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Sydney Life

Barbie Princess Power High Tea at The Langham Hotel Sydney

April 14, 2015 / Cheese, Indoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life / 10 Comments

I was a Barbie kid myself, so it’s been an enjoyable case of history repeating to see my own preschooler getting out my old Barbie dolls and playing with them at the same age that I did. Barbie and I experienced so many adventures during our time together, and I love watching Cheese take the same Barbies (and a few new ones who have much better hair than mine) on her own magical outings.

One such outing that almost too good to be true was the Barbie Princess Power high tea at The Langham Hotel Sydney. The Langham has recently re-opened after a significant renovation and this was our first visit since the launch. Boy does it look good. The old hotel was beautiful, and the renovation has given everything a facelift to make it brighter and shinier.

The Barbie high tea was held over two weekends during the school holidays. It was more than just a high tea, it was a special event for kids who love Barbies, and their parents who love good food.

The high tea was split into two rooms. One with activities and one with tables set up for enjoying the high tea. The activities room had a paparazzi style media wall set up for some photo ops, a nail salon and an activity table with stickers for the kids to decorate their own superhero masks.

Inside the dining room, the new Barbie movie was set up to play on a large screen while we enjoyed our high tea. At each child’s place was a gift bag containing a Barbie doll, plus a blank mask for colouring in, and a poster that, when turned over, had more colouring and activities. The tables had containers filled with textas and pencils, so the kids has plenty to play with while waiting for their high teas to arrive.

The thoughtful staff confirmed who at our tables were vegetarians, and asked the girls if they would like a hot chocolate? With TWO marshmallows? Would they ever.

Next came the platters of food – top tier full of sweet delights like red velvet cake, pistachio cake, and macarons, the next tier plan and raisin scones with jam and cream, and the bottom tier savoury, with sandwiches, wraps, mini burgers, pumpkin tarts and heart-shaped fairy bread.

With one vegetarian adult and child, and one non-vego adult and child, we had quite the variety of food. It was hard to tell what was meant for who, so we let the girls choose what they felt like eating, and then ate the rest ourselves.

As you’d expect from a hotel as gorgeous as the Langham, the food was exquisite. The scones were some of the best I’ve ever tasted. The sandwiches were fresh and light, and the desserts full of flavour, with perfect pastry crusts and light creamy fillings. It was a delicious high tea.

As the event wound down, the girls were getting tired from all of the excitement, which was our cue to leave. Cheese was getting over a bad cold and was very tied and grumpy – hence the next pic we asked the concierge to take outside the Langham as we were leaving, where she refused to get in the picture. A big thanks to the concierge with the wicked sense of humour who captured my cranky daughter in the photo anyway. Does this sum up life with a threenager, or what?

We had a wonderful time at the Barbie high tea, and will absolutely be back for the Langham’s next event for kids.

Barbie Princess Power High Tea at The Langham Hotel
89-113 Kent St, Millers Point,
Sydney NSW 2000
Prices: Children’s high tea is $65 children with gift, $70 adults with glass of bubbles
Get directions.

Circus Factory: The Best Of Sydney For Kids

April 11, 2015 / Cheese, Indoor Play, Museums, Sydney, Sydney Life / 4 Comments

The Powerhouse Museum is one of my favourite places to take Cheese in Sydney at the moment. Not only does it have the fantastic Wiggles exhibit at the moment, it also is home to Circus Factory. We finally got around to seeing the exhibition during the school holidays (and if you want to see it you’d better be quick as it closes May 3, 2015).

I wasn’t planning on taking Cheese as the Powerhouse recommends it for kids ages five and over, but after seeing some adorable pics on Instagram I decided to give it a go anyway, and was so glad we did. At age 3.5 Cheese was a fantastic age for the exhibition. No doubt older kids will et even more out of it, including areas of the exhibition Cheese was too little for, but we spent three solid hours in the exhibition and I had to drag her out at the end, which says that this exhibit was a smash hit for the preschooler set.

Circus Factory celebrates the daring, absurd and curious nature of circuses. It focuses thankfully on the human element, such as clowns, acrobats, circus acts, etc, rather than the sad history of animals in circuses.

The Circus Factory is set up over three levels. The top floor has costumes and the bottom one has a fantastic collection of automatas – the later you can also see when you purchase a general exhibition pass. An automata is an interactive artwork, where you wind a handle and it moves the subjects inside. They automatas are kind of creepy to be honest, and they really freaked Cheese out. The subject matter includes things like freaky looking monkeys and skulls. Fascinating for adults, but some of them are a bit scary for little kids.

We spent our entire visit on the main floor of the attraction. The massive space is broken up into many interactive areas for kids to just go wild and really experience elements of the circus for themselves.

Cheese highly enjoyed each of these areas: clown costume dress ups, colouring in, a mirror maze, hula hoops (they were a bit heavy for her but she made her own game out of them), clown faces, balancing tricks (again, a bit hard for her but she enjoyed trying), the balloon room and carousel.

Her absolute favourites were the carousel (we had three rides) and the balloon room. The carousel is a hand-carved 100-year-old beauty made in England around 1900. It is paired in this exhibit with the original Luna Park 89 key Gavioli organ. Absolutely magical.

The balloon room was basically a netted area with a wind tunnel blowing into it, and many brightly coloured helium balloons floating in it. AKA paradise for kids, little and big. Cheese spent around an hour just in this one area chasing balloons. Thoughtfully placed couches inside give parents a place to sit while keeping an eye on the balloon activities.

Depending when you visit there are a range of live activities to enjoy, too. As we visited on a Friday during school holidays, we were lucky to see a range of short performances called “Amuse Bouche”, especially created by Circa for the Powerhouse Museum. Every hour on the hour, two performers delighted the crowd with a 6 – 10 minutes acrobatic performance involving balancing, contortionism and the vertical rope. Each hour there is a brand new performance to witness, so we kept going back for more, wanting to see what amazing tricks we would be surprised with next.

Here is their schedule for live activities:

Amuse Bouche by Circa
Shows on the hour, 4 Apr to 19 Apr

Science of Circus Show
Explore the physics behind circus acts like plate spinning.
27 Jan to 3 Apr, and 20 Apr to 3 May
Weekdays: 11.30am, 12.30pm and 1.30pm
Weekends: 10.30am, 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm

April school holiday activity: Clown carnival
3 to 19 April
Make your own juggling balls, contribute to our giant fabric bunting, play carnival games and get a balloon animal to take home (weekends only). On weekdays, learn how to hula-hoop, juggle and more from circus experts. (Free with general admission.)

Planning on eating while you’re there? You’ll love the Black Star Pastry outlet that’s set up in the cafe area. They serve sandwiches and lunch foods, plus their famous desserts and kids’ shakes. It’s worth going for the Black Star pastries alone!

We had the most amazing time at Circus Factory and will absolutely go back. It helped that we were able to get in for a bit cheaper care of finding a Groupon voucher for adult general admission $7 (instead of $12). At the entrance I was able to upgrade the voucher to include Circus Factory for an extra $8, making it $15, and significantly cheaper than the full admission price of $35.

Last notes before you go:
No strollers inside the exhibition.
The Powerhouse advises that you prebook your tickets (particularly on weekends) to ensure you get in on a busy day.

Circus Factory
Circus Factory FAQs
Open 20 December 2014 to 3 May 2015
Powerhouse Museum
500 Harris Street, Ultimo NSW 2007
Hours: Daily 10am-5pm
Circus Factory entrance (includes general admission into the Powerhouse Museum):
Up to 3 kids free with each adult ticket

Adult: $35
Member adult: $25
Family: $65
(2 adults and up to 6 children)
Member family: $45
(2 adults and up to 6 children)
Concession: $20
Additional child (4—15 yrs): $8
Free entry for children under 4 years

Exhibition tickets include same-day entry to Powerhouse Museum. Transaction fees from $3.95 may apply.

Get directions.

Dinosaur Zoo: Sydney’s Best Shows For Kids

April 4, 2015 / Cheese, Indoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life, Theatre / 0 comment

While Cheese and I often see shows together, it’s rare that Alec comes along too. He’s just not usually interested in princess shows (what a surprise) or shows based on cartoons. But when I mentioned the new show at the Sydney Opera House, Dinosaur Zoo, he was in. Finally a show he could enjoy as well as Cheese and I.

Because, who doesn’t love dinosaurs? Dinos are fascinating for people of all ages and gender. They make a great subject for this new show playing at the Sydney Opera House April 4 – 19, 2015.

Dinosaur Zoo is a fun blend of beautiful puppetry, impressive sound effects and comic humans driving the storyline.

The narrator, Graham, takes the audience on a an educational and fun journey where we learned about several dinosaurs that were discovered in Australia. None of the generic T-Rexes here. Only Aussie dinos, thank you very much. I found it refreshing to learn about these dinosaurs, none of whom I’d heard of before, and to see puppet replicas of them come to life before our eyes.

The show could very easily have been too scary for little kids had a different approach been taken. However, with the high level of interaction and frequent humour, the show was never going to freak out the littlies.

Graham introduced each dinosaur to the audience using the correct scientific terms the entire time. This is not a show that dumbs down science for kids. I was interested to see how the kids would respond to this, as there were a lot of younger kids in the audience, like Cheese. The kids, however, were rapped by the dinosaurs and there was very little fuss during the show that would indicate loss of interest. In fact it was the opposite, The kids were all hanging off Graham’s every word, desperate to be called down to the stage for their chance to pat a dinosaur.

The lesson here: never talk down to kids. Use big words. Kids will absorb them like the little sponges they are.

I was impressed by the quality of the puppets. They were incredibly done, and I found them to be very lifelike. I also liked the variety of dinosaurs used in the show. Babies, insects, carnivores and a big herbivore gave the show a good coverage of dinosaurs in general.

Cheese wasn’t selected to go up on stage, no matter how straight she stuck up her arm, but it didn’t matter as after the show two of the handlers brought out the babies to meet the audience in the foyer.

If you arrive early, kids can enjoy the free creative play set up by the Sydney Opera House in the foyer, called “Echo Table”. By waving their arms over tables, kids can control the emerging patterns and reveal large pictures, like the Mona Lisa, hiding underneath.

For a pre or post-show meal, if you’re after an option out of the theatre, downstairs is the newly-refurbished Opera Kitchen. The food is pricey ($17.50 for a small piece of quiche and fries, $22 for Alec’s OK burger and fries), and the choices for kids aren’t very healthy ($15.50 for a kids’ meal, all of which contain a small soft drink, chips and an ice cream).

While the food was okay, it wasn’t spectacular, so unless you really want to sit and admire the view, I would suggest getting cheaper sandwiches (and a much healthier kids’ pack) from the theatre bar next to the drama studio in the Opera House instead. They offer a $7 Kids’ Box including: White bread cheese sandwich, brown bread vegemite sandwich, a banana or apple, Uncle Toby’s mango & passion fruit yoghurt bar, cheese stick, juice, and a party blower. Check out all the kids’ meal options at the Opera House here.

Dinosaur Zoo is playing at the Sydney Opera House April 4 – 19, 2015.
Suitable for children 5+
Tickets: $39 – $55
Run time: 50 minutes
Parking: If it’s a wet day and you need to drive, use the code “Opera” for discounted parking. Ours cost $9 instead of $15 on a Saturday.

Thank you to the Sydney Opera House for hosting us for this performance and for use of some of these images. All opinions are, as always, my own.

Easter Saturday at The Grounds Of Alexandria

April 4, 2015 / Cheese, Outdoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life / 0 comment

Our first Easter back in Sydney we have been enjoying everything Easter-y possible. It’s no secret that the chocolate holiday is one of my favourite times of the year, and I like to indulge in it – not just eating too many chocolate bunnies, but also enjoying Easter egg hunts, craft days and whatever activities I can find.

I found out The Grounds of Alexandria were hosting an Easter Fair and put it straight on our calendar. Even the prospect of an 8am start didn’t deter me. Nor did the weather when we woke up and it was pouring rain. It didn’t deter many people, it turned out, as the Grounds was packed with many other soggy families determined not to let the rain ruin their Easter.

The wonderful folks at The Grounds had gone to a lot of effort to make the place special for Easter. We visited a few weeks ago on a sunny day and took some photos of their new bunny, “Kate Moss” and the other decorations. I’m using them here because it was way too wet this morning to post for photos.

This morning, however, looked a bit different. The Grounds staff had hidden 5,000 Easter eggs all over their backyard, including one special golden egg that I don’t think anyone had found when we left later in the morning.

They had also created Australia’s biggest chocolate Easter egg, which will be cracked open and shared tomorrow afternoon.

After a bit of waiting around (it turned out Channel 9 were there to film the hunt, so everything was a bit delayed), the Easter egg hunt began, and, despite the rain, it was a really fun morning for all of the families who made the effort to go.

The eggs were liberally spread everywhere, including all over the ground. Pro: everyone went home with plenty of eggs. Con: people were treading on the eggs. I didn’t pity the guy who had to clean up the squashed remnants of chocolate on the round at the end of the day!

While the Grounds folks had the most adorable little pails for kids to use, Cheese brought her old favourite from home.

After the egg hunt was over (it was over when Cheese decided she had enough eggs – there were still eggs strewn around everywhere!), it was time for face painting and crafts. Channel 9 were there to film the festivities too.

And then it was time to take our sodden selves home!

Happy Easter Saturday to you and yours! What are you getting up to for Easter this year?

Hop Into Easter With A Toys”R”Us Virtual Easter Egg Hunt

April 1, 2015 / Indoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life / 0 comment

If your family is anything like mine, Easter is a major event on the calendar. For us, Easter is a time for fun. The whole family gets together, and we all eat a LOT of chocolate bunnies.

For a fun twist on a traditional Easter Egg hunt this year, we are trying the Toys“R”Us’ Augmented Reality Virtual Easter Egg Hunt. From Wednesday 1 – Sunday 12 April, families can pop into their localToys“R”Us store and use their smartphone or tablet to virtually interact withToys“R”Us mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe and his Easter bunny friends.

The characters will lead kids on a virtual adventure through the store to find Geoffrey’s Playground and receive a free Easter treat. Once you reach the end kids can record themselves dancing at the playground with the virtual characters and share it on social media.

The Toys“R”Us’ Augmented Reality Virtual Easter Egg Hunt is a free event for kids of all ages (and the first of its kind in Australia!).

10-year-old, Steph Toys“R”Us’ Chief Toy Tester (um, excuse me, can I be chief toy tester please?!), explains the egg hunt further here:

To take part in the Toys”R”Us Virtual Easter Egg Hunt download the TRU Magic app and head into your closest store:

For IOS

For Android

The Toys“R”Us’ Augmented Reality Virtual Easter Egg Hunt is open for the entire Easter period, from Wednesday 1 – Sunday 12 April, at any of the 34 Toys“R”Us locations across Australia in ACT, NSW, QLD, SA, VIC and WA.

A Guide To The Sydney Royal Easter Show With Little Kids

March 28, 2015 / Animal Experiences, Cheese, Outdoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life / 5 Comments

I’m a long-time lover of the Sydney Royal Easter Show. I’ve been going since I was a kid myself, so have been so looking forward to taking Cheese for the first time this year.

We tackled the day with one objective – to go at Cheese’s pace and let her enjoy it, however she wanted to. This meant we ditched all the things that we usually like to check out, and focussed on a small number of areas that we thought were do-able (and enjoyable!) for a 3.5 year old.

We had such a wonderful day out, particularly teaching our city kid about the animals and country life.

Top picks for little kids:
Here are my recommendations on ways to spend an enjoyable day with toddlers and preschoolers.

The Animal Walk: This is fun for all ages, and is particularly awesome for kids. Follow the giant paw prints around all of the animal pavilions. Pick up a “passport” and collect a stamp from each station. The pavilions are a lot more interactive now than when I was a kid. There are now colouring in stations, and areas where you can watch chickens hatching, “pat a chick”, and watch wool being spun.

Pat A Pig: Kids can give cute little piglets a tickle, and check out newborn piggies in the stall adjacent.

Sheep Shearing: After watching the demonstration, kids can assist the shearers in shearing a sheep.

Farmyard Nursery: A classic favourite. Get up close with goats, chickens and other barnyard favourites. As you exit, you can have you photograph taken with the cutest lamb you’ve ever seen. $15 for one large, high quality image, or $25 for a pack.

Food Farm: Technically this is on the animal walk, but there are no live animals here. Instead, you’ll find a lot of interactive stations for kids to play as they learn about where our food comes from. Cheese’s favourite was the play chicken laying shed, where she placed eggs under hens and then collected the eggs over and over and over. The tractor that kids could climb into and pretend to drive was another hit.

The Dairy Farmers Milking Shed: Here’s your kid’s chance to try their hand at milking one of the more gentle cows.

Live Shows: Cheese highly enjoyed the My Little Pony and Giggle And Hoot live shows. Both had live singing and the characters dancing, and ran for 25 minutes each under the shady Big Top Amphitheatre. A great way to take a rest break and keep the kids entertained at the same time.

Circus Workshops: Kids can try their hand at circus arts under the guidance of Ashton Entertainment Circus professionals.

Character Meet And Greets: Say hello to “Oh” from the movie “Home” (have you seen it yet? It’s adorable!) and Transformers.

Ferris Wheel: The rides are expensive. For three of us to do the ferris wheel it was $23. It was worth it though, to take Cheese on her first ferris wheel and see her face light up with joy as we flew through the air. We also had a fabulous view of the show and surrounds up there, making it a nice change of pace when you need a break from the crowds.

Showbags: A visit to the show ins’t complete without a showbag. The little kiddie ones are at the entrance, making it a stress-free experience to drop by with a little kid and not get stuck roaming around the pavilion with a kid who wants everything. The showbags that Cheese wanted were all the licensed character types, which were around $26 each. Cheese picked out the Disney Princess and Dance bags, both of which I was happy to see were excellent value. Each had a lot of items that Cheese will get a lot of use out of (like dress up items, hair bands, play jewellery and wands), and were of good quality. She was thrilled.

Tips for making the day a success
Start early: Get there when it opens as the showground is very quiet for the first few hours. Crowds start picking up around midday.
Set a budget: Decide before you go how many rides/showbags/toys the kids can have and stick to it. Pack food and your own water bottle to help keep the costs down.
Schedule wisely: With little kids, you’re not going to see everything in one day, so pick a handful of experiences to enjoy, and leave the rest for next year.
Keep kids close: With so many distractions it’s easy to lose your kids. Write your phone number on their arm or on a band around their wrist (I think they hand these out at the main entrance as I saw a lot of kids with them).

A big thank you to the Sydney Royal Easter Show for providing me with tickets to write this blog post. Head to the Sydney Royal Easter Show for your own magical day out. The Easter Show runs from Thursday 26 March to Wednesday 8 April, 2015, at Sydney Olympic Park.

Sydney By Sea

March 25, 2015 / Cheese, Outdoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life / 0 comment

One of the best ways to get around Sydney is undoubtedly by ferry. While a bit on the pricer side ($6 for a single short trip), the view is magnificent, no matter what destination you choose.

For Cheese’s first ferry trip, we caught one from Circular Quay to Darling Harbour. Adorably, she thinks all ferries are called “Fergus” after the book series based on a Sydney ferry called, you got it, Fergus.

How much fun is it to just jump on a ferry and explore somewhere new? I’d love to hear where you’ve been exploring lately.

Win A Family Pass To The Sydney Royal Easter Show!

March 12, 2015 / Sydney, Sydney Life / 14 Comments

Who wants tickets to the Sydney Royal Easter Show? I’m giving away ONE FAMILY PASS valued at $114.20. All you have to do for your chance to win is complete the entry form below.

The giveaway is open Friday March 13 – Tuesday 11:59pm March 17, 2015. The winner must be an Australian resident and is responsible for their own accommodation and transport to Sydney if they are not already a Sydney local.

The winner will receive a family pass to the Sydney Royal Easter Show valued at $114.20 (please note this is a full price family ticket, not an early bird price).

· Each is an admission ticket that gains ticketholder entry to the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

· Tickets include same day return public transport.

· Tickets can be used from 26 March to 8 April 2015 at Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park.

The winner will be chosen based on the creativity of their answer.

Further Terms And Conditions.

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The winner will be chosen by my guest judge, Leah of KidBucketList. KidBucketList is a family adventure blog that focuses on travels and activities in and around Sydney, further afield and overseas. Check out KidBucketList on the web, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Head to the Sydney Royal Easter Show for your own magical day out. The Easter Show runs from Thursday 26 March to Wednesday 8 April, 2015, at Sydney Olympic Park. Book your family tickets before midnight March 16 for a discounted rate of $99.50 (includes return public transport).

Linking up with Bron.

Octonauts Live! Operation Reef Shield Review

March 8, 2015 / Cheese, Sydney, Sydney Life, Theatre / 0 comment

After our wonderful Octonauts experience at the Sydney Sealife Aquarium a few months ago, Cheese has been very excited about seeing the Octonauts Live! Operation Reef Shield show. We finally saw the show over the weekend and both thoroughly enjoyed it. Said Cheese: “It was my favourite!”.

This brand new show takes place in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, making it a fun and educational experience for the kids. The Great Barrier Reef is under attack, and it’s up to the Octonauts to find who is hurting the reef and to stop them.

I thought I’d do this review a bit differently, and list what Cheese and I both enjoyed about the show.

What Cheese enjoyed:
All of the characters from the TV show were there on stage.

She loved all the songs (there were 15 songs!).

She was equally scared by and enjoyed the grumpy coral.

She thought the sea snot cucumbers was both gross and funny.

Simple storyline she was able to follow.

The dancing: a lot of the characters actually danced!

What I enjoyed:
Run time: Including a 20 minutes interval it went for about an hour and 20 minutes. Perfect for the attention span of little people.

It was fun: The show is very entertaining with very colourful and cute characters and lively songs.

It was educational: The villain of the show, the Crown of Thorns Starfish, has a propensity to eat coral. We learned how an outbreak of these animals can destroy a reef. We also learned about many of the animals that live in the reef and their part in keeping the reef healthy.

It was age appropriate: Everything about this show was perfect for preschoolers/young primary aged kids. The volume of the show, visuals, content, time of performance. It was extremely well done.

Thank you so much Life Like Touring and Octonauts for this very special experience.

Octonauts Live! Operation Reef Shield is touring Australia from 21 Feb to 28 March 2015. Tickets for Octonauts Live! Operation Reef Shield are on sale now at octonautslive.com.au.

Scenic World: A Day In The Blue Mountains With Kids

March 5, 2015 / Cheese, Outdoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life / 24 Comments

Growing up in Sydney, it was always a special day trip to drive up to the Blue Mountains and go bush for a few hours. I’ve always loved spending hours traipsing down trails through lush rainforest to a waterfall with no one else in sight. Magical.

Since moving back I’ve been wanting to take the Cheese for a trip up to the mountains to get a bit of bush into our city kid, and we finally got around to it a week ago.

Going bush with a preschooler who hates walking long distances anyway required a different type of preparation. I decided that the best way for us all to enjoy the day out was to visit Scenic World, so we could get a bit of variation in our activities, so we could all still experience the bush, but in a way that was accessible and fun for a 3.5 year old as well.

Scenic World sits right in the middle of the world-heritage listed Blue Mountains, and consists of four activities: the Scenic Skyway, the Scenic Railway, the Scenic Cableway and the Scenic Walkway.

We arrived a bit hungry, so started our morning off with coffees and snacks at the Terrace Cafe. The views from this cafe are spectacular – I’d suggest visiting just to get a few photos at Mary’s Lookout.

Next we hopped on the Scenic Skyway to take our first look at the valley from the air.

Suspended 270 metres above the Jamison Falls Valley, the Skyway glides between two cliff tops. With 360 degree views and a glass bottom floor, the view is nothing short of breathtaking. On one side is the famous Three Sister rock formation and the Jamison Valley stretching off into the horizon. On the other are the majestic Katoomba Falls.

It’s interesting to hear that the Scenic Skyway was actually Australia’s first cable car (constructed in 1958 and pictured above), and that it boasts the world’s only electrostatic glass floor, turning from opaque to transparent. In its 67 year history, the Skyway has carried over 25 million passengers.

When we disembarked at the Skyway’s east station, we had the option of checking out the views and getting back on the Skyway to ride back across, or taking a stroll down to the Katoomba Cascades and then walking back to Scenic World (about a 15 minute walk). I was lured by the cascades and off we went. Of course, what’s meant to be a 5 minutes walk with a preschooler ends up being an hour walk once we stopped to pick up sticks and throw leaves into a little river.

Eventually we made it to the cascades and they were gorgeous. The helpful guide on the Skyway actually suggested we take Cheese down to the cascades as it’s a short walk down and kids can get right up close to the waterfall. He was certainly right. Cheese and Alec took off their shoes and happily splashed around in the cool mountain water.

Back at Scenic World we stopped for lunch at their restaurant, EATS270.

We grabbed a table with a view that made us all stop in awe for a moment, and ordered burgers (one meat and one vegetarian) and fries, plus a beetroot salad. They had lots of vegetarian meals on offer, and the cuisine, while simple, was varied enough that most people would be able to find something to eat. Their menus offered Asian, Italian and Australian items, with options ranging from light (sandwiches, salads, wraps) to substantial (pizza, pasta, burgers). The restaurant features seasonal produce sourced from local suppliers where possible.

Our food was cooked quickly and also eaten just as quickly, as we admired the view and prepared for the next stop on our adventure. Everything was fresh and well-cooked. Simple, hearty food that was good for this picky eater and her family to nourish them on their day in the bush.

Next on our agenda (and unfortunately everyone else’s) was the Scenic Railway. We really should have done this first as it had the longest wait of any of the experiences. No matter. The train departs every 10 minutes, so even with a huge queue it moved quite quickly.

While we were waiting, the friendly staff gave Cheese and some of the other kids a few instruments to play to occupy themselves.

The Scenic Railway is famous for its 52 degree incline, making it the steepest passenger railway in the world. Since the Railway opened to the public in 1945 (happy 70th birthday!), it has thrilled over 25 million passengers.

After a redevelopment in 2013, the carriages now have glass roofs, so you get an even better view of the rainforest and Jamison Valley than I remember from my last visit when I was a teenager. If you’re more of a daredevil you can adjust the seat position by up to 20 degrees and choose an adventurous ‘Cliffhanger’ ride at a steep 64 degree incline.

The Railway ride took us on a very fast descent through a cliff-side tunnel, and then ancient rainforest. It was fast, and steep, as promised. It was so steep that Cheese was falling out of her seat and I had to hold onto her tight. She loved it. The preschooler in front of us was screaming to get off. Cheese was yelling to do it again. Of course.

At the Railway exit, we emerged from our thrilling descent onto the Jamison Valley floor. The Scenic Walkway is at the base of the Railway, giving passengers the opportunity to stroll along 2.4 kilometres of Jurassic rainforest on an elevated walkway. The walkway means there is limited impact on the environment from all of the visitors, as well as making it super easy for families and less mobile people to enjoy a bush experience.

Right at the exit sits one of the original carriages for visitors to climb up on and take a look at. Of course Cheese wanted to climb everything so up we went and perched on the edge of the seats. I cannot imagine how scary it would have been to ride down the railway in this carriage.

Along the boardwalk, we checked out a few elements of the site’s cola mining history, including the mine entrance, a replica miners’ hut and scale bronze sculpture of a miner and his pit pony. The sculptures of the miner and pit pony were very popular with tourists and kids alike.

There are three different routes you can take on the boardwalk that take 10 min, 30 min or an hour. I was keen for a longer walk but Cheese was showing signs of getting pretty tired by this stage so we opted for the shortest walk, which also lead to the Scenic Cableway back out of the valley.

The Cableway gently descends and ascends (depending which direction you’re going) 545 metres between the Jamison Valley and top of the escarpment at Scenic World. With all-glass sides we were treated to another killer view of the valley and rock formations as we returned to Scenic World HQ, including Orphan Rock and Mt Solitary.

Our bush outing was a complete success. We catered to our preschooler’s ability and thus we all had a very enjoyable day.

I absolutely love the mountains and we will absolutely be back to explore more as Cheese gets older and can handle more strenuous outings.

Scenic World
Tickets: The ultimate Scenic World experience includes unlimited rides on the Railway, Skyway, Cableway and Walkway.
Adult: $35.00
Child (4-13yrs): $18.00
Family: $88.00 (2 adults and 5 children)
Concession: $32.00
To enjoy the Unlimited Discovery Pass experience, please allow at least two hours.
Open daily from 9am-5pm
Scenic World is located at on the corner of Violet Street & Cliff Drive, Katoomba in Australia’s World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains.
Get Directions

EATS270: Open 10:30am – 3:00pm daily.
Terrace Cafe: Open 9:00am – 5:00pm daily.

FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN (From the Scenic World website)
Scenic World is a third-generation family business and welcomes families with children.

All Scenic World experiences are suitable for children of any age. Babies and small children are welcome on all rides and must be held by a guardian as baby seats are not provided on the Railway, Skyway or Cableway. Prams are not permitted on the Railway and pram accessibility is limited on the Walkway.

Pram parking, storage lockers and baby change facilities are located in our Main Building.

A huge thank you to Scenic World for hosting us.