Month: March 2017

The Grove, Tarneit

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Located:

I love new housing estates, and this one is no exception. A great little playground to entertain the kids, built alongside the land sales office, and this one has a gorgeous cafe space attached (Little Growling Cafe). The first time we came here, Jack noticed the huge blue and green intertwining slides immediately! I then pointed out the cows grazing across the road. We came mid-week and there was no problem with finding a car spot, or getting a table in the cafe. The cafe is designed with open alfresco doors that show off the playground, and even allow parents to sit and watch their little ones at play. The playground (when we originally came here) was fully fenced, but we noticed on the second visit, the gate was removed on one of the entries. The playground showcases a local frog species, and has motion activated Growling Frog noises and the statues show the lifecycle of tadpoles to frogs. There is a grassed area that also sits beside the playground and toilets are available (between the cafe and the land sales office).

Equipment:

  • 2 large intertwined enclosed tunnel slides
  • soft rubber material for the ground
  • wooden ramps to smaller slide
  • 1 leaning pole
  • 1 spinning pole
  • 2 in ground trampoline mats
  • 1 spinning cup
  • 1 flying fox (the full harness has been removed, and there is now only the small seated pole to hold onto)
  • 1 nest swing
  • 1 large net climbing structure
  • rubber stepping pods
  • supernova (spinning/balance ring)

Jack liked:

He always likes sitting on and climbing on the frogs and listening to them growl/croak. The first time he came here he could sit in the harness for the flying fox, but by the time we came for another visit, the seat was changed, and definitely suits bigger kids only. He happily ran up and tamp multiple times to go down the smaller slide, but thankfully the bigger slides were locked until the land office opened them later on. He loves having a jump on the trampoline too. Although not a huge playground, there is generally enough to keep the little ones entertained, especially while the parents enjoy a coffee!

Maritime Cove Community Park, Port Melbourne

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Located:

This playground, is hidden, nestled between huge walls of the Dock complex, and the beach that overlooks Princes Pier, where the huge ships beckon. If you head along Todd Road, and turn onto the side road, before seeing the Life Saving Victoria building, you will eventually find a car park. Towards the end of the car park, you can see the playground start to peak out from behind the coastal tea trees. The whole area has been beautifully landscaped and works with the natural surroundings. Several people have used the gorgeous bike paths to ride down to have a play. There were a few shipping containers that people were also using to house some birthday parties – a very popular place!

Equipment:

  • large sand/grit based play
    • separated into toddler play
      • smaller timber climbing structure, with steps, footholds, small slide
      • large sand play wall
      • digger
      • turtle and seal statues
      • boat structure
      • spinning tyre
      • spinning bowl
    • majority of the remaining play encompasses nets and climbing
      • large net climbing walls
      • balance net walks
      • timber structure with large metal slide
      • moving bridges
      • fireman pole
      • sand play
  • several buoys/channel markers that the kids can climb on – added footholds, ladders
  • water play area
    • driven by the action of the see saw or the hand pump. Quite a workout to get the spray out!
    • channel play in another area

Jack liked:

climbing into the channel markers, and climbing up the poles to have a lookout at the whole area. Once I figured out he was happy to walk on the sand with his shoes off, he was more excited about exploring the area. He loved the sand play wall and tipping the dish of sand into the spouts or onto the balance dish and seeing where the sand went. The playground was quite busy on the weekend when we visited, and Jack loved helping his dad pump the water and wet everyone in the water play section. A lot of the playground is still too advanced for him, but this is a playground I will return to when Jack is old enough to climb and explore by himself!

Brimbank Park, Keilor

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Located:

Jack and I came to check out Brimbank Park, after having a play at the Pirate Ship Playground, as it was close to the freeway, to head back home. We didn’t stay too long as the weather turned just as we headed for the car. Once you navigate the drive through the park, and find a car park (extremely easy, even on the weekend we visited) the playground beckons with cute statues of animals for the kids to find, pat and climb on. The area backs onto The Brownstone Cafe, which would be handy for a quick coffee pick up – we didn’t get a chance to visit though. We only had time to wander the pathways and visit the giant platypus, before heading for the car. We will have to plan another visit here, and bring Jack’s bike, to get a great tour of the all the parklands.

Equipment:

  • pathway maze
  • multiple animal/food statues – frogs, platypus, dog, ravens, cow, cheese, peas, tomato
  • multiple signs in Braille and Auslan
  • multiple swings, with toddler harness
  • hammock swing
  • there is more information provided on the Parks Victoria page that details the accessible nature of this playspace

Jack liked:

the statues – he exclaimed that the tomatoes were yum (totally a first for him) and ran up to the dog to give him a pat and a hug. He was too young to follow the maze and to understand the directions, but he was happy to find different textures in each area. He loved climbing on the giant platypus and pointing to the planes flying overhead.