Harpley Estate Playground, Black Forest Road, Werribee
A wonderful play space designed for all abilities access which has an Australian animal and bird theme throughout the Play Space.
The most striking feature of the playground is a huge brolga on a mound surrounded by four wooden poles with carvings of bush animals and birds. This connects via mushroom stepping stones to a lookout tower with rope ladders and bridge for access. Look underneath to find the spiders lair. This then leads on to a mound hill with a metal slide.
There is a flying fox with disk seat and a seat with harness, sit-on carousel for three kids (at least), large swaying reeds to balance on, a hammock, standalone wooden bridge, water hand pump which lets you pump water out onto the path, sandpit, huge area with concrete and rock stepping stones, wonderful artificial hollow logs with colourful fungus and creatures such as snails and lizards (one log has a platypus hiding inside), balance logs to walk along and stepping logs scattered about the playground area.
Some sound boxes generate different sounds such as a brolga dancing flock, cicadas, flying foxes, a thunderstorm and a didgeridoo. There are beautifully crafted sculptures of creatures for the kids to find across the playground. Take this list and see how many you can find:
9 x ants
6 x huntsman spiders (not real thankfully)
3 x blue-tongue lizards
3 x dragonflies
1 x Eastern Water dragon
1 x platypus
1 x echidna
6 x snails
6 x geckos
6 x cicada or cicada shells
3 x frogs
4 x frog life cycle
6 x Bogong moths
1 x big timer frog (dyeerrm, the mischievous frog who drank all the water)
All the play elements are connected via soft spongy paths and there is a concrete path circling the whole playground area which leads to a bridge across the nearby man-made lake and the path also passes via a lovely sculptured gate to a pier on the bank of the lake.
There is a shelter with two tables and BBQs, beautiful toadstool tables and seats, a number of unshaded tables and seats, shelter without tables or seats, water tap and grassy areas. There is parking at the Sales Information Centre and also a toilet (which is open when the Centre is open).
Photos:
Location
Cnr Black Forest Road and Zircon Street, Werribee 3030 Map
Web Links
→ 100 Free Water Play Spaces in Melbourne and Regional Victoria
