Joanna Park, South Penrith

Joanna Park on Joanna Street in South Penrith is great if you have a child who considers themselves to be a bit of a true ninja, or if they want to play ‘the floor is lava’. There is sun shade and it is set in the middle of a large block or park, surrounded by quiet streets, so this might be a good park if you have a child who is a runner.

This park has swings, balancing options, a pretend cafe, noughts and crosses, cargo net, a ladder, a rock climbing wall, a double slide, a rope monkey bar (or slack monkey bars?) and plenty of places for the adults to sit. Last time that I went there was a broken TV there, the time before it was fine. I don’t know if there is normally trash at this park.

Edna Dunn Reserve, South Penrith

This is a great park, the only thing that lets it down is that it is next to Northern Road (at that point called Parker Street) and so it is no good if you have a child who is a runner. That said, the park itself is set a long way back from Northern Road, it has great sun shade coverage, and a good variety of equipment. To get to it you go to Mazepa Street, South Penrith.

When I took these photos the sun shade had snapped on one side, but it has since been fixed. There is a slide, a cargo net, a rock climbing wall (for small children), circular monkey bars, instead of a pretend cafe this one has a front that looks like a car, swings, and a climbing net shaped like a spider web. There is only one seat for adults to sit at is my biggest complaint about this park. It is easy to park on Mazepa Street and walk to the park. There were actually also a lot of sticks around and trees so if kids want to look for sticks or rocks for craft, or just to play with, there is space for that too.

Bunnings playground, Homemaker Centre, Jamisontown

This is hands down my absolute favourite, and often my children ask for it too. It is indoors, the staff are lovely, you can sit in the outdoor furniture section if you have no intention of spending any money, it is indoors, it has bathrooms, and on weekend in the mornings sometimes there is craft. The cafe has really cheap food and good coffee. Obviously there is a big slide and lots of climbing opportunities, there is a pretend cafe, an abacus and some of those play things on a wall that are good for toddlers.