What a great little (big) place to take the family. This place has far more then your usual reserve…read morewill offer. Wait for it. It has a train (little train). Ok it is a miniature train, but you can ride on it. What else does this park have that you have given 5 stars to I hear you say? Well it has archery boards, and an awesome track for your remote control cars. I was a bit of a distance away and was on a school excursion so couldn't wander far but some big kids (adults) were testing out their skills on this day. It has a great viewing area raised high off the ground so if this is your thing then this is the place. Unsure of whether there was a BBQ but they do have a new toilet block and plenty of shade around the place.

Great memories of push-bike riding asa teenager, thru the Golf links and to try and see the model…read moretrains.

This is such a great place. With a playground, skate park AND beautiful bike/hiking tracks through…read morethe local bush land, this really is a pretty place. While it isn't the biggest playground, they certainly have designed it with a wide range of age groups in mind. There's a mix of rubber ground and bark chip ground with toilets right in the middle of the skating area and the playground area. I spoke to a local who said the skate park is great (I've been out of the skating scene for too long to know hehehe). There were a couple of broken street lights in the car park but he assured me that the park gets maintained and looked after well, and he was surprised to see the damage himself. Pack your family up, put the bikes in the car and head over here. It would be a lovely Sunday outing. This is definitely one to check out. It's such a pretty place and while there's more construction happening at the moment (looks like an extension to the playground) this really is a happy blend of playground and nature with plaques along the way with information about the wildlife in that area. *I didn't see a drink fountain or BBQ* *Dogs allowed...under effective control of course* *Stay tuned to this post, I want to check the tracks out more myself! :-) See you there!*

Minkarra Park is a great place to take the kids on school holidays when you just need to get out of…read morethe house. It has exercise equipment, large skate park, hiking trails, fenced dog park and playground with toilets. Whilst I mainly visited for the playground with friends, I was disappointed that it does not cater for crawlers or children under 2 very well. Some of the equipment was too high/difficult for them to climb and they spent the majority of the time on the rubber ground. There was also no toddler swing, so if your kids like swings as much as mine then it's not the place to go. That being said it s well kept and tidy, but probably suited more to 3/4yo and up.

Ideally, this would be a five star rating but I had to leave room for improvement. This little…read moreripper of a park is getting MORE equipment added to it so I had to leave an extra star for a review at a later stage. If your dog or your child needs room to run about, this is the place to come. There is SO much room! The playground is fairly new and the entire play equipment area has a rubber floor. There are electronic toilets, BBQ, sheltered table/chair area, and a drinking fountain that needs a little servicing. It's one of those wonderful drinking fountains that have a lower collection spot for the off-run of water so the four legged pooches can have a drink also. Attached is also a tap. To be honest, if it wasn't such a great set up, the play equipment wouldn't be all that great. This is definitely a toddler park with one piece of equipment that reminds me of swinging around on the old lop sided hill hoist (which isn't suited for toddlers at all). This is a lovely place to be. The BBQ looks like it's the oldest piece of equipment of the whole area but it still looks like it gets used (it was a rainy day, I didn't try myself). This has all the makings of a wonderful 'destination playground' so hopefully the new equipment can help it get that one last star. *Dogs allowed (bags available)* *Drinking fountain (needs servicing)* *Sheltered table/chair* *entire rubber flooring*

YAY!!! Thank goodness I get to review this playground...it's such a nice change from all the…read moreordinary and unimaginative playgrounds in the area. This playground absolutely blew me away when I stumbled upon it. This street is a little 'industrial' so to find this wonderful park was exciting. It's nestled in among the trees so there's dappled shade over most of the playground. There are BBQs, shaded table/chair areas, lots of nice lawn areas, toilets, a drinking fountain (that works!!!), a skate ramp and LOTS of wonderful play equipment that would suit a variety of age groups and abilities. This is definitely a 'destination playground'. There's plenty of room if you want to spread out a blanket and have a picnic, or there are a couple of BBQs ready for sizzling. To find this playground was such a great feeling, I can only imagine how children feel when they see the place. I can't wait to take my daughter here and see her try out all of the equipment. *Dogs allowed, under control* *Working drinking fountain* *Shaded tables/chairs* *BBQs* *Toilets* *Skate Ramp*

Plenty of parking Heaps of room for the kids to run around…read more I personally love this place as I got married there

This is most definitely a 'destination playground'. Thank goodness I found one! This is a place for…read morebirthday parties, work Christmas parties, get-togethers and why-not weekend adventures. It has wonderful play equipment, lots of space, sheltered table and chairs, beautiful trees and lawn, toilets and drink fountains. This is such a pretty and well maintained area with many walks and sections to the park. I have included a map of the park so you can have an idea of the space and fun you can have there. If you're wanting to have a large gathering at this park, I would suggest calling the Onkaparinga City Council (the number is listed in the business info section) to see if there's a booking system or a requirement to being able to request a certain area of the park. Visiting Thalassa would be a 'whole day' adventure to get the most out of the place. It sure looks like great fun and is definitely on my list of 'places to go back to and explore further'. I'm not sure if dogs are allowed at this park. I don't remember seeing a sign stating that they weren't allowed, however at this type of park there could be restrictions. *BBQs* *Sheltered table/chairs* *Stunning scenery*

Perhaps the actual playground equipment doesn't deserve a three star rating, but the extra…read moretwinkling gets added because of the massive area. This playground links in with the other park lands in the the surrounding suburbs. You could bring your bikes to ride around in this area, or make a longer day of it and ride through the whole park area. Generally, there's trees lining the footpath/bike tracks and a few playgrounds, albeit not very exciting ones, along the way. I was quite surprised I didn't see a drinking fountain here. I know they don't usually work any way but still, hydration at possible places of rest would be great. Toilets would be along the track somewhere but they aren't here. The playground is mostly metal and wood. The slide looks dangerous of summer so make sure you check it isn't hot enough to cook an egg on before tender little bottoms slide down it. The swings have rubber flooring and the playground is bark chipped. *Dogs allowed* *No drinking fountain* *No real shade on the playground at all*

If you've got a child who loves to climb, this could be a place to visit. This playground would…read morework for a few different age groups but if you have children quite substantially older (early teens), you may want to bring their bike while the younger ones play. There's no shortage of space here! The playground is spaced well away from any roads and while there may not be a lot of shade over the majority of the equipment, there is dappled shade from the trees dotted along the walking trails/footpaths. This is a playground and park that links in with a whole reserve of parks in the surrounding areas. If you're up for a bike ride, you could definitely get a good days exercise going from one park to the next. *Dogs allowed* *No drinking fountain* *No immediate toilets (although there would be some in the surrounding park areas if you're riding)* *Not a lot of shade*

I'm definitely a fan of this area. I know the playground isn't as elaborate as I would usually like…read morefor a four star review but gee this is such a great place to be. It doesn't matter if you've bought fish and chips, or using the BBQ's or grabbed some food from the Boatshed Cafe, the view over the water will make anything taste just that bit better. The playground itself really isn't too bad. It's lots of fun for the children and while it may not look too extensive, the older children like to use it as well as the younger children. If you have never been to Hallett Cove before, even if you don't have children, make sure it's on your 'Places to Go' list. If you feel like throwing your feet up and swinging on a swing, no one will look at you strangely. This is a place full of goodness and fun. If you have a dog, they must be under control and not near the play ground, other than that there's plenty of room for them to run about. They are also allowed on the beach. Bags are provided so PLEASE pick up after them so everyone can keep enjoying this area. More often than not the sheltered table/chair areas are taken from mid morning so if you want to have a birthday party or gathering, get in early! There aren't any drinking fountains but there are taps at each of the shelters. *Dogs allowed* *Sheltered table/chair*

Five stars for what it was, One star for what it has become…read more Sadly, this reserve has been over-modernised, it's once beautiful green open spaces have been replaced by grey cement and brown bark chips. Large areas of grassy areas have been rendered useless in the name of a "beautification" that suits no purpose other than to improve the view from a house on Heron Way. Heron Way reserve was once fit to cater for community events or family picnics, sadly the "improvements" now render it unsuitable for any sort of community event. The ANZAC memorial was a nice addition but the dawn service highlights the inability of the area, and the Marion council, to accommodate more than a dozen people at a time. Don't get your hopes up for a return of the soapbox derby, the reserve could handle neither the crowd or the Mr Whippy van. There used to be a large, safe playground that would accommodate a small army of kids, this has been replaced by a play space for two and an area guaranteed to result in injuries to children engaging in anything more boisterous than birdwatching. Now there is election motivated talk of a rock pool that some estimates have bringing an additional 100k visitors to the reserve. How on earth is that going to happen and why would we want it to? Let Hallett Cove be Hallett Cove, not everything has to be a tourist attraction or art installation.

There's a slight possibility that I'm being a little generous with four stars; it's probably worth…read moremore like three and a half stars but it was such a nice area with LOTS of space for the children to completely exhaust themselves. Look at all the room behind the playground. Can't you see your children riding up the gentle hill and then turning around and having fun flying back down? The playground itself is quite entertaining as it is, but to be in such a great spot with so much space added to my "I love a playground" spot in my heart ;-) There is a shaded area with seating but no table. I couldn't see a drinking fountain either, otherwise I wouldn't have hesitated to stamp a four star rating all over this baby (we all know how much I love a drinking fountain! It's strange the obsessions you conjure up after reviewing a million playgrounds) It's all bark chipped with paved pathways in between the play equipment and the seating area. *Dogs allowed* *No drinking fountain* *Sheltered seating area*

As you can see from the photo, there's a LOT of space here. There are paths that lead to and from…read moreneighbouring parks/reserves and if you're in the area, this would be a good place to let the children run amok for a while. The playground itself isn't THAT extensive but it sure isn't the worst there is. What I really like about this place is that it has a variety of parallel bars and 'chin up' bars at varying heights not too far from the playground. All the equipment is spread out a little....why wouldn't you when you've got all that space, but you may end up with different aged children all over place. Still, this is a nice place to stop (or start) while exploring the surrounding areas or just getting some exercise. *Dogs allowed* *Drinking fountain doesn't work :-(* *No shade on play equipment*