You may not have noticed it as the sun beamed down this morning, but winter has officially begun. We took the sunny opportunity to hit up a playground that’s had a fresh facelift.
Henry Lawson Reserve, in Como West, is nestled among the houses that line Wolger St. You won’t struggle to find on-street parking but it can be a busy road at times so the playground is fenced across the front (and not accessible from the sides).
The large, spacious playground is split into two areas. The front, bark-covered area holds a large play apparatus that includes climbing nets, poles, a rock-climbing wall and the bigger of the slides that the reserve offers. Three to seven-year-olds will be right at home here and those three and under will enjoy the musical pipes, movable shapes, spinning wheel, pretend clock and shopfront.
Using the wet-bark as the goods the shop sells is always a bit of a mess but at least you can wash those hands off at the water station afterwards.
Also in this area is a small see-saw and a separate wooden house for climbing or playing inside.
Behind this is an artificial turf-covered area and everything in it is suitable for even younger kids. A smaller play apparatus with gentler slides.
The swing department has everyone covered- there’s a baby swing that wraps right around as well as a platform swing and a large round swing.
Our favourite piece of equipment was the netted stand-and-spin platform. Push it gently for little kids or run with it and jump on to get very dizzy, very fast with bigger kids.
Both play equipment areas have a path that encircles them and is perfect for little scooters and bikes and there’s plenty of shade, even in the middle of the day, thanks to all the lovely leafy big gum trees that border the reserve.
At the back of the reserve, there’s plenty of free space to set up a picnic rug, kick a soccer ball or play an energy-burning game of Tips.
Need coffee? The reserve is only a 3 minute-walk from Revolution cafe in Como (where there’s also a pharmacy and butcher if you should need something)
You can sit down at one of the few picnic tables and benches for a rest or a bite to eat but unfortunately, there are no BBQs or toilets, which could’ve made this the ultimate picnic/kids party spot.
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