Outdoor Play

Vivid at Taronga Zoo 2017, Sydney

May 26, 2017 / Outdoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life / 0 comment

Vivid at Taronga Zoo is back! One of our fave family nights of the year, it’s also our top pick for taking kids to see to see the lights at the annual Vivid festival of lights in Sydney.

While you do pay an entrance fee for Vivid at Taronga Zoo, the timed and ticked sessions mean that the crowds are way less and it’s much better managed than the other areas of the festival.

In line with Taronga Zoo’s focus on conservation, this year’s light show, “Lights for the Wild”, aims to entertain, but also educate the public on 10 of the special animals they are trying to save from extinction in the next 10 years. Each light installation and sculpture tells an important story about conservation.

“Lights for the Wild” is a spectacularly interactive and immersive event. The sculptures have been especially designed to interact with a state-of-the-art wristband worn by visitors, making for a very special evening where you can become the light the wild needs (more on the wristbands below).

Our favourites this year included the new buzzing bees, the chameleon from last year that now is even more interactive (you can use your wrist band to activate it!) and a giant interactive Port Jackson Shark that “swallowed” us.

Everything you need to know about Vivid at Taronga Zoo 2017

Getting there
While you can catch the ferry, we prefer to drive and park there for $9 after 4pm. We never have any problems finding parking or with traffic either getting there or going back home again.

Pick your session
There are two sessions each night: the more kid-friendly 5:30pm-7:30pm slot and 7:30pm-9:30pm.

Buy tickets in advance
Buy your tickets from the Taronga Zoo website.
Prices: Adult $21.95 + booking fee, Child (4-15 years) $16.95 + booking fee, Child (under 4) are free.

A limited number of Blue Pass tickets are available each night and include a round trip on the Sky Safari. The Blue Passes cost the same as the regular tickets so I suggest getting them if possible. The Sky Safari DOES NOT STOP, it runs along a loop from the top of the pack back to where it started from.

While I saw a lot of people heading straight to the sky safari when they entered, I suggest seeing the other lights first to get ahead of the crowds, and taking the Sky Safari last before you go home when there is no queue.

Make a day of it
If you plan to visit the Zoo during the day before your evening Vivid outing, either buy the tickets online in advance at the same time as your Vivid tickets, or you can buy your Zoo day entry tickets at the Zoo ticket desk on arrival to enjoy a 30% discount off General Admission prices*

Please note: Taronga Zoo closes at 4.30pm and Vivid Sydney at Taronga Zoo commences at 5.30pm. If you are staying on you will be asked to come up to the main entry plaza to get ready for the beginning of your Vivid Sydney at Taronga Zoo experience. There is a cafe in the main entry plaza and plenty for the kids to enjoy while you’re waiting for the Vivid lights to turn on.

The Zoo Admission ticket is only valid for use on the same day as your Vivid ticket.

Pack food
While there are cafes open with basic food if you don’t have time to do this, we always like to bring our own.

Get there early
This is really my mantra for anything we go to! Arrive well before the lights go on at 5:30pm so you get in ahead of most of the people in your timed session. The lights are projected onto the entrance well before 5:30pm so if you arrive early you can watch this screening and then head through, check out the sculptures that are placed before the ticketed gate, and be first in line when 5:30pm strikes and the doors open.

Watch the show at the entrance
The front entry wall has a spectacular light show projected onto it that many of the kids say is always the highlight of their evening. We often watch the show at the beginning before heading in, and then linger longer as we are existing. The wall comes to life with animals and colour, all moving over the entrance gates. Well worth watching the entire show cycle through at least once.

Collect your wrist band
This year, all visitors get a very high tech wristband that changes colour over the course of the light trail through the zoo. When you approach sculptures the colour on the wristband changes.

Follow the trail
The trail winds throughout Taronga Zoo on a circular path. It is completely stroller and wheelchair accessible. The multimedia light sculptures are dotted along the path.

Recycle Your Wristband
The interactive wristbands are recyclable, but they need to be sent to a specific facility for this to happen. On your way out, drop your wristband into the dedicated bin in the top plaza (the location can be found on the Vivid map). Wristbands are free to all paid ticket holders. Additional wristbands can be bought on site for $5 each.

The light trail takes about 90 minutes to 2 hours to complete. The whole trail is extremely stroller and wheelchair accessible.

There are family-friendly and wheelchair-accessible bathrooms available for use at the entrance at throughout the trail (please check the map).

Catch Vivid at Taronga Zoo from May 26th to June 17, 2017.

A Day at the Sydney Royal Easter Show

April 10, 2017 / Animal Experiences, Outdoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life / 0 comment

It’s our third year bringing Cheese to the Sydney Royal Easter Show, and I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been since I was a kid. It’s a highlight day for us every year and previously I’ve written my tips for the show with a little kid.

This year I wanted to share how we spend our day at the show.

9:15am: Park in P8. I wish we could manage the public transport because it’s included in the ticket price, but it’s just too hard from the area where we live. The $25 parking fee is a necessary evil for our day at the show, and it always makes me happy at the end of the day when I have a super tired kid to know we can just jump in the car and get home quickly.

9:20am: We already have our tickets (buy them in advance for a bit of a discount) so we head in. We try to get into the Woolworths Dome to use the bathrooms but discover everything is still closed! It’s the first year we’ve been too early to get into anything.

9:30am: The Animal Walk is a fave of ours so we head there first, and line up at the first animal pavilion waiting for the doors to open. We stroll past the sheep and into the chicken pavilion where we make a beeline for the freshly hatched chicks in the incubator. Cheese wants to pat a chick, but it doesn’t open until 10am so we tell her we will come back and keep going.

9:45am: In the goat pavilion we stop to watch the goats being judged. “Why is one better than another” Asks Cheese. “Why did that one win?” We have no idea about the intricacies of goat judging so we do what any good parent does and ask her, “Why do YOU think that one won over the rest?”.

9:50am: In the pig pavilion we are a few minutes early to pat the baby pigs. The benefit of being early – it’s so empty everywhere! The downside – nothing’s open! We wait for the pigs since it’s only 10 minutes.

10am: Pat a pig time! We sit down and a herd of piglets charge towards us in search of food.They like to nibble on shoes and bare toes, so be quick with your feet.

10:15am: We enter the Woolworths Food Farm pavilion. It’s one of Cheese’s favourite places at the show. We spend the next hour and 15 minutes grinding wheat, shaping dough, watching pies back, “pollinating” flowers, climbing into the giant tractor and playing with the farm toys. She doesn’t want to leave. I buy a cored apple in a coil ($2) and a pear smoothie ($4) for us to share.

11:30am: It’s off to meet the in laws for lunch near the Woolworth Fresh Food Dome. They’ve managed to grab a prime table in the shade while they were waiting for us, which is a massive score. We all have the same meal for lunch – a cheese toastie and flavoured milk ($5) and corn on the cob ($5). Alec buys a $5 coffee then moans about the price.

12:15pm: Cheese gets restless so we head off to explore more and leave her dad chatting with the grandparents. We head into the Woolworths Fresh Food pavilion to check out the fruit and vege displays. Cheese can’t quite believe that they’re all made from food and you can eat them.

12:30pm: We walk into the Home, Garden & Lifestyle pavilion next door. Cheese climbs into a police car with glee then makes a beeline for the Artline stall where we stock up with textas each year. It takes a good 15 minutes to get her to finish her drawing so we can leave. We keep walking through the new Pet Pavilion next door but we can’t see much. The cats are behind a high barrier and a net. Better for the cats’ stress levels I’m sure, but hard for us to see anything.

1:15pm: We exit the pavilion and I see what I think is a great photo opp with balloons and the ferris wheel in the background. I beg Cheese to stand in a spot while I take photos and she counters me with a bargain: “I’ll stand in front of the balloons if you let me have one.” I say OK without checking the price, then spend the rest of the day hauling around a $20 BB8 balloon that attacks people we walk past thanks to the strong breeze.

1:30pm: We head back to the Pat a Chick station in the chicken pavilion and line up. There’s lots of lining up this year as it seems like every Sydneysider also thought today would be an excellent day for the show. The chicken display is put on by Steggles and they ply us with merchandise. It’s a bit awkward being vegetarian and just wanting to pat a chicken, not eat one.

1:45pm: We finally make it to the front of the line and meet the chicks. They’re only three days old and cheeping like mad. I hope we don’t freak them out too much. The photographer is super kind and not only takes a really lovely photo on her own camera that gets emailed to us and sent to their print station for free printing but also takes one on my camera too. You can never have enough photos with everyone in them.

2pm: Lining up again, this time at the Farmyard Nursery. The line moves quickly though and we are in the nursery buying a $1 cup of animal feed before too long. The pavilion is absolutely jam packed with people – so many it’s literally impossible to move without running into people, sheep, goats or chickens. The big goats are aggressive and freak Cheese out. We run interference for her so she can feed the smaller animals that don’t headbutt.

Cheese just wants to hug everything – no goat or chicken is free from her hugs this year, even though I’m sure they wish they were.

2:30pm: We keep going on the animal walk through the dairy pavilion and to the horses. We see cute calves, cows being blowdried and and majestic horses being led past.

3pm: It’s showbags time! The pavilion is teaming with people and I pick up Cheese so she can see the displays above the heads. I know it’s a better idea to get the showbags first and then dump them in a locker for the day, but the anticipation of the show bags being at the end of the day is just too much fun to do it any other way. We have a two showbag rule each year. Cheese likes the character bags and chooses two very expensive bags filled with various types of plastic and paper: The Littlest Pet Shop ($28) and the Tokidoki bag ($26).

3:30pm We sit down at the dog pavilion for some rest. Cheese empties out her showbags to play with while we watch the dogs being judged. It’s a blissful half hour watching shiny dogs trotting past. We need more food so delve into the snacks that I had brought with us – pistachios and Vita-weats with Vegemite, and drink our water that we brought in refillable bottles. It’s crazy hot so I buy us a Gaytime ($4) and chocolate Paddle Pop ($3) to share.

4pm: We are all shattered and decide to hobble back to the car. My Fitbit tells me I did about 11K steps but honesty it feels like more! We’ve spent the whole day here and I still feel like there is more to see than we were able to get around to.

4:15pm In the car we are happy we forked out the $25 for an easy trip home. Cheese says, “That was the best day I’ve ever had!” which makes the sore feet, empty wallet and crowd navigating all worth it.

The Sydney Royal Easter Show is on at Sydney Olympic Park until Wednesday, April 18, 2017.

1 Showground Rd, Sydney Olympic Park
Online

We received media passes to attend the Sydney Royal Easter Show. All opinions are my own.

Sydney’s Best Beaches: Clifton Gardens Beach, Baths & Playground, Mosman

March 28, 2017 / Beaches, Outdoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life / 2 Comments

Yet another stunning beach in Sydney! Clifton Gardens is a suburb in Mosman, on Sydney’s north shore. The beach is where the suburb meets the sea, and it’s a gorgeous little secret that the locals have kept well for years.

Clifton Gardens Mosman

Clifton Gardens Reserve features a gorgeous, sheltered beach, including a section with a shark net. There are minimal waves, making it perfect for kids. Large trees offer plenty of shade and there are BBQs available as well as picnic tables with shelter. As well as having plenty of facilities, Clifton Garden is one of the most beautiful beaches in or near Mosman.

On the northern side of the beach is Bacino Café, offering coffee, juice and snacks. We brought out own and set up a picnic underneath the trees and next to the large, sheltered playground.

The beach has a big block of bathroom amenities for public use.

Clifton Gardens Parking

Driving is the easiest way to get to Clifton Gardens, but be warned that the metered parking is extremely expensive. On a Sunday it cost us $20 for three hours parking. If you can park further up on Morella Road parking is free, but it’s a bit more difficult if you have a kid in tow.

There is a flat path to ride scooters and bikes, and a walking trail from the south end of the beach that leads up into the bush-covered headlands and gives amazing views of the harbour. The view plus calm waters are the reason people flock to Clifton Gardens in Sydney!

Clifton Gardens Beach (often misspelled as Cliffton Gardens or Clifton Beach NSW)
Get directions
If you are travelling by bus, the best way to get there is by bus number 228 which stops near the entrance or alternative take bus number 233, 238 or 247.

Want to see more Mosman beaches Sydney? Try Chinamans Beach (click here for info)

Looking for more Sydney beaches to visit? Click on over here.

Get more info on Mosman parks here.

Wattamolla Beach, Royal National Park, NSW, Australia

January 7, 2017 / Beaches, Outdoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life / 3 Comments

One of the absolute best things about living in Australia is the stunning natural environment we live in. A hour and 15 minutes south of Sydney is a gorgeous spot called Wattamolla, located in the Royal National Park.

Wattamolla Beach Royal National Park

While it’s well-known as a spot to swim, snorkel, picnic and generally laze about, it’s also an historic area, with “Wattamolla” being the name the local Aboriginal people gave it many years before Europeans arrived.

“Wattamolla” means “place near running water” – a highly appropriate name for an area that is a cove, lagoon and beach. In 1796 Matthew Flinders, George bass and William Martin came across the cove while exploring, and recorded its name as “Watta-Mowlee”, but is today spelt Wattamolla.

Today, Wattamolla is a popular spot for families, as well as groups of all ages, due to the wide variety of activities to do there. The beach has sparkling clear water, edged by rocks that are fun for climbing.

Then there’s the Wattamolla lagoon deeper into the cove, which is perfect for little kids to swim in. It’s shallow and calm, so kids of all ages can paddle, swim and play at its shore safely. Adults love to bring giant floats and canoes to the lagoon and wile away the day floating around.

The pretty Wattamolla falls flows over the rocks at the back of the lagoon, and is a popular spot for daredevils to jump from into the water below, despite a large fence being erected and big warning signs cautioning people not to dive or jump from the rocks.

Tips For Visiting Wattamolla
Arrive early! Wattamolla is extremely popular and there is limited parking near the beach. We arrived at 10:30 and the parking lot was almost completely full. I would suggest arriving no later than 9:30 to enjoy the beach with few people there.

It’s a 250m walk from the car park to the beach along a narrow rocky path with lots of stairs.
There is no stroller access or paved path on the beach.

The lagoon is edged with plenty of trees to set up a blanket and picnic spot, but many visitors choose to bring their own tents with them.

There is no food available at Wattamolla, so bring a picnic with you down to the beach, or use the free barbeque areas near the parking lot to make your own lunch.

There is also no water available, so bring plenty with you.

While there are bathrooms at Wattamolla, they are located next to the parking lot so go before you walk down.

The beach is free to visit but entry to the Royal National Park costs $12 per vehicle per day and payment is cash only.

There is little to no mobile reception at Wattamolla.

The Royal National National Park is open 7am to 8.30pm but may have to close at times due to poor weather or fire danger.

Beaches in this park are not patrolled, and can sometimes have strong rips and currents.

Royal National Park Wattamolla Beach
Royal National Park, Coast Track, Sutherland Shire NSW 2232
More info on visiting Wattamolla here.

Get more info on Royal National Park beaches here.

How to get to Wattamolla Beach
Driving is your best bet, although parking is tricky.
Get Directions here

Find more beautiful Sydney beaches to visit here.

Luna Park Sydney: Just For Fun

November 16, 2016 / Outdoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life, Theme Parks / 0 comment

Luna Park Sydney might just be the most gorgeously positioned amusement park in the world. Perched on the shorefront of Milson’s Point, the juxtapositioning of the old-world carnival colours against the stunning blue of Sydney Harbour makes it an incredible spot to visit, even if you’re not planning on actually riding anything.

While children and adults flock to the park to enjoy hair-raising rides, Luna Park is also an historical icon in Sydney, being listed on the State Heritage Register in 2010.

Whether rides are or aren’t your thing, Luna Park is a fascinating piece of Australian history. The fist Luna Park opened in St Kilda, Melbourne, in December 1912, with a second opening in Glenelg, South Australia, in 1930. The later, however, encountered push back from the locals, who thought the park was a haven for unsavoury types – as a result, the park was packed up and shipped to Sydney.

Sydney’s Luna Park was constructed at the foot of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1935, and, once open, ran for nine-month seasons until 1972, when it was opened year-round. The park closed in mid-1979 following the infamous Ghost train fire, which killed six children and one adult.

The park has been partially demolished, renovated, re-opened and closed again several times since due to various problems – the most recent being the noise pollution complaints from locals surrounding the Big Dipper rollercoaster that caused the ride to be heavily restricted and, as a result, saw a drop in attendance that lead to the park’s closure in 1996.

After further redevelopment, the park re-opened in 2004 and has been open ever since.

In 2010 the Luna Park Face was listed as an item of national heritage by the National Trust of Australia, making it one two amusement parks in the world that are protected by government legislation; several of the buildings on the site are also listed on the Register of the National Estate and the NSW State Heritage Register: most notably Luna Park’s Coney Island Funnyland, which is the only operating example of a 1930s funhouse left in the world.

Coney Island was built in 1935, and although there have been some changes made over the years, the layout is almost identical to when it opened, including the rotating barrels, moving platforms, long slides and arcade games that line the walls.

I recently took the little Cheese to experience Luna Park for the first time and have some tips if you’re intending to go:

Luna Park Tips

Buy your tickets online
They are cheaper to buy from the Luna park website than in person at the park. You will also avoid the queues this way.

Look for special deals
Take a look for even better deals before you buy them directly from the park. For example, try Groupon, or Telstra and Optus perks. I received the best deal through Optus.

Adult accompanying rider tickets cost some serious money
If you’re not planning to buy an adult ticket for yourself but your child isn’t tall enough to ride everything on their own, you will need to buy an accompanying adult ticket. These are not available for discount purchase online at all – they must be bough at the park, full price, and they are EXPENSIVE! They are also only valid for rides where accompanying the riders who are too short to ride by themselves – so you can’t ride without them, either.

Pack your own food
There is basic food available at the park, like hot dogs, burgers and chips kinda stuff, and they are expensive. I suggest packing healthier food for lunch and bringing it with you to save money.

Prepare for the weather
There is very little shade in much of the park, particularly in the little kids’ area out the back. Pack wide brimmed hats and plenty of sunscreen.

Go early
This is my mantra for theme parks in general. Go as early as possible when the queues are shorter and the sun isn’t as hot.

Be aware of height restrictions
Make sure your kid is big enough to get the most out of the cost of park entry. You can find a list of the height requirements for each ride here

Know how much money it’s going to cost if you buy tickets at the park
Unlimited Rides Pass – Yellow (130cm+) $52 (vs $48 online)
Unlimited Rides Pass – Green (106-129cm) $42 (vs $38 online)
Unlimited Rides Pass – Red (85-105cm) $22 (vs $22 online)
Accompanying Adult – Green $42
Accompanying Adult – Red $22

The cheapest day to go is Mondays
During the school holidays this is an excellent deal for school kids
Mini Money Mondays – Yellow (130cm+) $40
Mini Money Mondays – Green (106-129cm) $30
Mini Money Mondays – Red (85-105cm) $16

Other ticket options
A Coney Island Pass ($12) lets you access just Coney Island all day. Coney Island was our kids’ favourite of the whole day, and is blissfully indoors!

How to get there
Luna park is so easy to reach by public transport. Catch the ferry or train directly to the park, or, if you have to drive, park in their car park. Either way, there is very little walking involved, so great for little ones.

Luna Park
1 Olympic Dr, Milsons Point NSW 2061
Hours: The days and hours Luna Park opens varies. Please check the website before going.
lunaparksydney.com

Sculpture By The Sea, Bondi 2016

November 6, 2016 / Beaches, Outdoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life / 0 comment

Sculpture By The Sea is the largest free public sculpture exhibition in the world, and in 2016 celebrated its 20th anniversary. The exhibition runs for two weeks every year in October/November, along the cliff top walk from Tamarama Beach to Bondi Beach.

While the majority of the sculptures are not able to be touches, each year there are several that are designed to be interacted with by visitors, be it walking through them, on them or climbing over them – the placards in front of the sculptures lets people know which ones are able to be touched and which ones are too fragile.

A big hit this year was the ship with wooden blocks that were able to be manipulated, so visitors were able to change the shape of parts of the ship.

Please enjoy the photos of this spectacular exhibition, and scroll down to the bottom for tips on attending.

Tips for attending Sculpture By The Sea

Go early, like 6am early. We arrived at 7am and it was already really busy. If you arrive at midday, forget about being able to get near a sculpture without 20 people right on top of you.
Parking is a nightmare. Go early and look for a spot around Tamarama or Bronte.
Bring lots of water, sunscreen and a hat. The sun is brutal on the walk and there is no shade.
Bathrooms are located at Tamarama Beach, Mark’s Place and Bondi Beach.
Food is also located at Tamarama, Bondi and Mark’s Place. In 2015 and 2016 The Grounds of Alexandria had a pop-up cafe at Mark’s Place.
The walk is not stroller friendly at all. If you cannot bring your child in a baby carrier, walk/drive to Mark’s Place – it’s the only stroller accessible point of the walk.
Try for dawn or sunset for pictures with truly stunning light and less people around.
There are two kids’ playgrounds on the walk – one at Tamarama Beach and one at Mark’s Place.
Week days are much less busy than weekends.
Keep an eye on small children. Not only is the walk crowded, it runs along the cliff tops where there are no guard rails or barriers to stop children from falling over the edge.
Not all scuptures are designed to be touched. Please respect the signs and only touch those that are designated for interaction.

Photography tip: It might look like we were pretty much by ourselves on the walk but this was thanks to careful shooting and editing. For pics like these, be extremely patient and wait until other people leave the frame, or step around them and find an angle with no-one in it. If you can’t do either, then crop in close.

Sculpture By The Sea

Sydney Playgrounds: Parramatta CBD River Foreshore Park

November 4, 2016 / Outdoor Play, Playgrounds, Sydney, Sydney Life / 0 comment

The Parramatta CBD River Foreshore Park is a great spot to run off steam with kids if you’re taking in a show at the nearby Riverside Theatre or grabbing lunch at one of the restaurants on Church street.

Built into the slope of the hill on the river’s foreshore, it’s got some really cool features like a 4 metre slide and rock climbing. In summer, water features are turned on near the sand play area.

Be aware that the playground is not fenced, not does it have any shade cover or bathrooms.

Parramatta CBD River Foreshore Park
Elizabeth St Footbridge Parramatta NSW

Swamp Monsters: Halloween in Centennial Park, Sydney

October 31, 2016 / Outdoor Play, Seasonal Fun, Sydney, Sydney Life / 2 Comments

Halloween has been taking off slowly over the years in Sydney, with more and more families like ours wanting to mark the occassion with fun activities. This year Cheese was finally old enough to try the Swamp Monsters program at Centennial Park.

Swamp Monsters is a Halloween trail through Centennial Park, starting at the Eduation Centre. The event often sells out far in advance so buying tickets before the event is highly recommended. The day is broken up into time slots to start the activities. Arrive any time during your time slot, sign in at the desk and pick up your trail map, then take as long as you like.

The trail has five activity stations for kids to complete, with each spot spookyily themed and requiring kids to complete a task. The kids loved the (fake) spiders and cobwebs, and screamed with delighted terror at the “zombies” as they darted through a course that included navigating their way thorough a giant spider web, feeding a giant venus fly trap, guessing the ghoulish item in the mystery boxes, shooting zombies with nerf guns and bolting through a swamp infested with creatures from the dead.

After completing the five activities, the last stop is the completion tent where kids get their maps stamped and can choose a treat. While that marks the end of the trail, they are welcome to repeat any part of the course that they like.

At the start and end of the trail, back at the education centre, a pumpkin patch is set up for kids to make their own scarecrows. Our kids didn’t care so much about making the scarecrows – they were more enthused about pretending they were ponies munching on the hay. Great imaginations.

We chose the 11:30 time slot and found a tree to sit under for a picnic lunch at 12:30, thinking we would take a break and then do one of the activities after our lunch break, not realising that the whole course stopped for a lunch break between 12:30 and 2pm. I would highly recommend if you’re planning to do the activities again that you choose an earilier time slow or the one after lunch break.

While the day is recommended for kids aged 5-12 there were definintely some younger kids there. The littlies enjoyed several of the stations but were also scared of a few, so it all depends on the kid.

More info:
Age: 5-12 years
Times: Start times are available every 15 minutes between 10am to 12pm and 2pm to 4:30pm
Meeting Point/Venue: Start at The Learning Centre in the Education Precinct, off Dickens Drive, Centennial Park
Price: $17 per child
Online

Special Notes
Show your online ticket on the day to receive your Trail Map. Tickets can be shown on mobile devices or printed out.
Event will go ahead in all weather. No refunds will be given.
Children must be accompanied by an adult. Adults do not require a ticket
One Trail Map per ticket and all participating children require their own trail map.
Coffee, ice cream and small snacks will be available for purchase from food vans.There is plenty of free parking usually available in Centennial Park, or you can take public transport.

Sydney Day Trips: Palm Beach

October 2, 2016 / Beaches, Outdoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life / 0 comment

With hundreds of stunning beaches running up and down the NSW coast, it’s hard to choose which one to visit.

On a sparkling Sunday we chose Palm beach, the northernmost suburb of Sydney, for a day trip. It’s an hour’s drive from the Sydney CBD, making it the perfect spot to get away from the hustle of the city without an epic drive to get there.

Palm Beach is often called the “jewel” of the Northern Beaches. Situated on a peninsula it has a gorgeous combination of lush evergreen bushland, beaches with soft golden sand and surrounded by the bright blue Pacific Ocean on one side, and calm Pittwater waterway on the other.

The beach might look very familiar if you watch a lot of soap TV – in particular Home & Away. The show has been filmed on location here since its beginnings in 1988. As a result the beach has been a popular tourist attraction, particular for Brits.

There’s plenty to do at Palm Beach to spend a gorgeous day outside. The main beach is soft and inviting – be sure to swim between the flags, or take kids to the south end to paddle where the water is most shallow.

If swimming in the waves isn’t your cup of tea, try a dip in the 35m ocean pool. It’s perfectly designed for both lap swimmers and also paddling with children in the shallow end.

For more exploring, follow the path around the pool where there are rock pools to be found. Be careful with the timing of your rock pool walk, however, as it can be unsafe when the tide comes back in.

When it’s time for lunch there are a few cafes to try. We enjoyed a late breakfast at 2108 Espresso, with an Aussie standard dish of toasted sourdough, avocado, fresh tomato and feta for $14 (eggs an additional $3). For the kids there is a grilled cheese toastie and babyccino with a cute blue marshmallow.

For dessert, we decided to give the cafe next door that serves scooped ice cream a miss and go old school with Gaytimes.

To walk off the ice cream there are a few options for the afternoon. Nearby is a large grassy park with a sprawling playground. While there were picnic tables in the park we didn’t spot any bathroom amenities, and the playground equipment didn’t have much shade.

The more athletic option for the whole family is to take the scenic 1.2km walk from the beach to Barrenjoey Head to visit the historic lighthouse that sits on Sydney’s most northerly point. It’s a 25 minute walk each way so take water and go to the bathroom before hand (no bathrooms at the top!). From the top you’ll have a great view of Broken Bay, the Central Coast and the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.

Get Directions to Palm Beach

Cathy Freeman Park + Olympic Cauldron, Olympic Park, Homebush

October 1, 2016 / Outdoor Play, Playgrounds, Sydney, Sydney Life / 2 Comments

Have you ever wondered where the famous caldron from the 2000 Sydney Olympics ended up once the games were over? The answer is it didn’t go very far at all.

After the magical opening and closing ceremonies (who can forget Cathy Freeman lighting the cauldron and it rising through the air simultaneously dripping with fire and water?) the cauldron was taken down and moved just a few hundred metres to its permanent home – in the appropriately named Cathy Freeman Park.

Located very conveniently next to the Allphones Arena, Cathy Freeman Park has 2 playgrounds – one for young kids and one for older – huge shady trees and easy access to bathrooms and cafes.

We often end up in the park when attending a show at the Allphones Arena – it’s great to burn off energy after a long drive before needing to sit still for a long time while watching a show.

The cauldron is a popular feature for tourists and kids, who particularly love running underneath it in the puddles, and trying to judge when the fountain is about to turn on. There’s always one kid who times it poorly and gets absolutely soaked. Bring extra clothes in case this is your kid!

Also in the area:

Check out nearby Brickpit Ring Walk, Wentworth Common, nearby Bicentennial Park, Blaxland Riverside Playground and the Olympic Cauldron in Cathy Freeman Park. Or, take a dip in the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.

Cathy Freeman Park
Online: sydneyolympicpark.com.au
Sydney Olympic Park NSW 2127
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