Every time I’m around Forest Hill I have the same problem: I genuinely don’t know where to take the kids. There’s no big drawcard playground worth a special trip out here, and even the free kids play space up on Level 3 at Forest Hill Chase is pretty forgettable once you’ve been a couple of […]
Maple Grove Playground, Pakenham East
Maple Grove Playground, Pakenham East: A New One-Hectare Park Worth the Drive We’d seen a few photos of Maple Grove Playground pop up in a local parents’ group before we’d even worked out where Pakenham East was on the map. A full hectare of playground sounded like one of those things that gets exaggerated in […]
Chowder Bay Playground, Mosman — Sydney’s Sandpit-and-Harbour-View Combo
Someone mentioned Chowder Bay to us at a birthday party months before we actually went, the way these things happen, and by the time we finally drove out there we’d built it up into something more elaborate than a playground and a beach. It’s neither disappointing nor overhyped. It’s a genuinely good spot, and most […]
Roma Street Parkland with Kids – Playgrounds, Free Entry and What to Know Before You Go
We’d told a friend visiting from Sydney that we’d take her somewhere for flowers, and her first question was whether we were driving out to Toowoomba. We weren’t. Roma Street Parkland sits a five-minute walk from the CBD, and most people who live in Brisbane still manage to forget it’s there. That’s the strange thing […]
The Gables Lake Foreshore Playground – Sydney’s New Lakeside Playground
There’s a new spot in Sydney’s Hills District that’s been popping up all over our social feeds lately, and after a couple of visits, we get why. The Gables Lake Foreshore Playground opened to the public in July 2026, and it’s not really one playground at all. It’s five of them, strung around a four-hectare […]
Gumnuts Playland Knox Review
We’d been putting off a weekend trip to Westfield Knox for weeks, mostly because every indoor play centre we already knew felt a bit tired. Then a friend mentioned a new one had opened on Level 2, near Timezone, with a whole nature theme and Aussie animal mascots. That was enough to get us in […]
Variety Place, Kings Park Reviews
There’s a particular kind of boredom that sets in once a child hits six or seven and a standard playground stops being interesting. The slide gets done in one go, the swing lasts about ninety seconds, and then you’re standing around while they ask what’s next. Variety Place, tucked into the Saw Avenue Picnic Area […]
Stuart Park Playground, Wollongong
On the way back from Berrima, we decided to make a quick stop in Wollongong. A friend had found this playground on Google Maps — Stuart Park in North Wollongong, rated 4.5 — and figured it’d be a nice leg-stretch before the rest of the drive home. We had no idea what we were actually […]
Markham Reserve Playground
If you’re after a fully fenced, all-ages playground just around the corner from Chadstone Shopping Centre, Markham Reserve Playground in Ashburton is one of the best in Melbourne’s east. It’s big enough to fill a whole afternoon, varied enough for toddlers through to tweens, and close enough to a train station that you don’t need […]
The Hills District All Abilities Playground
We at last arrived to the well-known “Little Bee Park” (The Hills District All Abilities Playground) this week — a place I’d wanted to visit for a long time. As soon as my child turned one, I can still remember how difficult it was to locate a decent playground. It felt like opening a mystery […]