Mt Annan Botanic Gardens

There's an entrance fee to the gardens (just over $8 for our family of four). The playground is wonderful, with enough unusual equipment to keep our 6 and 8 year olds happy, but also lots of equipment for toddlers and smaller children - all in slightly different areas, so the big kids aren't competeing with the littlies.

There's a flying fox that goes a long way (close to the ground) and then jiggles up and down. There's a rope bridge where you can pretend to be Indiana Jones, and a padded ring, set at an angle, which you can walk on while gravity swings it round with your weight. I don't know what to call it, but it's fun. The climbing equipment has scoops on ropes and pulleys so you can scoop up sand, pull it up to the top and then pour it through pipes - another big hit.

The playground is fenced, with a child safety gate, there are tables and chairs inside, shade over some areas, interesting rocks to climb or sit on, and it's also overlooked from the shady verandah of the nearby restaurant!

After the playground, there are lots of areas to walk, ride, picnic, feed ducks etc. and the gardens often have special activity days which our kids have enjoyed.