15 Great Things About Bunnings Park (Capalaba Regional Park).

1. It has an awesome sandpit (BYO Tonka truck and Thomas shovel).
2. There is a really fun flying fox.
3. Plenty of toddler and big kids climbing forts (one metal and plastic with a play area underneath and one wooden obstacle course style one which we use to enter the park).
4. Large climbing rope fort for the big kids, with areas on it below for the younger ones.
5. Swings! Including disabled swings and a wheel chair one.
6. Lots of slides, including a toddler racing one down one side of the hill.
7. Ducks in the duck pond on the other side of the fence, the park is fenced on three sides, with gates, and the entrance to the park is via a hilly playground area.
8. Shaded picnic huts and lots of park benches throughout the play area.
9. Grassed area for kicking a ball.
10. Lots of paved paths for riding scooters/bikes etc
11. Toilet block up near the car park and an off street car park with plenty of parking spaces.
12. Gated dog park nearby.
13. Wooden drum, hollow metal table drum and a rain sounding metal spinning wheel as musical instruments to explore.
14. Bunnings coffee shop stand next door outside Bunnings for the essential take away coffee and biscuits/muffins.
15. Plenty of wildlife around the park, including a noisy but fascinating bunch of white galahs that fly around overhead.

A morning with Tonka truck and Thomas the Tank shovel at Bunnings Park, Capalaba.

Master2 chose a Thomas the Tank engine little light blue shovel with a wooden handle at a cheap as chips store on a long drive we took through the Atherton Tablelands on our recent trip to Palm Cove, FNQ, last school holidays. This shovel then did the rounds of every park in Cairns and it's surrounds for the duration of our trip. Nothing says happiness like a 2 year old with a Thomas the Tank shovel! And I have to say, it got a fair workout at Palm Cove's beach side park while we were there too. Today, though, along with his newly found love of Master6's old very large Tonka truck, Thomas shovel took a trip with us to our new favourite sandpit at Bunnings Park, as it's known by the locals,(Capalaba Regional Park is the official park name according to Google Maps). What I like best is that it is a large dedicated sandpit, with two sail inspired sand tables differing in height. It's at the top of the playground, also, which means Master2 has a good old play in the sand before we head down for a swing and a play in the other areas of the park before heading home. On this occasion, a water bottle was an added attraction, as Master2 loved to pour out the water into the sand tables. Luckily, there is a drink fountain not too far away, as there were many refils! If you are looking for a workout, pushing a toddler on the flying fox, while running with it so he doesn't fall off, will match any aerobic class there is at the gym. Don't forget to jump on and have a go yourself, but beware that it gets quite low in the middle and if you are sitting your bum will scrap the ground. There were two adult visitors to the park today, sans kids, the lady riding the flying fox, while the male partner filmed it on his phone (most likely hoping for a funny moment to upload it to UTube). They were having a ball, who says you have to have kids to enjoy a playground! We also saw a campervan with grey nomads out taking a walk through grounds, and a heap of people out for exercise walks along the bike paths behind the playground, as well as dog walkers taking their dogs to the gated dog park nearby. In case you are wondering why it's called Bunnings park, it's because there is a Bunnings located on the block next door (great, as it has a mobile coffee stand outside!). This is fast becoming one of my fave parks.

10 Great Things About Lota Foreshore Park

1. It has a set of swings, one standard and one toddler (essential!).
2. Has toddler and big kid wooden play/climbing huts.
3. It has a toilet block(including disabled).
4. Plenty of parking around the park.
5. Cafe opposite for essential coffee/chips/icecream.
6. Has sand to play in (BYO bucket and shovel).
7. Paved footpath for riding scooters/bikes.
8. Shaded picnic huts and BBQs (BYO snags).
9. Lots of surrounding grass areas for kicking a footy or for picnic blankets.
10. View of the bay!

Official Opening of Lota Foreshore Park

It promised to be big and it certainly didn't disappoint. The official re-opening of Lota park was a great morning, with fabulous weekend weather to boot. We parked at the Manly markets and strolled down along the bay, with scooters and a freshly bathed dog (thanks to the dog washer at the markets), running into a school mum friend and her toddler along the way who joined us for the fun. I have to say, there weren't quite as many people there as I'd expected, at least no where near as many as there would have been had it been at the Lighthouse Park (Bandstand Park) further back down the esplanade, but that's not a bad thing. There were certainly plenty of happy kids eating free snow cones, sausages in bread and $1 cupcakes, while the parents enjoyed sitting in the warming sun. Impatient for a caffine fix, I was a little unimpressed with the long wait for my take away coffees from the cafe opposite (realising my mistake of missing the coffee tent at the park on the way back from the cafe). The cafe wasn't busy, and the wait probably wasn't that long, but it felt like forever while I watched the young waitress fluff around with the coffees her workmate was making, me tapping my numbered piece of paper, and Master2 in the stroller looking at the park longingly. The cafe is more a fish and chip shop with cafe seating and a coffee machine, but it was neat and although I'll be avoiding the coffee wait in future (unless totally desperate) I'll probably order some fish and chips for the kids there before too long. After a play at the park, we meandered around while the Lota school raffle was drawn, (we didn't win, but probably a good thing as the prize was a cake sized cupcake and with us walking we'd never have been able to carry it home), and then made the slow walk back towards the markets with Master2 whinging for an ice cream. After a stop at the markets for ice cream and a play on the giant blow up slide for Master6 (a longing look at the bouncy castle by Master2 who was worn out by this stage and I wasn't risking a full meltdown of tiredness by letting him lose on that!) we drove home. No chance of a swing today, but no one was fussed.

10 Great Things About Samford Memorial Park

1. It has swings, lots of lovely swings (about 6 in a circle, standard flat swings with a chain across them to hold onto).
2. It has a fabulous wooden train to play in, on, and under, (great for the Thomas The Tank loving toddlers).
3. It has a toddler and bigger kids play area with lots of climbing fun.
4. It has a block of toilets (although it does have those horrible metal non-seats and they don't tend to flush very well, but who's complaining?!).
5. Lots of parking around the park.
6. Great grassed area for kicking the footy or laying a picnic blanket on.
7. A snack bar and cafe nearby, as well as a supermarket just up the road (coffee, chips and the essential ice creams!). Also spotted an organic store across the road.
8. It has a covered picnic hut which is great for birthday parties (there was one being held there on the day we visited).
9. Did I mention it has lots of swings?! :-) Some great rocking horses 
10. It is fenced (not fully fenced with a gate, but enough to keep toddlers inside the park and entertained enough not to do a runner!

Just because it says park on the map, doesn't mean it's a playground (or even remotely park-like!)

My husband had to visit a potential client who was staying out at Samford this morning so he thought it would be a good idea to take the family for a mornings drive out in the valley. Great! We'll have a play at a park while we wait and get a bite of lunch when he is finished. I did a bit of park googling on his ipad on the way and found a recommended park on Main Street, Samford Village, thanks to
http://www.alittlebird.com.au/ ;Samford Memorial Park. Unfortunately, we were running late and weren't able to get dropped off there on the way. Instead, we dropped hubby off and using the ipad map tried to find a closer park (as we were a few kms out of town). According to the map, there were at least two "parks" nearby. So off we set to find them! I should mention, that by this stage, the kids had been stuck in the car for over an hour and were gagging to get out and run around in a park. Patience wasn't high, and the park had better have swings! Park number one was a little green patch of grass on the map called Edward Louden Park. So off we set. Hmmm, no park in sight. Hold on, was that a park or a paddock?! Ummm, yes, it was indeed a "park" of sorts. Fully fenced, no carpark in sight and no entry point, but there is a rusted old soccor goal and a lot of brown grass. Driving on we thought we'd give Hogan Park a go.....except there was no Hogan Park to be seen. Damn it!! Turning around I decide to bite the bullet and drive the 6 or so km back into Samford Village to the Memorial Park I'd read such rave reviews of. Bliss, the park was exactly as promised!! Master2 is a HUGE Thomas the Tank train fan and the wooden playground train was a huge hit, after first christening the swings (of course). Duly noted there was a circle of about 6 swings! The park was set up with a smaller toddler friendly play area and a bigger climbing fort for the older kids. Plus plenty of grassed area to play ball if you so desired. Toilets nearby too, which were also christened. After a play we went in search of icecream. Not far down the road was what looked to be a garden center with a Snack Bar at the front of it. It sold icecream, cold drinks, Saturday papers and the essential hot chips we ordered. The staff were so lovely and chatty and helpful. I did note they have a coffee machine too, although on this occasion I was already sucking down the sugar and caffine in my much needed can of Coke. Everyone happy again, we set off to pick up hubby and proceed to drive up the road to Mt Nebo and back to the city via The Gap. Note to self, fill up on petrol before taking this 40km winding road! We were about 15km from the next local petrol station when the red light went on. Lucky for all of us involved, we limped to the Mobil station at The Gap for a much needed petrol, (and chocolate), break. I'd promised the boys another park stop on the way home, after much whinging of how much longer mum?! We stopped at lovely local park called the Ashgrove Memorial Park. It had the essential swings, a seesaw, and a bigger kids hanging seesaw type play equipment. It is a very peaceful park and we happily relaxed while the kids played, before heading home again. All in all, not a bad day, and thankfully lots of swings.

Friday 22nd July and the fences are down!!!

Master2 and I happened to be driving past the Lota Foreshore park this morning and we saw that the temporary fences were being removed. It was a bit like waking up on Christmas morning! I promised Master2 a visit after we picked his brother up from school that afternoon. 

So around 4pm that afternoon we headed back and were one of the lucky few (ok, not so much lucky few as there were quite a few lucky "few" there!) to try out the park for the very first time. It could have been Kalinga park for all the kids and parents there, and this was day one of reopening so it is promising to be mega packed all weekend. 

The park didn't disappoint. My two boys ran across the grass screaming in delight as they headed for the park. I was told by another local mum that her boys had been checking daily to see if fences were down. There were plenty of happy kids there, and a few tears, but luckily no one fell (or was pushed!) off any of the raised platforms. It was chaotic but fun and my two had a ball. The wooden platforms and huts start out as lower toddler friendly ones, with a small slide and wooden huts, and continue up quite high to huts with two bigger enclosed slides and plenty of climbing equipment. Unfortunately there are only the standard two swings (why more parks don't have more that two swings I'll never know), but after a short wait Master2 was able to happily have a go on the toddler swing, blissfully swinging to and fro, until it was time to go. We did note that there were a few BBQs near the park, although one looked to be broken already. With the new picnic huts dotted around the park and foreshore it would have been nice to see a few more BBQs. Although, one family were already cooking up a sausage feast next to the park while their kids enjoyed the new playground, and I promised my boys we'd come back one evening for a BBQ dinner and a play. 

Lota Foreshore park is certainly set in a fabulous location. The view of the bay on the way back to the car was absolutely stunning!

With a last glance we headed off home for dinner. Am anticipating that the opening events on Sunday morning will be packed out, but thought we'd park at the Manly Sunday Markets and bring our dog and scooters to make the leisurely walk down towards the Lota Foreshore's official re-opening (swings included).