The Top Family Activities and Playgrounds in the Wellington Shire Region
The Wellington Shire region is about three hours drive east of Melbourne and includes the main towns of Heyfield, Maffra, Rosedale, Sale, Stratford and Yarram.
A map of the region is:
The best playgrounds in this area are:
Apex Park Playground, Heyfield
Super playground in a nice setting. The high wooden main structure has a very high wave slide, dual slides, scrambling wall, various ladders, fireman's pole, shop front, flying fox, monkey rungs, chain ladder, steering wheel, various types of walkways, small wave slide and steps.
There is a birds nest swing, standard swings, horizontal square web of suspended disks to walk across, see-saw, two stand-on spinners, standard swings, goanna and wombat wood carvings, stepping blocks, lotus leaf spinner with hand wheel, multi-sided climbing structure with climbing wall and ladders, jalopy on springs (with two steering wheels), pipe flower garden, big sand pit, horse and bike springers and a roof-shaped climbing structure.
Toilets, huge shelter with four tables and BBQs, shelter with one table and water tap, basketball court, shaded and unshaded seats and tables and a huge nine person rock table.
Macalister River Regional Park Playground, Maffra
Beautifully crafted playground with lots of fun, unusual elements. Includes a large inverted V-shaped see-saw which moves on all axis's, enclosed farmyard with cow sculptures, cube climbing structure with climbing wall, hanging ladder and rope climbing frame, spiders web climbing frame, three swings, little hill with dual slides and tunnel, a donut shaped things which moves around in a circle, three stand-on spinners, lamb, cow and pig springers, sandpit with mechanical scoop and a large circular path which winds to a centre with a totem pole.
Shelter with BBQs, seat carved from a log and an open shelter with a table. Beautifully landscaped area around a rocky watercourse with bridge and walkway across it. Unshaded tables and big grassy area near the playground. Within 20m of the river with very steep banks. Toilets are located about 100m away.
Stratford Apex Park Playground, Stratford
Playground has a medieval theme with castle, huge dragon, stocks (for children who haven't behaved well during the car trip), sword in a rock, ramps, play areas, abacus, small climbing wall, scrambling wall, tic-tac-toe, distorting mirror, stand-on spinners, triple curving slide (ideal for families with triplets), see-saw, flags flying on flag poles and swings. The castle has a large wooden table which is ideal for medieval banquets, unshaded table and seat.
There is a shelter nearby with BBQs and tables. Toilets and water tap. The playground is on the opposite side of the road from the Stratford swimming pool.
Sale Botanic Gardens Playground, Sale
A fun playground with interesting elements including two flying foxes (one with disk seat and the other with a playground swing type seat). One wooden structure has ramps leading to a wave slide, spiral ladder, chain ladder, fireman's pole, tunnel and monkey bars. Another long wooden structure has a spiral slide, scrambling wall, various ladders, walkway, chain traverse, wave slide, inclined climber with half circles, monkey rungs and curved ladder.
There is also a beautiful ladybug xylophone, fun frog, turtle and echidna springers, four person pommel bounce, three stand on spinners, area with toadstools, four swings, big stand-on carousel, apple with hand wheel to spin around and a Liberty swing.
Unshaded seats and tables and shelter with BBQs and tables. Toilets, water tap and grassy area. Next to the lovely Botanic Gardens.
Other good playgrounds in the region are Lake Guthridge Playground (Sale), Lake Guyatt Playground (Sale), Princes Highway Playground (Rosedale) and Yarram Memorial Gardens Playground (Yarram).
The best skate park in the region is Sale Skatepark.
The skatepark has a bowl and street area with two quarter pipes, fun box and rail slide. The bowl and street course are set at different heights and the sloping transition area is a large bank with hubba's, rail, euro gap and curved ledges. The B shaped bowl with spine, hip and corner extension is nice.
There are also skate parks at:
- Heyfield (A small, concrete, kidney shaped bowl which is 1.8m deep and has metal coping. At one end is a flat bank with three stairs and a central rail and there is also a bank with a curved ledge)
- Maffra (Concrete park which has a 1.2m deep square bowl and a street area with hubbas, rails, a triangular fun box with has rounded edges and a rail plus a separate hipped bank)
- Stratford (Concrete street course which has an open feel. One end is curved like part of a bowl and there are a few other obstacles like a side pyramid with ledge, quarter with handrail and hipped bank with ledge)
- Rosedale (Concrete park with an interesting hump in the middle which has a rail and ledge. At one end is a quarter combo with extension and there is a wall of banks at the other end. The quarters have a lot of vert).
The best BMX Track in the region is Yarram BMX Track
The track has a large gravel area with a very high hill to come down, a number of banked areas plus about seven significant jumps.
Reviews of all playgrounds, skate parks and BMX Tracks in the Wellington Shire region is here:
Other family activities in the Wellington Shire region include:
Sale
- Lex Glover Regional Aquatics Complex - Aqua Energy (50 metre outdoor pool with lap lanes, 25 metre heated indoor pool with lap lanes, program/hydrotherapy pool, leisure and learn to swim pool and sauna)
- Gippsland Art Gallery (The permanent collection focuses on artworks related to or produced in Gippsland, primarily depicting the land and natural environment. Free entry)
- Port Of Sale Heritage Cruises (Explore the waterways on a journey from the Port of Sale to the landmark Swing Bridge)
- Wellington Visitor Information Centre (Get some local information about the area)
- Sale Common, River Heritage and Wetlands Trail (A 15km return walk through the internationally listed Sale Common wetlands which can be broken into sections)
Rosedale
- Rosedale Outdoor Swimming Pool (A main pool, toddlers pool with water play feature, change-rooms, toilets, kiosk, seating and grass areas including a BBQ facility)
Maffra
- Maffra Outdoor Swimming Pool (50 metre outdoor heated pool, 12.5 metre learn to swim pool)
- Gippsland Vehicle Collection (A rotating display of interesting vehicles: cars, motorbikes, machinery, historic vehicles, carriages, trucks, auto memorabilia)
- Maffra Visitor Information Centre (Get some local information about the area)
Heyfield
- Heyfield Outdoor Swimming Pool (34 metre main outdoor pool, 12 metre children's play pool, large shade structure and kiosk)
- Blores Hill Mountain Bike Park (Located 5km north of Heyfield, the Blores Hill Mountain Bike Trail Network offers 17 different trails and 25km of XC track for the MTB enthusiast)
- Cheynes Bridge Trail Bike Visitor Area (Situated on the Macalister River between Heyfield and Licola, it is central to a large network of forest roads and tracks which are ideal for trail bike riding)
- Activities in the Heyfield Region (Includes the Wetlands Visitor Centre, Heyfield Golf Club, Glenmaggie Dam, picnic at Lake Glenmaggie weir wall, Cowwarr Art Gallery, Robotic Dairy at Winnindoo, Lakeside Antique Machinery Museum)
Stratford
- Stratford Outdoor Swimming Pool (25 metre main pool, 15 metre learn to swim pool, 6 metre toddler pool, kiosk with snacks and refreshments and a large shade structure and grass areas)
- Stratford Arts Trail (A 3 km interactive Arts trail and Sculpture walk)
- Gippsland Armed Forces Museum (Showcases the rich Army, Navy and Airforce history of Gippsland)
Other locations
- Yarram Outdoor Swimming Pool (34 metre main pool, 16 metre half circle toddler pool, shade structures and kiosk)
- Blue Pool at Briagolong (A stunning, natural, deep, clear swimming hole carved into Freestone Creek with rocky outcrops rising on all sides. There are shallows suitable for small children, as well as deeper spots for good swimmers)
- Briagolong Art Gallery (A contemporary gallery)
- Briagolong State Forest (Offers a variety of activities including picnicking, camping, walking, swimming, sightseeing, and car touring)
- Things to Do in Loch Sport (Large list of fun activities in the Loch Sport area)
- Gippsland Regional Maritime Museum (Port Albert is a historic port and the museum is filled with an outstanding collection of original early memorabilia ranging from sea shells, cannons, early fishing apparatus and boat building tools)
- Port Albert Old Port Trail (An easy 6km one-way coastal walk from historic Port Albert to Seabank)
- Things to Do in Port Albert (Large list of fun activities in the Loch Sport area)
- Port Welshpool and District Maritime Museum (Museum contains a local history collection that includes natural history objects, fishing and maritime artefacts)
Web Links
→ www.wellington.vic.gov.au
