I've been playing roller derby for six years now and skating at Skateland much of this time. We…read moreused to train as a team here on Monday nights, but nowadays I just head here for the public skates, held on weekends. Skateland has recently redone the floor and it's really really nice to skate on - really grippy and good for maneuvering. You'll need that grippy floor if you're learning to skate on rental skates, or even if you're just trying to stop suddenly when a kid comes hurtling in front of you. I've collected a couple of people in my time thanks to their unconventional way of skating around the track! If you're looking for something to do with your kids, take them along to a public skate and take part in the games and races the staff put on - it's good exercise and something different from sitting in front of the Xbox.

Just like riding a bike. It was strange to have not put on roller skates for some two decades and…read moreto have the body mechanics of skating cautiously come back to me the first few times I slowly made my way around the ring. A friend of mine decided to start his birthday celebrations with a bit of retro skating, so we went there with a big group. I enjoyed it, it was fun skating around, watching people fall over, and having the odd chill moment with a drink. Cheap as anything, I think it was under $10 for skate hire and entry.

Fun afternoon exploring the oce. The staff set us up with our rental skates and we used a frame to…read morestart off til we got the hang of skating. We warmed up in the cafe with a hot chocolate and a big slice of cake ($6.50). Highly recommend! Skating was fun and a nice activity to keep kids active.

Feeling hot? Like you'd be keen to enter a winter wonderland? Look no further!…read more Paradice is a barrel of ice skating fun, where you can swish around on skates to some upbeat music with your friends. I went recently, and thoroughly enjoyed myself (even though I fell over and bruised myself a few times!) It would've been great if they'd offered lessons to first timers before we stepped on the ice, but you have to book a class for that. Basically I think a 5 min lesson should be essential, as it's a dangerous sport. The atmosphere was great though, and it was cute watching all the kids on their little support frames!