The Top Family Activities and Playgrounds in the Bass Coast Shire Council Region
The Bass Coast Shire council region is located almost two hours drive south east from Melbourne and includes the towns of Wonthaggi, Inverloch, Cape Paterson, Pioneer Bay, Grantville, Corinella, Coronet Bay, Bass, Kilcunda, San Remo and Phillip Island.
The region has wonderful wildlife attractions, especially on Phillip Island. The Penguin Parade is an iconic experience and is Australia's most popular natural wildlife attraction. Each night at sunset, the Little Penguins, emerge from the sea and waddle ashore to their sand dune burrows under the gaze of fawning visitors.
Come 'face-to-face' with koalas in their natural habitat at the Koala Conservation Centre , see Australian animals on display at Phillip Island Wildlife Park hand feed and pat animals at Maru Koala and Animal Park or take a peek under the boardwalk at The Nobbies where you might find a penguin.
There plenty of other non-wildlife attractions including A Maze 'N Things which has a huge maze, maxi-golf, illusion rooms and puzzle island, Phillip Island Chocolate Factory which has chocolate interactive exhibits and samples, Pirate Pete's Mini-golf which has a pirate theme and the State Coal Mine in Wonthaggi which operates underground tours to experience the primitive conditions of black coal mining in Victoria during the 1900's.
A map of the region is:
The best playgrounds in this area are:
Wonthaggi
Guide Park Playground, Wonthaggi
Fully fenced playground set in a large grassy area with a full set of facilities such as shelters, unshaded tables, toilets, BBQs and water tap.
There is a biggish structure with dual wave slides, single wave slide, twisted climbing sheet, abacus, small climbing mat wall, inclined walkways, bridges, monkey rungs, stepping stones, monkey bars, chain traverse, flying fox and hanging disks. Also a toddler area with tic-tac-toe, shop front and abacus. There is also a lotus leaf spinner with hand wheel, huge Bertie Beatle springer, small four seat rocker and modern climbing structure with curved ladder, climbing wall and balance slide. Swings including one with a big plastic seat.
Cowes
Erehwon Point Playground, Cowes
Wooden structure with spiral slide, scrambling wall, fireman's pole, ladder, inclined rope bridge, inclined balance beam, balance beam with obstacles, monkey bars, curved slide, shop front and steps. There is a separate area with a steering wheel panel, height check board and metal pipes (missing clanger). Also a huge pipe balance see-saw, yacht springer, little rocker, two person pommel bounce, two whale springers, three swings and big stand-on carousel.
Shelters with BBQs, shaded and unshaded tables, unshaded seats, little exercise station and water tap. Minimal grassy area and nice views over the water. There are wooden steps down to the beach.
Katherine Circuit Playground, Cowes
Nice big traversing type playground with large dual slide, smaller slide, various walkways, "tree" ladder, abacus, climbing wall, spiral ladder, various monkey bars, shop front, chain traverse, stepping stones and hanging disks. Table without shade.
Newhaven
Forrest Avenue Playground, Newhaven
One for the blue boys - blue structure comprising wave slide, shop front, chain bridge, ladder, fireman's pole, various monkey bars and hanging disks. Also wall with tic-tac-toe and abacus for young kids, whale springer, stand-on springer, four -person rocker, twisted sheet climbing frame, swings and a flying fox which goes around in an oval shape.
Shelter with BBQs and seats, unshaded and shaded seats and tables, basketball court and toilets.
Rhyll
Walton Street Playground, Rhyll
Two structures joined together with monkey bars. There are three slides, inclined climbing wall, difficult walkway, steps and steering wheel. Also purple ride-on dinosaur springer, large cube shaped climbing frame with ladders and net on top and swings.
Shaded table plus a pavilion with BBQs, tables and seats.
San Remo
Richard Grayden Park Playground, San Remo
Located on the San Remo foreshore near the bridge to Phillip Island. Colourful pirate ship shaped structure with lots of educational panels, curved slide, large climbing frame, climbing net, climbing rope, monkey bars and flying fox. Smaller structure with small slide, tunnel, cubby and steps. Two springers, family sized see-saw, two stand-on spinners, unusual climbing frame and swings.
Shelter with BBQs and tables. Near water and road so need to be vigilant. Seats with and without shade.
The best skate park in the region is Wonthaggi Skatepark which is a concrete park has a kidney shaped 7 foot deep bowl and a street section with rails, boxes and ledges. There are some banks and quarters at one end.
There are other skateparks at Inverloch Skatepark, Cowes Skatepark and Newhaven Skate Ramp.
There is a BMX track at Coronet Bay with fifteen jumps of various sizes and three banked turns.
Reviews of all playgrounds, skate parks and BMX Tracks in the Bass Coast Shire council region are here:
Family activities on Phillip Island include:
- A Maze 'N Things (Huge maze, maxi-golf, Illusion Rooms and Puzzle Island)
- Churchill Island Heritage Farm (Step back in time at an historic island farm)
- Koala Conservation Centre (Stroll through this eucalypt woodland and come 'face-to-face' with koalas in their natural habitat)
- National Vietnam Veterans Museum (Collection of around 6000 artefacts)
- Penguin Parade (Experience the wonder of Little Penguins coming ashore after a day's fishing at sea)
- Cowes Visitor Information Centre and Phillip Island Information Centre (Newhaven) (Provides maps, tickets for all major attractions and itinerary planning)
- Phillip Island Chocolate Factory (See how chocolate is made and view the Statue of David made from chocolate, a mural of Dame Edna consisting of 12,000 chocolate pieces, a Chocolate Fall made from 400 litres of chocolate and the chocolate village where even the buildings are made of chocolate)
- Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit Go Kart Track (Single and tandem karts)
- Phillip Island Helicopters (Scenic flights over the coastline)
- Phillip Island Tenpin Bowling and Entertainment Centre (Tenpin bowling, laser tag and amusement games)
- Phillip Island Wildlife Park (Home to over 100 different species of Australian animals)
- Grumpy's Crazy Golf (Undercover crazy mini golf in Cowes)
- The Nobbies (Wander along the boardwalks to the blowhole with a chance to spot penguins and seals)
- Wildlife Coast Cruises (Cruise to one of Australia's largest wild fur seal island colonies)
- Eco Boat Tours (Tours of Seal Rocks, the Nobbies and Cat Bay)
- Blue Gum Reserve Disc Golf (A free to play frisbee / disc course located in the Blue Gum Reserve in Cowes)
- Girls on Board (Surfing lessons on Phillip Island for gals and guys)
- Cowes Outdoor Pool (Small pool located at located at the Cowes Primary School)
- Pioneer Kayaking (Explore the natural beauty of the coastline and waterways surrounding Phillip Island with a guided sea kayak tour)
- Clip N Climb Phillip Island (A range of fun climbing walls plus a number of additional experiences including Virtual Reality climbing)
- Laser Strike Phillip Island (Exciting outdoor laser skirmish where the laser skirmish guns shoot harmless beams of infra-red light)
- San Remo Pelican Feeding (Free daily pelican feeding at the San Remo jetty)
- Island Surfboards Surfschool (Surfing lessons at Smiths Beach on Phillip Island)
- Bimbadeen Phillip Island Farm Tours (Become a farmer for a day and learn about life on a working farm)
- State Coal Mine in Wonthaggi (above ground or underground tours of the black coal mine)
- Bass Coast Aquatic & Leisure Centre in Wonthaggi (Two indoor pools, a 25m lap and recreation pool and a toddlers pool)
- Bass Coast Paintball in Wonthaggi (Adrenaline pumping paintball in 20 acres of open field scenarios and/or bush settings)
- Inverloch Visitor Information Centre and Wonthaggi Visitor Information Centre (One-stop shop for information, accommodation bookings and ticket sales in the regions)
- Bunurong Environment Centre in Inverloch (Range of holiday activities including reef walking, dinosaur discovery and spot-lighting)
- Inverloch Shell Museum (Over 6,000 specimens on display)
- Offshore Surf School based at Inverloch (Surfing lessons)
- George Bass Coastal Walk (A 7km cliff top walk that stretches from the outskirts of San Remo to Kilcunda)
- Maru Koala and Animal Park (Hand feed and pat the kangaroos and wallabies, rare albinos, koalas, wombats, Tasmanian Devils, dingoes, a crocodile and other creatures)
- Pirate Pete's Mini-golf (Set sail for 18 holes of Pirate adventure at Maru Animal Park in Grantville. Putt your way around the thirty meter Pirate Ship, encounter life size Pirate figurines and enter the gold mine under the five meter thunderous waterfall)
- Maccas Farm Pick Your Own Strawberry Field (1km of 'waist high' strawberry rows, brimming with hydroponic strawberries at Glen Forbes)
- Outthere Outdoor Activities (Offer a range of Activities including surfing, body boarding, kayaking, surf kayaking, snorkelling, stingray snorkelling, mountain biking and guided walks)
- Bass Coast Walks and Trails (More than 30 walks with a range of lengths across the Bass Coast region)
Web Links
→ Phillip Island - Penguins, Mazes, Chocolates, Koalas and playgrounds
→ www.basscoast.vic.gov.au