How to stay active during the school holidays

It’s official, school holidays can get expensive – finding Summertime entertainment to keep the kids active, whatever their age can be tricky – especially if you’re looking to keep a tight budget. Before the madness of back to school starts back up, get back to nature, throw on those walking shoes and get outside.

Whether you’re staying close to home or you’re heading out of town for the holidays, check out our tips below for some of our favourite free things for the family to do in your state, that’ll get you all moving, and best of all; that cost nothing.

When are the school holidays this year?

In Australia, Summer holidays tend to run across a few weeks in December and January for around 6-8 weeks, depending on the school.

Although it’s subject to change from state to state, School Holidays for Summer are expected to be from 21^st December 2023 to 29^th January 2024. However, please check directly with your children’s school for the exact date.

Outdoor Activities for Kids in Victoria

Fitzroy Gardens Outdoor Adventure – Melbourne

Grab the walking shoes and get ready for a kid friendly scavenger hunt around Fitzroy Gardens. Collect a map from the Fitzroy Gardens visitor centre and work with the kids to answer 12 questions from locations around the park. Although it’s recommended for primary school and high school kids, there’s also activities for those of you with pre-school kids and toddlers too. Open every day except Christmas day, find out more on the WhatsOn Melbourne website.

 

The Ballarat Skipton Rail Trail - Ballarat

If you have a trip to Ballarat Planned – and are looking for an alternative to classic historical sites, especially for Trail Running Enthusiasts or those who love a good walking excursion, the Ballarat Skipton Rail Trail runs along a former railway and goes through a few historical markers including gold mining sites. If your kids love history, there’s little boards across the walking trail with information sited at various points.

Buckley Falls Reserve - Geelong

For a moment of tranquillity, or at least a nice riverside walk, The Buckley Falls Reserve in Geelong offers an alternative to the beach. Situated on the Barwon River, alongside the old mill, this is a family friendly walk offering very pretty views, with lush green backdrops and plenty of waterways to admire. We recommend grabbing your waterproof shoes, as there might be plenty of opportunity to walk back and forth the river at more shallow points.

Outdoor Activities for Kids in New South Wales

Barangaroo Reserve – Sydney

One of Sydney’s newest parks, based on the foreshore – a renovation from one of the cities oldest sites, from a former container terminal. Barangaroo is a fully pedestrianised six-hectare open space. We recommend navigating yourself to Stargazer Lawn and admiring the gardens and harbour from the impressive views. Want to keep the kids’ engaged? Why not create a special version of eye-spy incorporating the impressive 75,000 native trees and shrubs to keep them busy. There’s also regular Aboriginal Cultural Tours to learn even more about the fauna – with a Bush Buji experience too where your children can learn about the land, sing songs and hear relevant tales. The Visit Sydney Website has all the info you need.

Blackbutt Reserve – Newcastle

If you’re looking for paradise, you have found it with this central coast gem. Blackbutt Reserve is host to heaps of wildlife and animal lovers will be able to go spotting Kangaroos, Wombats, Reptiles and Birds. The brave kids in your party will even be able to hand feed native emus too. If you visit the information centre, pick up some free activity packs for the kids – and for those who still have some energy left, let them loose on the impressive adventure playground at the end of the trail.

Cape Byron Lighthouse – Byron Bay

An oldie, but a goodie, this popular attraction in Byron Bay is highly versatile and can be adapted based on your walking ability. You can even pick it up mid-point, especially if you have younger children in tow. If you have a toddler in a stroller, no issue here, you’re still able to enjoy the walk on accessible paths and pavements up to the summit with those gorgeous 360-degree ocean and hinterland views. Explore the Byron4Kids Website to find all the extra information you need.

 

Outdoor Activities for Kids in Queensland

Gold Coast Hinterland – Gold Coast

Beyond the beaches and surf coastline of the Gold Coast, lies an impressive World Heritage listed habit with stunning forests, natural wonders and a stunning line up of wildlife. There’s so much to explore around here we couldn’t really pick our favourite, but we love Tamborine Nation Park and Lamington National Park among others. Rainforests, waterfalls, it has it all. Check out the Gold Coast Tourism Website for more to plan your visit.

 

Lahey’s Canungra Tramway Tunnel – Beaudesert

If your kids love trains and trams, this is an extra exciting activity. Based around an old private railway line from the early 1900s, visitors are welcome to walk along the short 1Km trail in a forest; whilst the train tunnel is mostly fenced off now, you can still peep into a slice of Australian history and it’s definitely worth it. Perfect for picnics, there’s also a little creek here too.

Swim in Lake Eacham Crater – Tablelands Area

Dinosaur lovers will adore this trail; part of Crater Lakes National Park. Lake Eacham is a Maar, with an impressive depth of 65m. Take the 3km track encircling the lake and take the kids animal spotting with over 180 bird species, as well as being home to heaps of musky rat kangaroos, turtles and even water dragons. Turn the morning hike into a cute dinosaur hunt, get them stomping around in their walking shoes through accessible trails. Makes for a perfect morning.

Outdoor Activities for Kids in South Australia

Waterfall Gully – Adelaide

Waterfall treks are a great alternative to beach walks, it’s likely to be a little cooler, especially when the temperatures are soaring. Located in Cleland National Park near Adelaide, Waterfall Gully is part of a national park that has 7 waterfalls, with the Gully being the largest. Why not create an animal spotting checklist, as you try to find some of the impressive wildlife in the park that includes Echidnas, Bandicoots and even some Kangaroos and Koalas.

Umpherston Sinkhole/Balumbul – Mount Gambier

A spectacle that needs to be seen to be believed, the Umpherston Sinkhole/Balumbul is like something from a fairy tale. Created when the roof of a cave collapsed, there’s now been a garden in its place for over 130 years.  With heaps of heating, sculptures and even a public BBQ space – there’s so much to explore. Younger children will love hunting for fairies and dragons and the older ones will love to soak up the greenery and geological marvels.

Outdoor Activities for Kids in Western Australia

Kings Park – Perth

If you’re visiting Perth for the holidays, you can’t beat a visit to Kings Park for a picnic and guided walk. Throw on your walking shoes and bring the kids to explore picturesque bushland set among iconic views of the city. There’s heaps of grass and space to kick a ball around, and enjoy picnics, as well as free guided walks, which we recommend attending if you can. The volunteers will be able to show you the impressive fauna around the park as well as giving you all the historical information about the park.

 

Jetty to Jetty Walk – Yawuru/Broome

If you’re looking go for something special near Broome, we cannot recommend enough hitting up the Jetty-to-Jetty walk. An award winning, self-guided heritage walk, this trail will take you along the foreshore of Roebuck Bay. 13 Stops will help you find out about the country of the Yawuru people as well as Broome’s heritage. Best of all its at your own pace.

There are signposts at each location with its own story to tell which you can read as you move through the town at your own pace.

Mount Frankland, Valley of the Giants – Denmark

Based on the south coast of Western Australia, the Valley of the Giants has a huge array of natural attractions. In particular we love the Mount Frankland trail. It’s 1.2km and family friendly boasting incredible views of Mount Frankland National Park. With room for strollers and wheelchairs, it’s suitable for families of all ages, and best of all, free to enter.

Outdoor Activities for Kids in the Northern Territory

Charles Darwin National park - Darwin

Based on France Bay, the Charles Darwin National Park protects some of Australia’s most significant and important wetlands. There’s plenty of BBQ spots as well as some really wonderful learning opportunities for the kids. Blending both Aboriginal and World War II history, scattered through the park are historic sites. We highly recommend checking out the World War II display where you can learn about Darwin's role in the Pacific War. You’ll also find over 30 species of Mangrove too.

Yeperenye / Emily and Jessie Gaps Nature Park – Alice Springs

Great for picnics, Emily Gap and Jessie Gap are family friendly excursions near Alice Springs. The two small gaps are important spiritual sites to the Eastern Arrernte Aboriginal people. You’ll find that many parts of the landscape are connected to the caterpillar Dreamtime story and form a 'Dreaming Trail'. At Emily Gap you can even see a rock painting of the Caterpillar Dreaming.

Outdoor Activities for Kids in Tasmania

Kunanyi/Mount Wellington – Hobart

Hobart lives in the shadow of the beautiful Kunanyi/Mount Wellington, which boasts places to play across a whole range of activities like mountain biking, walking and more. Highlights of these trails include the Organ Pipes, which look like little ribs – why not pretend there’s a dragon hiding in the mountain to keep it engaging for the kids!

The Enchanted Walk – Cradle Mountain

Go on a fairy hunt with your littlest kids on this enchanted 1.1km walk, explore a densely covered forest wonderland, with trails marked out on little wooden platforms – you might even be able to sport a wombat or two. It’s a perfect walk for those with all levels of fitness availability, little ones will absolutely love it.

Outdoor Activities for Kids in the ACT

Bridge to Bridge Loop – Canberra

A great accessible walk, especially with those parents bringing along strollers, the Bridge-to-Bridge Loop walk in Canberra, whilst being 5.0km is considered to be a generally easy walking route. Start where it’s easiest for you, however, officially it begins just near Wendouree Drive with convenient parking available. You’ll e able to take in some of the coolest sites in the capital on this trail including the National Library, the fountain and more.

There you have it, we hope you love our suggestions, and can’t wait to see you out there having amazing adventures with the family this holiday.