The Sunday Mail’s intrepid volunteers road-test high energy fun for the holidays
The SA school holidays are here, and every parent knows the relentless “I’m bored” isn’t far behind — here are six of Adelaide’s best kids’ activities that even your teenager will love.
Nothing says school holidays like laughter, friends, adventure and new experiences — sometimes it is found at exotic locations, sometimes it’s much closer to home.
The Sunday Mail headed out with a menagerie of kids, ranging in age from seven to 15, to check out a few of the big-name Adelaide activity venues to see what is on offer in our backyard.
Some, such as the newly-opened, much-anticipated AFL Max, are being keenly watched around the nation.
The brainchild of Geelong premiership player and former Crows player and assistant coach James Podsiadly, AFL Max is the first of its kind in Australia with seven more planned interstate.
The venue, sprawling across 5000 sqm at the airport, is described as an “immersive skills and entertainment centre” and those behind it, including Podsiadly, and Crows co-captain investor Rory Sloan, who designed an inflatable “bump course”, are passionate about sharing the sport they love with others.
After years in the making, Podsiadly says seeing the venue officially open on June 29 was overwhelming.
“When the first kids ran down the race into the ground here, seeing the smiles on their faces, the ways their eyes lit up — they didn’t know where to look — it actually got a little bit emotional for me … I don’t really have the words,” he says.
As with anything that is new, Podsiadly and his team, expect there will be some tweaks which will need to be made.
“This venue will look different a year from now, two years from now but what we have here is the foundation to build on,” he says.
The venue has seven “zones” the kids can move through, all aiming to teach different skills, from an AFL-themed trampoline and climbing wall section, to tackling, blocking, virtual reality and even an AFL draft-testing facility.
There are 14 climbing walls, where kids can set themselves up to compete against mates, or themselves, using an electronic timer.
This was a hit with the over-12s who visited with the Sunday Mail.
Yet the chance to simply kick a ball to their hearts’ content proved to be most popular, the energy and happy chatter akin to a junior club footy training session.
“My favourite thing at AFL Max was just getting to kick the footy and muck around with my mates but I thought the timer on the rock climb wall was pretty cool too,” 12-year-old Harrison says.
“I really liked kicking the balls into the goals and targets and just running around,” 15-year-old Charlie agrees. Oliver, 13, Zac, 9, and Tommy, 9, each loved the kicking zone best.
For the younger children, including 10-year-old Lyla, the interactive zone which involves throwing balls at a really big huge touch screen to hit different targets, was a winner.
AFL Max’s Mel Clark says each of the activities are designed to teach kids something, from hand, feet and eye co-ordination to strengthening the core and upper body, decision-making and team work.
Tree Climb Adelaide, nestled in the parklands on the corner of Greenhill and Unley roads, also offers kids, big and small, the chance to get active — literally among the gum trees.
There is something about playing in nature that inspires unparalleled calm and unabated joy, even among teenage boys who aren’t easy to impress, and the design is magically unobtrusive. There are 70 obstacles set over seven graded courses — including various zip lines — at the venue created eight months ago.
“People are loving the concept of something that is outdoors to start with — just seeing their kids climb and be engaged in an outdoor activity … (the design) is really as subtle and seamless, it just blends in really nicely and you don’t really notice it until you are really close,” crew leader Alex Kostas says.
For 12-year-old Harry, who visited for the first time last week, the tree climb experience was better, with much more on offer, than he’d expected
“I didn’t know there would be so much here and some of the obstacles are a little harder than I thought they’d be,” he says.
Sam, 14, agrees.
“It challenged me mentally and physically a bit … I am not too good with heights but still really enjoyed it — the zip line was my favourite,” he says.
For James, 12, “the Tarzan thing” was a favourite.
“You are on a platform and swing down onto a net, that is pretty cool,” he says. Darcy, 13, on his second visit, tried some obstacles he didn’t get to the first time round.
A step up in intensity and adrenaline is Mega Adventure at West Beach — thrillseeking climbers can scramble to a height of 26m, and jump from a tower that is 28m from the ground. Views across the metropolitan coastline are spectacular.
This venue, offering sky-high skate boards, row boats, totem tennis, a BMX bike and even a picnic table, isn’t for the faint-hearted — and forget the kids, we’re talking nervous Nellie mums, watching as their cherubs are suspended the equivalent of eight stories above ground.
“The nervous mums are definitely something we encounter but there is the opportunity to walk up the staircase, and we do like to encourage mums to get up there,” general manager Stephen Grundy says.
“(But) it is lovely for kids to realise that they can do a little more than they thought they could, and for parents to realise their kids are tougher and braver than they knew they are as well.”
And, reassuringly, in the four years since the nation’s first Mega Adventure park was built in this state, there have been no injuries beyond “a few bumps and bruises”.
For 12-year-old Lachlan, this was the ultimate holiday fun. “I love being outside and just love the thrill of the heights and different challenges you get here,” he says.
Caitlyn, 11, agrees.
“It felt exhilarating to push yourself to the limit, there were a couple of things I thought I wasn’t going to able to do and I did and was so proud of myself … oh, and the view was breathtaking,” she says.
“It was a pretty thrilling experience,” Ryan, 13, says.
Adelaide is spoilt for choice when it comes to free fun in our parks, playgrounds, nature reserves and cycle tracks but the break from everyday family commitments and weekend sports activities is a chance to try out those things you wouldn’t usually.
Have fun!
SCHOOL HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES
Bounce, which first opened in Adelaide in 2014, offering 50 interconnected trampolines with Big Bag, Slam Dunk and Dodgeball courts, remains a popular pick for kids’ birthday parties — and is guaranteed to tire out the most energetic youngsters.
The venue has added a challenging X-Park obstacle course where people can get their “ninja on”.
Latitude, at Fosters Rd, Greenacres, is a similar concept but also offers rock climbing and an obstacle course 8m from the ground.
“I really like the rock climbing at Latitude … and there’s something there for everyone — we go when our cousins visit from interstate; there are 16 of us, ranging in age from five to 16,” Caitlyn, 11, says.
If you have kids mad about their bikes or scooters, Adelaide’s indoor scooter and skate park Pumpt is well worth a visit — with the bonus of all-day and multi-pass entries