Brisbane Winter Festival

We had a fun visit to the Winter Festival in Brisbane yesterday. The festival is currently on at King George Square until June 26.
We watched an ice skating show and the kids went on a fun slide. It was a fun afternoon in the city. We went by car and parked in the parking underneath the square -- it's $10 during the weekend so pretty economical for city parking.
It's free to go to the festival, but you pay for activities. We decided to do the ice skating during the last week as the kids will be on holiday then and the skating is cheaper during the week.
The fun slide was great for the kids -- $5 for 3 rides. So they each went, and joined up for the last two times meaning that they could get an extra go!

We took some snacks and sandwiches to have in the car later, but did grab some hot chocolate and churros -- which were very welcome as it was rather cold!

Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium

We had a great -- and highly anticipated -- visit to the Planetarium in Mt Coot-tha, Brisbane at the weekend.

Highly anticipated because we'd planned to go there for ages. The first weekend we were the most determined to go, but they were closed for a two week revamp, then Kai was sick, then we had to pack boxes, move house, unpack boxes...But finally, we managed to go. And we really enjoyed ourselves.
Slade has been learning about the solar system at school this term so it was of huge interest to him. And being eight he's able to walk around, reading the information on the displays and understand a fair amount. We watched one show, which was very suitable for kids. It shown in a dome-shaped theatre, and you watch the show on the roof, so that's a novelty. There are shows specifically for children, and then others that are longer and are not for children under six. They do warn that if you leave the theatre, you are not able to return so it's wise to choose appropriate shows.
There is a cost for the shows, but entrance to the planetarium itself is free.
For a bit of history, the planetarium, which is Queensland's first, was opened in 1978, and named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, a Governor of New South Wales in the 1820s. Australia's first significant observatory was established by Sir Thomas Brisbane, who was responsible for the first extensive mapping of the southern sky. His observations led to a list of 7,385 stars.

The planetarium is situated in the Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens, which has a restaurant, and wonderful facilities for walks and picnics so it's possible to combine your visit to the Planetarium with a picnic in the garden or lunch at the restaurant.

Rock Climbing

We've recently discovered an indoor rock climbing facility at Browns Plains. And our kids are addicted! It's called The Rock, and you'll find it at 49 Eastern Road, Browns Plains, Brisbane. Based at The Spot Community Centre, there's also info about it on their website.
It provides such a great opportunity for the kids to get some good exercise in a great environment and it's really character-building.

The first time we visited was with my daughter Kai's Girl Guide group. They had a wonderful time playing a few games and doing the rock climbing.

Since then we've visited a couple of times on a Wednesday afternoon when they hold a kid's club. This is a time for the kids to try the rock climbing and do a variety of games that involve skills such as climbing, swinging and balancing.
Apart from the enjoyment the kids get out of the activity, it's also great for their confidence -- they feel great when they get a bit further up the wall than the previous time or are able to reach the top. And when activities are a little bit more difficult or they are on a more challenging part of the wall, it's also an opportunity for them to do some problem solving and to practise some persistence.
We were really excited to discover recently that they also do birthday parties. The kids went to one there recently and we've now booked for Slade's party in December. You provide your own food and they have kitchen facilities available, and there are options for climbing only or climbing and games.

Postscript: The Rock Adventure Specialists have organised a special kids rock climbing club climb at Kangaroo Point on November 18, 2010. It's from 3pm to 6pm and you can contact them on 0424 023 932 for more info.

South Bank

South Bank in the heart of Brisbane is full of wonderful things to experience. There are shops and restaurants in the area, but with kids we head to the water. Providing awesome free entertainment, there's a great water play park and Australia's only beach in the middle of a city. The water is also channeled towards the play park in a man-made river complete with stones, which are great for building dams!
The area overlooks the Brisbane River so the setting is great. There are also wonderful areas to picnic as well as BBQ facilities and children's playgrounds.
Parking can be expensive, but if you park at the nearby library, museum or performing arts centre parking areas, it's $14 for the day. Street parking is limited. The South Bank train stop is conveniently located for access to the water park.

History
Interestingly, South Bank was originally the business heart of Brisbane, but following floods in 1893, the central business district was relocated to higher ground on the north side of the river. By 1930, South Bank had established itself as a busy river port and industrial zone with markets, wharves, dance halls and theatres.
The area declined and there was even little impact when the Queensland government decided to build the Performing Arts Centre there in 1977. The area was near-derelict when South Bank was selected in 1984 as the site for the World Expo '88. It consisted of a couple of old hotels and a few industrial buildings.
The Expo was the prime catalyst for the resurrection of South Bank and by the time the Expo came to an end, over 18 million people had visited South Bank.