Bushy Bonnet Bay is an easy suburb to spend a day out in with your kids.
We started our adventure at…
Koolangarra Reserve
Koolangarra Reserve was given a major facelift in 2020. The bright rebooted playground features a large round swing, musical chimes and drums, jumping logs, a pretend shop front and car dashboard, talking tubes, slides, balance poles, climbing nets and monkey bars.
Kids 3-8 will love this playground and those a little older or younger should still find enough to entertain them for a while too.
You can find more details on this playground in our full review of Koolangarra Reserve.
One of the great things about the reserve is that it’s right next to…
Flying Swallow
Flying Swallow is a family-friendly cafe serving a fusion of Australian and Asian foods, which is open for breakfast and lunch (every day except Mondays). Pre-COVID they had a great indoor gated kids’ area filled with toys, which made for a perfect wet-weather spot, but at this stage, the play area is still closed. You can however still keep the kids entertained with their selection of books and colouring-in pages and pencils.
The weather was nice when we visited with some friends so we decided to get our meals to take outside to Koolangarra Reserve. The kids’ menu includes BBQ pork buns, chicken schnitzel and chips, toasties, nuggets and chips, buttermilk pancakes and bacon and eggs. They even offer a Kids Tea Set, which includes a ham and cheese sandwich, cupcake, fresh fruit, macaron and babycino.
My kids opted for the pancakes and bacon and eggs, and while my fussy little boy didn’t want the berries on his pancakes they were quickly snapped up by the little friends we had with us, and the bacon and eggs were demolished before they returned to the playground.
We’ve actually been back since and this time my daughter ordered the Kid’s Tea Set- a ham and cheese sandwich, berries, brownies (they were out of the macarons that it normally includes), mini cupcake and a babycino with sprinkles.
It couldn’t be easier to grab a coffee, juice, milkshake or burger for you to savor at the park while your kids are playing. They’re even fully-licensed if you fancy something stronger.
If you’re visiting after school, and Flying Swallow is closed, you can still grab icecreams or other snacks and treats from Bonnet Bay Supermarket and Liquor. Better yet, order yourself some pizza or a Gaytime slice (post 5pm) from Wolfpack Woodfire pizza. All options are immediately adjacent to Koolangarra Reserve so you can park in one spot.
When you’re done eating, if the kids have got enough energy, you can venture to…
The Glen, Bushland Reserve
There are loads of different bush walks that you can do in and around Bonnet Bay, though some are quite steep and not all will be suitable for young children.
We found a great little loop, though, which only takes about 15 minutes in total, and you can break it up by sitting on the rocks and enjoying a snack and the stunning views of Bonnet Bay in between. I’ve also learned that by turning a walk into a “scavenger hunt” and encouraging the kids to take their binoculars you can generally get a bit more out of kids who are prone to complaining of tired legs!
Park your car at the end of Coolgardie Place in Jannali and at the first fork you come to head around to your left and follow the trail until it circles you back. If your kids are up for a longer walk, or a baby in a carrier, then you can take both the lower and upper track to turn it into a bush walk that will take about half an hour.
What else is there to do with kids in Bonnet Bay?
There is another excellent playground at Lakewood City Reserve which has a great scooter path and open fields for playing football, soccer (and also actually baseball fields). You can also fish, or even swim in Woronora River, as the water quality is said to be excellent.
Looking for another day out in the Shire? Check out the rest of our “A Day Out in…” the Sutherland Shire series.
