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).