Enoggera Memorial Park (AKA Shapes Park)

Firstly, I have no idea why this is known to CK as shapes park. She talks about all the rectangles and diamonds here (and waves her finger around in a random direction when I ask about them) but they just aren't jumping out at me. For me, this has always been "New House" park - as when we were stalking our new house waiting for settlement to happen we would come here for a reason to drive past the new house. Map is here.

This is another park which you are not going to go out of your way for, but if you like in the Enoggera/Alderley area then I'd recommend coming past. I'm highlighting it today for two reasons. 1. because it is about to get a shadecloth covering it - part of BCC strategic plan to invest more money in parks and gardens and ensure that every child has access to a local playground. 2. because I've met the most amazing people at this park.

(I have to digress with the above photo - CK in full pose mode - I asked her if she deliberately put her hand on her hip and stuck out her bum and she nodded. I'm unsure how to feel about this).

Number 1 is obviously quite an incredible fact and I'm seeing lots of evidence of this commitment in my local area. Not only is Enoggera Memorial Park getting its shadecloth but Sedgeley Park (on the Newmarket/Alderley border - by Newmarket Pool) is getting a brand new playground which looks pretty swish. Enoggera Memorial Park is a long neglected park and we've always said that it would be awesome if there were just some shade to it. There are barely any trees nearby and in the heat of the day its just unbearable. I was thrilled the day I went there and there was a guy measuring it up for shadecloth.

Number 2 is a slightly longer story. Well, its not really I guess. Fact is that every single person we've met at this park WITHOUT EXCEPTION has been really really interesting. From the first lady we met who was a single mum with a daughter of CKs age (who was really warm and welcoming and confessed of co-sleeping and all the other completely natural things that people seem ashamed to admit to strangers) to the grandfather from Rocky who was skirting around the fact that when he went out mushroom hunting he wasn't looking so much for the type you put in your pasta. Both interesting characters - thoroughly engaging and thought provoking (and not as dodgy as I've made them out to be here).

This is triumphed by the day we walked down and met a film crew who were filming a story about a transgendered army officer (from the Enoggera barracks nearby) who was raising her two children with her wife - who had stuck by her during her realisation that she wanted to be a woman. They had an incredible story and were really lovely to talk to (indeed the camera crew filmed us as the "normalising" couple and the wife was a teacher's aide who was telling us how accepting and open minded the kids at the local school - where CK will go - were).

Whew, I digress from the park itself but sometimes parks are more than just swings and slides. This one certainly is.

This morning the park was school were CK went with her imaginary friend Alice (we'd watched Alice in Wonderland the night before). CK and Alice baked cakes in the "everything for sale" shop under the slide and did lots of climbing and lots of running.

This park is exceptional for bikes and (if you must) scooters. there is a bike track complete with a roundabout and lots of stop/give way signs. The number of times CK has run around the track and fallen over terribly and grazed her knee/nose is more than I can count on my fingers these days. There is one slide, two swings, some old school climbing frames and little else. Oh, and some native bees in one of the trees nearby (which I think is awesome and CK and I had a huge talk about flora and fauna today inspired by the bees).

Perhaps I should rename this "hippy park" for I sound like a complete hippy when I say that the park itself is neglected and has very little bones but its the families and nature which make this one of our favourites.

If we are talking about facilities alone - CK rates this park at 6 and I would give it 5. But you know that I'm talking more than this!

RATED:

Age Groups: I think they'd probably need to be walking to enjoy this park, but it would cater to quite an old crowd given the bike paths
Kid Friendliness: best I've found
Parent Friendliness: best I've found
Shadiness: awful - the worse! But BCC is fixing in the new few weeks.
Tricked Out: nothing. nada.
Picnic/BBQ: nope.
Shabbiness: its not dirty, its not vandalised, its just neglected.
Toilets: no toilets nearby
Hovering Required: No, the park isn't big enough to need to hover
Bring Yr Bike: Yes yes yes
Crowded: never seen more than two kids here
Wow: it has no wow within the park itself but the clientele is great. Is that reflective of the park or the area - not sure.

The Dodgy Park

Today's park is not going to be rated - you're never going to go there unless you move into my street. It's one of those dinky little parks with barely any bones to it which sits in a grassy patch at the end of a street or adjacent to a main road. Nothing attractive at all.

So why on earth am I bothering to post given that this blog has been set up for "ratings" and "recommendations" and I'm not going to do that? I wanted to point out the value of all parks big or small and - more importantly - the value of going to a lo-fi park frequently rather than saving up for the hullabaloo of a drive and packing a picnic (etc) to go somewhere more flashy.

The park below is across the road and up one street. Thus we go there ALL THE TIME. Way more often that we go anywhere else. It's our local. It has one slide, two swings, a couple of falling apart rocker things that I'm actually too scared for CK to go in incase they are rusted away and break at the slightest bend. It has an excessive amount of graffiti offering cracks, good times and telling me that Jenny is a slut. There are always booze bottles on the ground. The one time we met someone else here the other girl played a game with CK and cheated, thus this has become known as "the cheaters park" by CK (she mentions it every time we go there...). It's got nothing going for it really.

But given that its across the street and given that we can pop there for five minutes with young MK in the sling and CK walking, its actually got everything going for it. CK has decided that this is her animal rescue centre (a la Go Diego Go). This park will never be a treasure island or a vet surgery or a cafe or a school. It's always going to be the animal rescue centre. And for that she loves it dearly.

My post today is to say don't save up your park experiences until you have the time to go to one with rocking ships or climbing frames that reach the clouds - go to your dodgy one down the road frequently. Your kid will make a connection and form a scenario around how they want to interact with the park stronger than if you head to a park where its all laid out for them.

Photos below of CK mid-animal rescue. A baby bear was caught in a large tree and only she and her sister could save it.

McCaskie Park (aka Big Kid Work Park)

The flipside to the Baby Work Park is the Big Kid Work Park - situated again at QUT Kelvin Grove - this time on the corner of Kelvin Grove Road and Blamey Street. Map is here.

This is known as the Big Kid Work Park as its more a climbing park suited to more agile kids rather than the toddler audience of the Baby park. There is some contention in our household which is the best park of the two - I think that really depends on what your purpose is. Imaginative play is dominated in the baby park, but the big kid park rules for climbing and sliding and running (and now even exercising since the recent installation of some gym equipment next to the basketball court).

The thing that really jumps out at this park is the beautiful shade it has. This park is perfect for hitting on the weekend after you've done the markets, grabbed your coffee from The Boys and want to tire the kidlets out whilst you sit in the shade of the tree and drink your coffee and eat your market goodies.

The park is small - its one piece which means you can pick a spot to sit or stand and let the kids run around without you needing to follow - but has a few pieces which are really challenging for your kids and thus really pushes them forwards. There are a few suspended areas for walking - these need great coordination and really encourage your kid to take risks and learn to trust their instincts. So many parks present the possible but this park really encourages agility.

CK rates this park at 8 and I would give it 7.

RATED:

Age Groups: over 3s and older
Kid Friendliness: always friendly kids - I think CK has forged a new friendship every time she's come here
Parent Friendliness: always friendly parents
Shadiness: amazing shade
Tricked Out: its got some nice little features and some brain teasing artwork
Picnic/BBQ: a few tables - i think the BBQ itself is quite far away
Shabbiness: always seems clean - its too open to be vandalised
Toilets: Nearest is down in KG Urban Village - about two minutes away
Hovering Required: No, the park isn't big enough to need to hover
Bring Yr Bike: Nope, don't bother
Crowded: a few kids each time
Wow: I don't know its going to knock their socks off but I don't think you'll hear complaints

Teralba Park

Teralba Park is a massive sprawl of ovals and playground situated in Everton Park. Map is here. We have several close friends who live nearby and a few people have previously had picnics/baby showers at this park so we've run its course quite a few times.

What makes this park special is the sense of change and adaptability that the park has undergone over the course of its lifespan. I'm not sure the history of the park, but its old and is filled with old school entertainment like a hedge maze and sandpit. In contrast, there are flying foxes and the little theme areas (in this instance a pet store and a cafe) which are very much new school in Brisbane park design. The park used to have a water pump which the kids could pump and send water pouring down the hill by the slides, but of course that's been removed post-water restrictions in Queensland. There really is a sense that this park has seen many decades of design and functionality.

Despite it being completely crowded with kids and parents every single time we've visited, we've never once forged a friendship with another kid or parent. I tried small talking one parent on our latest visit but to no avail. But that's not really an issue at this park. Some parks are so small that a cold shoulder from a child/parent haunts you throughout the park, but this has so many nooks and hideaways that you barely cross paths with the same person twice. We went with a friend this time, but in our previous visits CK hasn't pined for other kids or felt disadvantaged because she was there alone. It's a self-entertaining park.

There are a few pergolas so its quite the ideal park for a picnic and is always strung with balloons for parties. The pergolas are situated a hundred meters or so from the park itself, so if you have younger kids you'll have to walk over to the park with them as you won't be able to completely spy them from the picnic areas. Lots and lots and lots of grass for ballsports and running.

It's really run down in a sense, but not too grotty or dilapidated. I guess it comes across more as well loved. I think this is a favourite for locals and is really worth a travel to just to see some old school attractions.

CK was having a moment with ratings and not quite getting the "out of ten" thing and rated this at 13 and I would give it 8.

RATED:

Age Groups: over 4s for unsupervised play, younger kids would need to be watched closely (lots of gravel to pick up and eat and bigger kids rushing about)
Kid Friendliness: everyone gets along but no one really talks to each other
Parent Friendliness: see above
Shadiness: lots of shade
Tricked Out: old school
Picnic/BBQ: lots of areas to feast
Shabbiness: its shabby, but in a well loved way
Toilets: There is a toilet block - I've not been inside to let you know the cleanliness level, however my hopes aren't high
Hovering Required: Definitely required for younger kids
Bring Yr Bike: There's one big long path which a whole bunch of kids were razor scootering down. Personally I thought they were a pain in the ass as I had to keep stepping out of their way - leave your bikes/scooters at home please.
Crowded: always a crown but handles it well.

Wow: I think the sheer fact that not many parks exist like this is wow enough. I mean, a hedge maze!

Grey Gums Park (aka Baby Work Park)

Grey Gums Park (aka the "baby" work park) is located behind the new "Synergy" building in QUT's Kelvin Grove Urban Village. Map is here.

Called "baby" work park as its the younger park of the two set in QUT KG - which is where I work. Interestingly, with the markets on the weekend, the fabulous The Boys House of Coffee (which is wonderful and Luke/Chris/Noni/etc are such lovely folks to talk to), the parks etc - CK thinks that my work is the most wonderous place to be...

KG Urban Village is a mixture of housing commission and assisted housing, fancy schmancy overpriced student accommodation, QUT workers and other assorted general public. This is reflected in the people visiting the park. Along one side of the park there is a row of townhouses and the other side is a new building site. This is not to put you off though.

The park itself is a wonderful park for the under threes. It's well set up as a toddler park where there are lots of tactile interactive installations and everything is low set to the ground and not challenging to those less agile. It works perfectly in tandem with the "big girl" park which is further down the street behind the Health Centre (pool/gym) which is filled with climbing frames and large slides better suited to the more stable limbs of small child.

The main structures of the park are a coffee shop and a cake shop. This is a great place for the kids to make you a coffee out of bark and get paid in bark. I've had some of the best bark cakes I've ever pretended to eat at this park too. CK - now nearly four - still loves running around this park, so whilst it does suit a younger crowd better, it has the "pretend" element which really keeps the older kids happy to. CK really does love this park and for all is lo-fi nature and neglect, it really is a solid park. There is lots to do here and tons to keep an active developing mind happy.

The downfall of this park is the constant vandalising and general litter everywhere. I tend to do the rounds and pick up all the litter as CK starts to play - its a big problem and there is always something destroyed in the park (usually the interactive poles which have an audiovisual element are beaten to a pulp).

Behind the park there are the standard gym set up (sit ups, pull ups etc) which are NEVER used except for older school kids who come down from KGSH or the arts school and loiter around.

Rarely are there other kids in the park. When there has been some they've all been ok - no BFF formed here but the kids have been okay to talk to.

CK rates this park at 8 and I would give it 7 - mostly for convenience. It's a solid park, but nothing which is going to knock your socks off.

RATED:

Age Groups: under 3's
Kid Friendliness: there are rarely other kids at this park
Parent Friendliness: nobody really talks at this park (if you do come across another group)
Shadiness: no shade in the park itself - the surrounding benches have shade
Tricked Out: its from the new school of parks which are brightly coloured theme inspired parks. The cake shop and cafe are fun, but the overall park has no real consistent theme
Picnic/BBQ: one BBQ - if you come during a week day there are sometimes office gatherings happening here
Shabbiness: gets really dirty and really damaged - I've never been there when everything was working
Toilets: Nearest is down in KG Urban Village - about five minutes away
Hovering Required: No, the park isn't big enough to need to hover
Bring Yr Bike: Nope, don't bother
Crowded: this park is like a ghost town.
Wow: I think a two year old would love this park so much, but its not going to wow anyone else.

Kalinga Park - aka "Friend Park"

Kalinga Park (known to CK as "Friend Park") is located at the end of Park Avenue in Wooloowin - pretty easy to find and lots of parking/walk from public transport. Map is here.

We'd read that this was the big deal in terms of parks in Brisbane and made a special effort to hunt and play - and it was most worth it. Quite reminiscent of New Farm Park in that you make a grand entrance through gates on to a vast array of grassy hills which stretch as far as the eye can see.

Grassy hills are great sure, but lets get down to the serious business of what it's packing.

Greeting you upon arrival is a really cool sandpit with a bridge running across it. I love parks with sandpits as CK loves them beyond belief and is petitioning to get a sandpit at home. This of course would turn into a massive cat dirtbox once that cats see it, so we are deflecting the "can I get a sandpit" question by taking her to parks with sandpits. This is a nice, clean almost shiny sandpit - nothing like the sort of grotty pit you see at some other parks.

The park itself is a series of cabins connected by ladders, bridges and walkways. It's from that older school of park - the old wooden style - but it really works in this context. Unlike New Farm Park - which I find rather worrying because the walkways are so small and it only takes a few other older kids to come bustling along and there is your precious Susie cracking her skull on the ground - the walkways are wide and the platforms accommodate lots of kids. It feels a thousand times safer here.

This park is all about exploring and climbing. There is one set of swings and a few slides littered about the place but its really a park to get a few kids together and let them act out scenarios of pirates and lost islands and buried treasures. I took CK by herself and quickly she'd found a couple of kids to play hide and seek and buried treasure.

Clearly its a park where mothers groups hang. If you can get past that (I should say that I don't find mothers groups very welcoming to people if you aren't part of it - I have a strict "say hello" policy to parents at parks and often feel very, very excluded from mothers groups who don't even return the hello) then bring a blanket and park yourself on it and let the chil'en run wild. It was secure enough that as a parent you don't have to hover (I wouldn't dream of letting CK more than five metres away from me at New Farm Park but here it was fine) and the park handled masses of kids really well.

So why "friend park" - we figure out a name for each park after we visit so that we can refer to it from then on (I wanna go to "helicopter park" or "boat park"). CK decided on "Friend Park" because she made a really nice friend there. This is a very interesting point not to be taken lightly - the caliber of kids at Kalinga Park was pretty awesome. There are some parks where CK - a confident girl, happy to walk up to kids and say hello - gets "kid blocked" (the child equivalent of cock block - where she either gets outright ignored or some other fancier kid swoops in and steals the friend). As a parent, this is pretty horrible to see. At "Friend Park" each of the groups she approached accepted her and allowed her to join the game. The sandpit girl went a step further and allowed CK to contribute new ideas and take the play in a different direction. Good kids at this park.

CK and I both rate this park a 9. I agree its probably one of the best in Brisbane for sure.

RATED:

Age Groups: works best for 3-5 year olds but really good for under 3 also (lots of little kids were plonked down in the sandpit and having a ball)
Kid Friendliness: really friendly
Parent Friendliness: met one super nice lady and everyone else seemed cool
Shadiness: held up really well in the middle of the day - lots of shady places for blankets
Tricked Out: not flashy but packed with cool fun things for the kids to find
Picnic/BBQ: plenty of spots, a few BBQs
Shabbiness: really clean, no pointless graff (so no teenagers come down at night to smoke pot and write "call darlene for a good time" on the equipment). Also lots of bins - surprisingly some parks fail to provide these!
Toilets: Yes, and they were not gross either!
Hovering Required: No, let them run wild. It's very safe
Bring Yr Bike: Yeah, some nice pathways for riding
Crowded: It handles lots of kids really well - I can see this would be huge on the weekends but with maybe fifty kids there on the week day there were enough different spots that no one area was out of control.
Wow: Lots of wow. Different things tucked away that it would take a few trips to uncover them all.