Manly Waterworks is a family friendly venue, great fun for kids!

Will check it out as soon as I can and get a new post up… in the meantime, here’s one from the old Waterworks a couple of years ago.

OMG we just had the best day yesterday down at Manly Waterworks.

This is an annual trip for us, and it’s a point in time where the changes in the kids are so clear.

Last year the twins were tall enough (almost!) to slide but not brave enough to go by themselves. I was sliding with them.

This year they slid joyfully without me… for hours. We took the wee boys next door and friends of the big boys joined us. So all four of the children were galloping up and sliding down with friends as well as each other.

And I sat on my bottom down below. Got a takeaway coffee, bought ice blocks, doled out sunscreen, water and food.

It was sublime.

Manly Waterworks has never appeared in Sydney For Under Fives because it’s not a good place for the under fives. There’s a height restriction of 120cm. And the three slides are pretty exciting too.

Luckily, the wonderful West Esplanade beach is right beside Waterworks, so when my twins were little they loved to play there whilst the older boys whizzed and splashed.

Manly Waterworks works for mums, dads and carers as well as the kids because it has a very shady sitting area, with benches and tables. So if we oldies are too lazy to slide, we can sit and relax.

Don’t the words ‘sit’ and ‘relax’ sound odd in the context of parenthood?

Things We Love

* The cafe right alongside

* the wonderful views

* the thrilling slides

* the fact I can take all the kids, currently aged between 14 and five. There aren’t many things they all love to do together.

Downsides of the trip

The only one for me is… finding parking. Manly gets so busy in the summer. My aim is always to leave very early and circle like a Manly shark until I find a good spot.

We usually get a 2-hour park on the street, and then try to move the car…. or pray I don’t get a ticket.

The council car parks are also good, but a hike. The car park under the building on the corner of West Esplanade and Belgrave Street, entrance off Gilbert Street, is handy and worth the cost.

Manly Waterworks is tucked beside Oceanworld Manly at the end of West Esplanade, hard to see but once found, never forgotten.

Ah Manly, how we love you. This is the beach at West Esplanade, looking towards the pier as the ferry approaches.

The kids are always starving after a few hours of sliding. Our routine is to go along to Manly Wharf, eat something nutritious and filling (fish and chips, ice cream) and then muck about on the beach until it’s time to go home to bed.

And all this on a lovely warm, blue sky, Sydney summer day…. say no more….

More info on Manly Waterworks at their comprehensive website here.

Manly Waterworks is a family friendly venue, great fun for kids!

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