Best Water Play Parks and Places in Melbourne
Melbourne may not have the weather or array of theme parks like Queensland but when the sun shines there are a lot of great options for water fun. We've put together our list of the best paid and free water play options ranging from theme parks, aquatic centres, free splash parks, beaches and rockpools.
BEST PAID WATER PLAY PARKS
Funfields (Whittlesea)
Funfields has the following water features:
- Volcano beach, an outdoor heated wave pool which pumps out waves up to one metre high and can be used as a pool between wave sessions.
- Typhoon is a huge single or two-person double tube ride with a length of nearly 130m.
- Gravity Wave is the world's biggest ProSlide Tornado Wave where riders experience absolute weightlessness and mega hangtime as they are shot up the almost vertical Gravity Wave-wall.
- Kraken Racer has racing lanes where racers can reach speeds of over 60 kph.
- Wipeout and Blackout water slides plunge down 130 metres in a flume on single or tandem rafts.
- Splashdown Water Slide is composed of two 65 metre water slides. The flumes of this water slide are built in at ground level following the contour of the hill making accessibility easy for everyone.
- Amazonia Falls Water Play, a water playground with more than twenty interactive play features, water cannons, water jets and slides. Younger kids can splash around in the wading area with water jets and mushroom fountains. The centre piece is the Aqua Shak which fills with water until it spectacularly unleashes 2000 litres of water saturating everyone in range.
- Birdy Cove & Paddle Pool, a safe water play area set in a tropical jungle specially built for the little ones with lots of interactive water play options and a huge water bucket.
- Tiki Bay, electric bumper boats with water sprays.
Gumbuya World has the following water features:
- Lazy River - Soak up the rays on an inflatable with a relaxing drift around Oasis Springs on the 300 metre Lazy River. If you want some faster action, venture on into the rapids to get your heartbeat racing.
- Tiger Snake Tango - An epic twisting and turning slide.
- Taipan - Dive into darkness inside a 180 metre beast that's two slides in one! When the Taipan swallows you, you'll be sent zooming through the spine-tingling spirals and high-banking turns of the Constrictor, before being shaken up by the Rattler's fast transitions.
- Boomerango - A steep drop shoots you up a near-vertical wall for a moment of weightlessness, before gravity takes hold and plunges you back down.
- The Break - A massive heated family wave pool.
- Red Belly Racer - Exciting head-to-head competition over a series of tight turns, racing down towards the finish line.
- Typhoon Island - Explore five platforms of drenching fun on this aquatic jungle gym, including a giant tipping bucket, water guns, spray nozzles and mini slides.
- Rock Pools - Unwind and let your cares wash away in the waters of the heated Rock Pools.
- Surf's Up - The perfect wave is always waiting for you at Surf's Up! Whether you're kneeling or standing, a few rides is all it takes to learn how to turn, drop and climb for some fast, fun flow-riding thrills (Bookings required and extra cost).
Adventure Park Geelong has the following water features:
- Lazy River - Make a splash as you hang on and go with the flow whilst your raft is propelled along the tropical style river oasis.
- Tiny Tots Splashzone - Designed for the tiniest of tots with a shallow and safe oasis of interactive water play.
- Aqua Racer - Reach 40km an hour on the six lane Aqua Racer, with 90 litres of water per second pumping, this slide will have you racing head first down a wave like mountain.
- Bonito's Bay Waterplay - This Caribbean Pirate Adventure has non stop waterplay action including splash pools, slides and tipping filled buckets.
- Gold Rush Rapids - Ride the 110 metre long Gold Rush Rapids. Race down in under 20 seconds and finish with a 2 metre plunge.
- Wild West Canyon - It's a pitch black dark ride within the tunnel. Ride down on an inflatable two seater raft and experience two 360 degree turns.
- Tornado - Plunge a massive 7.5 storeys into the eye of the storm on this mega fast and furious family funnel water ride. Riders will experience moments of zero gravity weightlessness getting nearly vertical on the massive funnel walls.
- Tsunami - A 7.5 storey high triple funnel waterslide. Ride raging waters and massive waves down a series of dark tunnels and swirling rips in an epic adrenaline ride.
- Jumping Jets Zone - This water play area near the entry to the Lazy River has three giant mushroom fountains flowing with water and up to 76 jets shooting water up continuously from the ground. There is a similar jumping jets water play area next to the Gold Rush Rapids and Wild West Canyon water slides.
Melbourne Cable Park (Bangholme)
There is an Aqua Fun Park which has inflatable obstacles on the surface where you can bounce, slide and splash your way over the bridges, down the slides, onto the trampoline and through the hamster wheels. The park also has a cable wakeboarding park and high ropes course.
Noble Park Aquatic Centre (Noble Park)
The Noble Park Aquatic Centre features a 50m heated outdoor pool, a huge outdoor water slide, a heated indoor program/leisure pool, a large outdoor water splash/play area with tipping bucket, three slides and fountains.
Peninsula Aquatic Recreation Centre (PARC) (Frankston)
PARC has everything you need in an indoor aquatic centre and it all comes at a very reasonable price. Facilities include a heated 10 lane 50m indoor pool, children's / Learn to Swim pool, beach entry / wading pool with some bubbles and sprays, warm water exercise pool, spa, sauna and steam room, AquaPlay aquatic playground which features three fun slides and two exciting water slides.
List of Public Swimming Pools in Melbourne and Victoria (the list links to reviews, information and photos for every pool in Victoria)
Comparison of Aquatic Centres in Melbourne and Geelong
Top 10 Family Aquatic Centres in Melbourne
Guide to Water Slides in Melbourne and Geelong
BEST FREE WATER PLAY PARKS
Riverwalk Water Play Park (Werribee)
The large and colourful water park has a 30 minute cycle which has 300 different steps in the sequence. It contains jets of all kinds, spray rings and bamboo forest. There are also two areas where a hand pump can be used to pump water into a series of metal dishes, channels and pipes including a water augur. A nearby quieter area has some water jets. There are picnic facilities and a playground close by.
Seville Water Play Park (Seville)
One of our favourite spots is the Seville Water Play Park which is a former swimming pool which has been filled in and landscaped into a water play area with powerful jets spouting into the air during the summer season. There is also a dry riverbed area of rocks with an augur for drawing up water. There are grassy and shaded areas, toilets and a small playground nearby. This is a water park where you will get soaked.
Crocodile Park Playground (Point Cook)
The design of the playground and water play area drew on the Roald Dahl children's story 'The Enormous Crocodile' where a crocodile lives in a playground pretending to be a friendly see-saw before quickly gobbling children for dinner. It is worth being cautious just in case. There is a large metal crocodile spouting out a stream of water into a trough which overflows into a wide channel with large stepping stones to jump across. The 50m long channel meanders down a slope to a circular pad with water spouts of varying heights. Be prepared for wet kids.
Warburton Water World Playground (Warburton)
The site is an exciting redevelopment of the former swimming pool and has a playground with a big twisting slide and a water play park with a drenching bucket, water slide and water jets.
Grazing Way Playground (Clyde North)
The fantastic water play area is based around a flowing stream of water which is most suited to younger kids. The long stream, which runs along the length of the playground, starts at the top of a big, soft mound where there is a pole with a button. From this point water flows strongly from under a rock down the hill in a rocky channel and when the channel flattens out below there are balance beams criss-crossing the stream. The stream then spreads out to an area with sluice gates, hand pumps, water pools and water sprays which are covered by shade sails. The playground has picnic facilities and toilets.
Booran Reservoir Playspace (Glen Huntly)
The fantastic Booran Reservoir Playspace has two water play areas. There is a large splash pad with lots of water sprays coming out of the ground. The jets have a sequence which alternate, initially jets of water in several rings and then gently spraying water from little sprinklers. Kids mesmerically run between the two. A separate area, where there is some chance of keeping the kids dry, has water pumps, channels, a water screw, weirs and water gates flowing into a rock lined trickle stream with a giant frog sculpture.
Community Bank Adventure Play Space (Wallan)
The Community Bank Play Space in Hadfield Park has a fantastic playground as well as an extensive water play park with water jets, rings and water play tables.
Lillydale Lake Playground (Lilydale)
There is a nice playground next to the lake with a water play area which comprises a concrete pad with a series of water sprays from poles of different heights and the ground plus some water cannons which kids can use to get everyone else thoroughly soaked. The water is sequenced so that all the sprays aren't active at the same time.
Mill Park All Abilities Play Space
The lovely fenced, all-abilities playground has a water play area which includes water play tables, shooting water jets, misting rings and manual water pumps.
Frontier Park playground (Rockbank)
As well as having some massive towers and slides, Frontier Park playground has a water play area comprising a shallow concrete channel lined by water sprays and passing through rock barriers and chutes which kids can raise or lower and eventually ends in a drain.
Wyndham Park Playground (Werribee)
The Wyndham Park playground area for younger kids has are six water pumps which are used to bring up water from below to let it run down through water troughs, water tables and channels with barriers which can be rotated, raised or lowered to change the flow of water. There is even a water augur to bring up even more water from below. It's your choice whether you want to get wet with all this water flowing or alternatively try crossing the balance beams above the water and leave your degree of dryness to your balance skills.
Barrabool Boulevard Playground (Mambourin)
The excellent playground has a water play area with two log see-saws which can be ridden to cause water to spray from the top of tall columns and a water pump to pump water into metal trays and then through an area with a little islands to hop across. Sluice gate allow kids to back-up the water and make a little pond or to allow the water to flow into the wetlands area.
Eastern Beach Reserve Swimming Enclosure (Geelong)
A wonderful and unique water play area is the free Eastern Beach Reserve Swimming Enclosure along the Geelong waterfront. It has a huge wooden platform, complete with shark gate, which sweeps in a half circle around more than eight acres of sea water. The enclosure has diving board and floating islands and can hold thousands of swimmers, with a nice sandy beach backing onto the separate children's pool. A white Spanish staircase, with a large fountain with crane and tortoise statues, provides great views of the Eastern Beach promenade and Corio Bay. There's also a nice playground close by.
100 Free Water Play Spaces in Melbourne and Regional Victoria
BEST BEACHES
Williamstown Beach (Williamstown)
In the western area of Melbourne, the 550m long Williamstown beach is wide and sandy. It is best to swim at the western end of the beach which is patrolled by Williamstown Swimming and Surf Life Saving Club. There's a wide range of facilities and services including cafes, public toilets, picnic facilities, playgrounds and rotunda. There is a lot of ticketed parking spaces and some limited free parking is available in the side streets off the Esplanade. The beach can be reached by a ten minute walk from the Williamstown Beach train station.
Frankston Beach (Frankston)
The 2.5 km long Frankston beach begins at the southern boat launching area. It includes the 500 m long Frankston Pier (no jumping or diving off the pier), Kananook Creek mouth and the beach to the north. There are stretches of clear, shallow water and soft sand which provide a safe swimming beach for all ages. The beach is patrolled by the Frankston Life Saving Club.
The Frankston Waterfront area has a pier, extensive boardwalk, an arched bridge at the mouth of Kananook Creek, restaurants, boat launching facilities, picnic tables and BBQs, good playground and public artworks. There are a range of parking areas, some of which are free and some are paid parking. It is about 1 km from Frankston train station.
Guide to the Best Family Beaches in Melbourne
Guide to the Best Playgrounds Near Beaches
BEST ROCKPOOLS
Sorrento Ocean Beach
Sorrento Ocean Beach is a popular spot for rockpools and some of the pools are even big enough for a dip.
The Best Rockpools in Melbourne and Victoria
Web Links
→ 100 Free Water Play Spaces in Melbourne and Regional Victoria
→ List of Public Swimming Pools in Melbourne and Victoria
→ Top 10 Family Aquatic Centres in Melbourne
→ Comparison of Theme Parks in Melbourne
→ Comparison of Aquatic Centres in Melbourne and Geelong
→ Guide to Water Slides in Melbourne and Geelong
→ The Best Family Beaches in Melbourne
→ List of Swimming Waterholes in Victoria
