Manly Warringah War Memorial Park

We came to Manly Dam with my 16 month old to look at the ducks and have a little paddle in the water but, as is so often the case, the colourful man-made playground held more instant appeal than Mother Nature.

This is only an OK playground for a toddler. Much better suited to older children.

It's well shaded and very close to the public toilets, parking, BBQs and the shoreline.

It has a swing set and one of those multi-activity things with steps and a spiral slide. Some little ones got a bit out of control on the steep slide... the curves are quite tight and there were tears from one or two kids while we were there.

There's also a ride-on pelican on a big spring.