Month: March 2016

Ponsford Drive, Point Cook

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Location:

This park can be seen as you drive along Boardwalk Boulevard, right before the petrol station and the group of shops on Tom Roberts Parade. Jack especially liked watching the passing traffic as the trucks and buses frequently drive along this road. Every time one would go past, he’d stop and point! The park is split, with the bigger kids equipment on one side and the smaller,brighter equipment aimed at the younger kids on the other.

The smaller playground is on the left
The pathway leading to the oval
The swings are on the left
The bouncy grasshopper, suited for 2
The smaller kids playground
Easy to climb!
Jack’s favourite – bouncy ladybeetle
Plenty of climbing opportunities
The music station
The music station
Plenty of climbing options for the little kids
The right hand side, bigger kids, play equipment
The bigger kids play equipment
Bigger kids play equipment
More big kids climbing equipment

Equipment:

  • Swings (infant and normal)
  • slides (1 on the bigger kids equipment and 1 on the smaller)
  • spring see saw
  • spring ladybird & grasshopper
  • heaps of climbing apparatus for both the big and little kids
  • music stations, although I don’t think the yellow music notes actually worked – it all sounded the same to me.
  • rock walls to climb
  • grassed footy oval to run around on
  • balance barrels
  • flying fox

Jack liked:

climbing into and out of the lady beetle! He was extra excited that it moved when he jumped as well. There were several different climbing structures for him to get up to the next level of platforms, so that was a bit of fun as well. He always loves having a go in the swing. Overall, this is probably one of the more family friendly parks, for when you have kids of different ages.  The equipment is low and accessible for my little boy, so I’d definitely say it’s toddler friendly.

Silverbay Avenue, Point Cook

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View from Silverbay Avenue
The exercise equipment
The truck
Truck – complete with moving gearstick
and steering wheel
Jack driving the truck – has moving pieces on the front

Location:

Silverbay Avenue, Point Cook is located in Saltwater Coast. This park is connected to other parks in the area by the great walking pathways. You do need to be able to venture past the awesome looking crocodile park, to discover the ‘pocket parks’ that exist in this estate.  It has enough for the bigger kids and the little ones as well. The BBQ’s are a nice touch for the whole family experience.

Equipment:

  • sand-based playground surface, with rubber tracks throughout leading  to most of the equipment
  • Truck,, with moving gear stick & steering wheel. Heaps of entry/exit points, lots of seating, moving ‘puzzle’ pieces on the front
  • The other structure was aimed at the bigger kids,- there was no easy access for little toddler legs
  • slide
  • 2 swings (1 infant solid harness seat, 1 normal)
  • 1 spring loaded motorbike
  • 1 spring loaded see-saw (suits 4 people)
  • sheltered BBQ area close by
  • exercise equipment for the adults

Jack liked:

climbing on the truck! He was up, down, over, under, everything! The only downside of this park, is the sand. At this point in time, Jack hates having sand on his hands, and every time he falls over, he raises his hands to me, so that I can brush them off. Once he’s over this I’m sure we’ll be back to visit this little park again.

Emerald Lake Park

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Location:

Just a bit over an hour away, this park has it all! Ducks, water pedal bikes, BBQ’s, heaps of walking tracks, playground equipment, oh, and Puffing Billy! During the summer months there is even a lifeguard patrolled wading pool.

Equipment:

  • the lake, plenty of bird life, and there are always people fishing here as well. Also the water pedal boats are a bit of fun too.
  • there’s several play zones
  • walking tracks around the lake, to Puffing Billy and the kiosk
  • Plenty of shade for the hotter days

Jack liked:

the ducks! He is always happy to point and exclaim loudly whenever he’s around the ducks. The day we visited was boiling hot, and I think Jack wasn’t quite walking, so we didn’t stay for a play on the equipment. There’s heaps of shaded areas though and extremely family friendly. We  saw Puffing Billy but didn’t go on it – figured we’d wait for Jack to be a little older and appreciate it more. He wasn’t a fan of the noise from the train though.

Millpond Drive Playground, Point Cook

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The playground
The undercover seating located at the back of the equipment
Swings
The open area to kick a ball or run around, right across from the playground
Jack enjoyed spinning on this
He also enjoyed eating the tanbark
Climbing the steps
Using the steering wheel

Location:

Located on Millpond Drive, this playground is found in Featherbrook estate, which is the next estate over from home. The playground has heaps of open space for the bigger kids to play and run. It does back onto the Featherbrook Wetlands, which is handy to watch the wildlife that exist down in the wetlands. As the wetlands aren’t fenced off, you do have to make sure that the kids don’t enter the water.  You  can ride to the park, as there are paths that stretch for several km’s and also visit several other parks along the way. The playground itself, feels quite sheltered. It is naturally protected by the trees that were mass planted around the outskirts.  The picnic facilities are also undercover.

Equipment:

  • 2 slides, one large, one smaller
  • plenty of balance/ climbing apparatus
  • climbing walls with foot and hand holes
  • flying fox
  • monkey bars
  • steering wheel
  • swings – 1 x infant harness, 1 x normal
  • Spinning roundabout

Jack liked:

spinning on the thing that went around (I tried to find a glossary of terms to define what each piece of equipment should be called), but you can see what it is in the pictures and video above. He also liked climbing up the stairs and  running around the playground.

Windorah Drive Playground, Point Cook

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The pathway leading up to the playground
The playground
The interesting height of the playground (compared to Jack)
The gap at the top of the stairs, is not ideal for smaller kids
Jack looking up and realising just how much further he had to go!

Location:

Located on Windorah Drive & Cloudy Crescent, this is also one of the closer parks to home. Unfortunately this is not a park that Jack and I will be returning to until he is tall enough to climb, and I’m happy enough to leave him without worrying about him falling through the gaps. Definitely not a toddler friendly park.  There’s plenty of seating around to sit and watch.

Equipment:

  • definitely a big kids park
  • 1 slide
  • lots of climbing equipment (generally starting around Jack’s shoulder height)
  • tanbark throughout the park
  • the composition of the equipment is odd – heavy, metal, solid pieces. The curved piece that has holes in it (under the tower for the slide) is made of metal. There appears to be either pieces of the park that have been missing or have been damaged, and haven’t been replaced.
  • bike/ walking pathways throughout the park

Jack liked:

throwing the tanbark! He did attempt climbing up the slide, but he even gave up on that when he realised just how far he had to go!

Middle Park Community Playground, Albert Park Lake

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Community Playground entrance
Extensive wooden playground
BBQ and table area
The maze of pathways
Easy to climb stairs
Not so easy to navigate with a toddler on your lap
2 sets of these awesome swings

Location:

We headed to Albert Park Lake to check out this playground, as Dad had to venture into his work. The  signs and barricades were still up form the Grand Prix. The playground is actually located in Middle Park, and there are heaps of parking around too.  It’s accessible from the tram/light rail as well.

Equipment:

  • extensive wooden playground
  • 2 sets of swings, each with a baby harnessed swing, a toddler chain swing, and 2 x big kids swing
  • multiple slides, 1 into a sandpit section
  • multiple viewing platforms
  • different balance platforms (balance beams, vinyl bouncy ramp)
  • tyre sections to climb through
  • BBQ’s, park benches and toilets
  • all protected by shadecloth
  • most of the park, is tanbark, with rubber matting under the swings

Jack liked:

the Thomas face painted on the entrance wall to the playground. The steps were easy enough to climb up, but several sections, we had to carry him to climb back down. The tyres, although fun with me, were interesting to crawl over with Jack also in my lap.  The vinyl bouncy ramp, Jack enjoyed as well. He also loved swinging on the swings with the other kids. Overall a great park to visit that’s extremely popular with kids of all ages. There was definitely enough for the mini kids to do, and the playground lends itself to being an epic area to play tag!

Flower Pot Park, Point Cook

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The upside down flower pot’s and the garden hose shape this park
Complete with sandpit
Mini rock-climbing wall
Little swing
Musical penguin
Jack turning the ‘tap’ on

Location:

This is the closest park to walk to from home for us, located just off Malibu Boulevard. You will see the extensive undercover BBQ section, and the oval that is right next to the park. It was originally marketed as a community herb garden when we originally moved in, hence why there are fruit trees and other bits and pieces growing in the near vicinity. The park is also close to the little traffic school in case your little ones wanted to go for a ride around there as well.  Very popular for large gatherings and birthday parties.

Equipment:

  • sandpit, with permanent toys
  • 2 slides
  • 1 swing (adult required to help with this one)
  • lots of ‘pots’ and ‘garden hoses’ to wander around, crawl through, climb on
  • ‘House’with ropes to climb, poles to slide down, lower level to climb through the doors
  • musical penguins
  • mostly tanbark

Jack liked:

the musical penguins – you pull the handle back and it slams into the penguins, each generating their own unique sound. Also fun was climbing up on the bench besides the penguins. Jack would venture into the sandpit, but every time he fell over, he had to walk over to me to get his hands dusted off. This park is a little abstract, yet seems to be very popular with the kiddies. Oh, and if the parents get bored, they can bring their chess pieces and play a game on the picnic tables, as the boards are set in the table top.

Lennon Boulevard, Point Cook

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The park
Jack sized slide! Perfect for climbing up, of course!
…or sliding down backwards
Lots of easy climbing options
More climbing options
Cubbies & tunnels on the bottom level
open parkland, riding tracks
More equipment over the other side of the park

Location:

The park is located in the middle of, what I call, a gigantic roundabout, on Lennon Boulevard. There are lots of cycle paths around it, BBQ’s, a half court basketball court, and swings and slides.  I drive past it daily, and had noticed that it appeared to be a great height for Jack. The slide is smaller than normal, with plenty of easy-to-climb things for both the little ones, and the slightly bigger ones. The only downside is the lack of parking and Lennon Boulevard has a lot of passing traffic.

 

Equipment:

  • mini slide, medium slide
  • bendy bridge
  • climbing ramp with footholds
  • window and door cubby house
  • tunnel
  • monkey bars
  • climbing balance poles
  • swings located in opposite section of park
  • half-court basketball court
  • cycle/walking paths

Jack liked:

the mini slide as he was able to climb straight up it, and felt comfortable enough to go down by himself. He also liked the ramp to climb up that had footholds and molded handholds in it. The moving, bendy bridge was a new one for him. He wasn’t too sure about walking over it unless I was holding his hand. He decided the safest way to get across it, was to slide on his tummy, do a 180 degree turn, and then crawl back up, after he got to the lowest part. Definitely one of the more toddler friendly parks that I have come across (so far).

Village Kids, Werribee Zoo playground

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The view of the playground, across the lawns
The equipment
Climbing the stairs
Jack at the top, looking down
sitting on the concrete statues out the front of the zoo

Location:

At the Werribee Zoo (K Road, Werribee)! Has a grassed area nearby and picnic tables to sit and watch the kids at play. Plenty of shady trees as well. The zoo has heaps of different play areas (water play at the hippo beach during summer, for example). So this will definitely be a work in progress post.

Equipment:

  • swings
  • climbing apparatus
  • tower
  • balls to slide along the poles
  • slide

Jack liked:

sliding the balls along the poles.  He liked hearing them clunk against each other as they reached the bottom. Jack climbed the stairs to the top tower. To be honest, we didn’t stay too long, as the day we were there, the bees were swarming in the trees at the back of the playground. I didn’t really feel up to finding out how Jack would go if he got stung, so decided that I’ll have to come back soon.

 

Sidney Nolan Park, Point Cook

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The park
Double slide (Large)
Peekaboo!
Toddler slide

Location:

The park is located along Bronhill Vista, between Tom Roberts Parade & Palmers Avenue. There’s plenty of parking along the edge and there’s walking/ cycling tracks through the park.  There are mature trees in the area and BBQ’s close by. Most of the park is tanbark, with a few rubber spots under the swings.

Equipment:

  • 2 x standard swings
  • 2 x baby swings
  •  smaller slide suitable for toddlers
  • larger double slide
  • lots of climbing equipment
  • monkey bars/ rings
  • springy bouncy thing
  • moving board
  • spring see saw

Jack liked:

the cubby house window- he thought peekaboo was a bit of fun. We were there with a few other kids and Jack is at the age that older kids fascinate him. He tried climbing on everything, but he is not comfortable with the ramps to get to the slides, when they have holes in them.