaining bread, foccaccia). Other dishes ordered included: Crisp Beer-Battered Flathead Fish & Chips served with Salad & Tartare Sauce ($18.50), Salt and Pepper Calamari with a Papaya, Green Mango, Cucumber Ribbons, Bean Shoots, Mint & Coriander Salad topped with the Teahouse dressing & Lime Aioli ($18.50),and the Teahouse BLT, with Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Mayonnaise served on Thick Cut Toast & Chips ($14.50).

While it was a bit of a wait to get the table, and we were warned that the meals might be slow, they actually arrived very quickly. The chips were crisp and cooked all the way through (yum!), the sandwiches served with fresh produce. It was a solid meal — nothing outstanding, but nothing bad either.

Desserts were another matter — and to be expected from a teahouse. The scones ($4) and mini pavlovas ($8.50) were absoutely spectactular. We would absolutely come again just for afternoon tea.

After indulging on scones and pavlova, buy a bag of duckfood for 60c from the teahouse, and wander through the gardens to feed the feathered inhabitants. They’re well-used to visitors and are not overly concerned about the smallest of new friends, especially when they come bearing food.

Last Bite: The Teahouse is a delightful way to spend an afternoon with kids.

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: Yes.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: Yes.
Kids’ menu: No.

The Teahouse Camellia Gardens
President Ave,
Caringbah South NSW 2229
Phone: 02 9540 2018
Prices: $$
Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-4pm Sat & Sun 9am-5pm
Get Directions

Dressing Brooklyn: Appaman and the Husband and Wife Team Behind It

February 17, 2014 / Fashion, Giveaways, Guest Brunchers, New York Food / 24 Comments

The Brunch With My Baby team are huge fans of Appaman, a Brooklyn clothing brand known for their stylish kids’ clothes. Lynn Husum owns the brand, along with her husband Harald. She filled us in on what it’s like running a family business and raising kids (Kaya, 9, and Elie, 7) in NYC.

We hear that Appaman was named after Harald’s childhood stuffed monkey. Is he still kicking around?
Yes Appaman (the original) is still around. He is a little floppy but he is in the office on a shelf for inspiration.

Appaman is a husband and wife team — how has it been working together AND raising two girls?
We truly love to work together. We are great at the division of labor thing. I won’t lie, there are good days and bad days, but the good far outweighs the bad. We each have tasks at work and home and we don’t micromanage each other. I think trust and a sense of humor are imperative when you have a working marriage like ours. The highs are being able to be in each others lives on a consistent and regular basis, to celebrate the triumphs and laugh at the daily absurdities. The lows are that we have most of the same problems so when something goes wrong we are both stressing about it. Rather than just one party having a work issue, we both have it.

Starting your own business is a brave endeavor — what were Appaman’s humble beginnings?
We started in our 659 square foot apartment in Brooklyn. We dyed clothing in our washing machine and went door-to-door selling our wares. Harald took some screen-printing classes and was printing on our kitchen table. I took a night course on marketing to the children’s wear industry on a shoestring. I was a star pupil, did everything I was told and it worked.

Were there any big setbacks or disasters along the way?
Knock wood, we have not had too many disasters. The biggest one I can recall is the season very early on that we shipped pants that could not fit any human child. They were very long and incredibly thin. We had to recall them but at the time we only had a few dozen accounts so although it seemed like a big deal at the time it was pretty minor.

What was the biggest “We’ve made it!” moment with Appaman so far?
One of our T-shirts was photographed on Maddox Jolie-Pitt on the day Angelina announced her pregnancy with Brad Pitt’s baby. It was like the photo that went around the world. It was a perfect shot of our t-shirt and our phones were ringing off the hook. It was an exciting moment and a great example of the power of celebrity in the day and age.

Where do you get your inspiration for your designs?
We live in NYC so inspiration is everywhere you look. Walking down the street can fuel creativity any day of the week.

What do your kids think of your designs? Do they wear them?
We have two girls and they are fans of Appaman but are very picky. They like to choose the styles they are into at the current moment and are very vocal about their opinions. They are both pretty proud of Appaman but do not wear it exclusively.

You’re based in Brooklyn! What are your favorite places in the ‘hood to take your family?
I love Brooklyn and my family has extreme Brooklyn pride. We are big fans of Coney Island for the boardwalk, Nathan’s and the Cyclones. We spend a lot of time at Fort Tilden beach in the summer. We hit Bay Ridge regularly for eating. We love Tanoreen for Middle Eastern food. Grand Sichuan House for Chinese. My kids’ favorite is Vietnamese food. They are obsessed with Pork Pho. We always go to Gia Lam in Sunset Park. We spend a lot of time at Brooklyn Bridge Park and weekends on Governor’s Island. Brooklyn is an amazing place to raise a family. I like to refer to it as small town living in an urban setting. My kids know all of the merchants in town and we shop at small bodegas for fruits, veggies, fish and meat. It’s friendly and family oriented.

GIVEAWAY
The kind folks at Appaman are giving one lucky Brunch My Baby reader the chance to win an outfit from their fall/winter collection. Enter via the Rafflecopter widget below.

Entry open to US mailing addresses only. Giveaway opens Wed February 19, 2014 to 11:59pm 25 February EST. By entering this competition you are agreeing to sign up to the Brunch With My Baby mailing list.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cold outside, cosy inside: The 7 A.M. Enfant Blanket 212 Chevron

February 12, 2014 / New York Food, Product Reviews / 0 comment

New York winters are brutal. Icy winds, sleet and snow, and long, gloomy days. What you need to survive the long cold days is warm things, lots and lots of them, for you and your baby. We are particularly enamoured with the new stroller bunting from 7 A.M. Enfant — the Blanket 212 Chevron. You might be freezing as you’re trudging through grey sludge, but at least your kid will be so warm and snug that you’ll want to climb in there with them.

If you haven’t heard of the 7 A.M. Enfant brand before, they are known for their innovative, high-quality line of baby and children’s products, particularly those suited to the cold. Designed by French designer Rebecca Campora, the brand is colorful, playful and stylish, using the kinds of luxurious fabrics that you wish your own bags and clothes were made out of.

Their latest version of the popular 212 stroller bunting is called the Chevron. As well as being the most attractive and eye-catching bunting we’ve ever seen (CHEVRON!), it fits any stroller, so you can easily use it on your SUV-sized or umbrella stroller equally well. The new Chevron pattern comes in six color combinations, from bright pinks, greens and reds, to subtler blues and the black and tan one pictured.

The exterior is a water-repellent shell, designed to withstand rain and snow, with ultra-soft premium fiber insulation (read: super, super, super warm). The interior is anti-pilling micro-fleece that is not only warm enough for extreme New York winters, but also comes out of the washing machine looking like new. They’re not lying about the anti-piling — that feature alone makes this bunting worth its cost.

Other features you’ll love:

2 length extensions so it grows with your child
Ergonomic hood with safe buttoned elastic adjuster
5-point harness openings for securing into any stroller and car seat
Side strap attachments to secure the footmuff
Anti-slip back panel
Large front pocket

As mother to one very squirmy child, what I also love about this bunting is the strong zip up the middle. It means that tricksy toddlers like mine can’t kick it off – they must submit to being warm.

Bottom line is, this is an investment piece. A gorgeous-looking bunting made from high-quality materials, that’s made to last. Not kidding — you will pass this bunting down from kid to kid to kid, and it will still look fantastic when toddler number three is using it.

Brunch With My Baby was provided with a sample for reviewing purposes. All opinions are our own.

The Palms Cafe; Kid-Friendly Restaurants, Stanwell Park, Sydney

February 11, 2014 / Southern Sydney, Stanwell Park, Sydney, Sydney Food / 1 Comment

In the heart of scenic Stanwell Park lies an unassuming little cafe: The Palms. Drive too fast around the bendy road and you’ll miss it completely — much to your own detriment, as it’s a perfect spot to grab lunch with family.

We dropped by on a Friday afternoon. The cafe was busy with couples and families with young kids (perfect!). Nothing special for the kids — just friendly staff, fast service and really, really, really good food. The cafe features all-day breakfast, hearty meals made with fresh, local produce, and devonshire tea and cakes baked fresh on the premises.

Our party ordered the Fish of the Day ($24), Homemade Meatloaf (potato mash, tomato jam, salad & turkish bread, $18.50), Slow-roasted Honey Mustard Beef on Damper (mustard dressing & fresh coleslaw, $17), The Palms Big Breakfast (smokehouse bacon, old english pork chipolatas, tomato, mushroom, hash brown, fried eggs & toast, $20), Sweet Corn & 3 Cheese Fritters (usually comes with chorizo but I swapped it for avocado, tomato & spinach salad, $17), and Bluberry Banana Bread (with ricotta and strawberries, $8).

Every meal was perfectly prepared and presented. The waitress was extremely flexible with our picky eaters, offering substitute items for things that weren’t wanted (the first time I’ve ever encountered this!). My sweet corn fritters were bursting with juicy corn, and the salad lightly dressed — a perfect combination that left other members of our party with food envy. Miss E wasn’t overly hungry and snacked on bread, refusing to even try the delecatble blueberry banana bread.

The Palms Cafe is in a perfect location for lunch on the way to or from some fun outings in the Sutherland/Wollongong area. A few minutes further down the road and you’re at the beach. The cafe is also only a few minutes from Symbio Wildlife Park (check out our blog post for more info!).

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: Yes.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: No.
Kids’ menu: No.

The Palms Cafe
111 Lawrence Hargrave Dr,
Stanwell Park NSW 2508
Phone: 02 4294 3371
Prices: $$
Hours: Open Breakfast & Lunch Thurs-Mon 9am-4pm
Get Directions

Symbio Wildlife Park; Helensburg, NSW

February 11, 2014 / Helensburg, Southern Sydney, Sydney Food / 3 Comments

Nestled in the quiet suburb of Helensburg lies Symbio Wildlife Park, a tiny zoo that makes for a great afternoon of wildlife encounters — particularly for little kids. Symbio boasts “we’ll get you closer”, and there are indeed opportunities to get up close to lots of animals. The grounds are spacious and well-kept, and the animals all healthy and happy looking. No sad depressed animals in tiny enclosures here.

We arrived just in time for the koala talk. It was an informative session with lots of great info that I didn’t know about the koala. It was a little over the heads of the littler kids though — better for older kids and adults, as the tiny tots were getting restless. The talk usually ends with the opportunity to touch a koala, but our koala was a newbie and people-shy, so no pats for our sad toddler, despite her repeated exclaimations that “he’s so cuuuuuuute!”.

The biggest hit for all of us was the walk-through kangaroo enclosure — a large paddock filled with kangaroos. We had bought bags of animal feed at the entrance so we were ready to get up close and personal with some Aussie icons. The kangaroos were extremely docile — I would imagine because they’re so used to lots of people being around them. They were very happy being touched and would munch the grass off your hand, tickling your palm with their teeth. We showed Miss E how to feed them carefully, and pretty soon she was able to feed them on her own.

The goats also were excited to be hand-fed — they were in an enclosure that they were desperate to escape in their enthusiasum for our grass-like food. These super friendly goats were actually very gentle, and E was able to feed them without loosing any fingers.

There were actually a lot of animals roaming wild, but they kept their distance from us (good call, toddlers are notorious animal-chasers). We spotted peacocks, ducks and cockatoos cheerfully roaming the grounds.

As well as having standard farm animals, the zoo is home to a few exotic creatures like a Sumatran tiger (who was MIA when we visited his enclosure), red pandas, crocodiles, adorable marmoset monkeys and meerkats.

A surprise standout was an albino echidna — something none of us had ever seen before.

Symbio Wildlife Park is a great way to spend a few hours entertaining kids. I would recommend lunch at a nearby fave, The Palms Cafe, for delicious food before exploring the park.

Symbio Wildlife Park
7-11 Lawrence Hargrave Dr,
Helensburgh NSW 2508
Open daily, 9:30am-5pm
Phone: 02 4294 1244
Prices: Adults $27, children 3-15 years $15.