Araluen Botanic Park Foundation

The tulips are sensational — gigantic, genetically modified colourful nature’s abnomalies.
Lots of benches and grass for family picnics and frolicking.
Hikers beware — not a place for walking or even a leisurely stroll as within 2 – 5 minutes of walking you will walk straight into one of their multiple car parks.
Go before tulip season as entry during September is pricey at $ 15 per adult and $ 7 per child.

After driving for what seemed an eternity we arrived at the famed park for their annual Spring Festival. Luckily we arrived by 11:30am because the crowds were already storming the gates. Many were fully equipped with picnic spreads hauled around the hilly gardens in eskies.
It’s a beautiful spot, but not free entry. Make sure you have correct change so you can whizz through the gate.
We loved walking past the dazzling fields of multi coloured tulips with the roses and azaleas also due to burst any second. The boys especially loved the waterfall and its cascading streams over rocks and fallen logs. The park is not quite as enormous as I’d imagined and the crowds were a bit of a drag. But we enjoyed our few hours there and celebrated with soft serve ice creams. The Festival lasts til end September.

Beautiful botanic park and more so when the tulips are in full bloom. there are bbq areas around and a café within the park too. But why go to the café when you can pack a picnic and bbq and relax and soak up the sun?
Make sure you take your camera and explore every area of the park, it even has a little «waterfall»!

It was a real shame about today’s weather because this place would have been really awesome. Everything’s so green and there’s HEAPS of space for kids (and older kids) to run around. Seriously, if you’re looking for somewhere to go and you’ve got kids (or partners) who have difficulty sitting still, then you really need to check this place out.
There’s a café there too so you can chill out and soak up some nature. Oh… and take your camera too. It’s really picturesque. Definitely a place to take out-​of-​towners too.