This park is basically located right in the centre of town, and the old part of the town at that,…read moreis the buildings here are anything to go by. In fact it feels like one of those traditional town parks, and is actually quite large as well. You will also find the ubiquitous war memorial here, and the art gallery and town hall are on opposing sides. Mind you, coming here in winter doesn't really bring out the best part of this park, which is probably not all that surprising.

Amazing view that will never get old. A prime spot for walking, picnicking, car or people watching,…read morerelaxing and whale watching. Bring the kids for a play in the park and lunch by the rotunda. Or grab some cardboard for a slide down the hill. A popular spot for lawn parties and wedding ceremonies. A shame The Mattara Hill Climb is no longer held here but you will still see plenty of cars treating it like their own hill race. Cons for me are the regular smokers and obnoxious music blaring out of at least one car every visit. I've hit 30. Everything annoys me lol.

Neat park but it not very well lit at night which is a little sad. On the bright side (see what I…read moredid there?) it has a fantastic view of Newcastle that makes for some very good photos. There's also the Anzac memorial walk which is very close by and worth certainly worth seeing.

Blackbutt Reserve is a nature preserve that is free to the public. During my visit I was very…read moreimpressed at how well maintained the grounds are kept, how well the animals are cared for and how accessible the parking was. You can almost see as many animals at a park like this as you would in a typical zoo. We saw wallabies, koalas, peacocks, various birds and reptiles as well as wombats. I would highly recommend a visit to anyone local or from afar. You cannot go wrong here.

This is a great spot to bring your family for a barbecue. Free BBQ's…read more Plenty of things to do for the kids and gives the parents time to relax. If you have foreign guests they'll be able to see Aussie animals and well as touch them. There's native Australian birds too. A few hiking trails around to wear out those with extra energy and a well equipped playground for the kids. My little nephew loves it. Worth the visit. Good clean facilities.

Honestly, this park isn't all that special, though I can't really knock a park all that much…read moreconsidering that any amount of greenery in the middle of a city is a pretty good thing, and this place is certainly one of those places. Look, it really isn't all that big, and there isn't really all that much here, but still it is a splash of greenery which still makes it pretty good.

Compact park on a gentle slope towards the beach. Flat paved paths criss-cross the greenery and…read moreshady trees. We'd heard about Friday Chill - a series of free open air gigs in the park every Friday evening in the summer - and came along on two evenings during our stay. Bring a picnic and some refreshments (or order pizzas to the park like the group near us did!) and enjoy the music as the sun goes down.

What a cute little community. We didn't have too much time here maybe 45 minutes to grab a meal and…read moreget back on our bus for our Hunter Valley wine tour. We first sat at one restaurant and nobody even came to take her order, we are chosen this restaurant because they serve wine. So we return to the other restaurant that did not serve wine and had an amazing lunch that was brought to us very quickly. Well my friend ordered I went and grabbed a bottle of wine from the bottle shop around the corner. The bottle shop Staff was extremely friendly and help me select my wine, even offering me a few tastings to make sure I liked it before I bought it. How cool! I wish we had more time to spend here and there seem to be a lot of cute shops and things to do easily could've spent 2 to 3 hours. I know it's unrelated but being on a bus tour on a strict time schedule does not make for a relaxing day

I can't speak too much of the gardens as I was here for the Christmas Lights Spectacular but what I…read moredid see has me planning a return visit for Spring in the new year. The lights are here for their 10th year now and I'm pleased to see the addition of rides and food stalls. Great for kids and families however I came with my partner and we both enjoyed taking photos of the lights and changing sections, ie fairy garden, candy land, story book and world attractions. The paths were rarely congested but be sure to follow the one way direction for easier flow of the crowd. Plenty of parking.

Shame about the brown grass (completely understandable though) but still a lovely location,…read moreespecially for a wedding. Open area for a large or intimate outdoor ceremony with a massive space inside the building for the reception. Looked especially lovely by night lit up with lights. The public toilet situation isn't ideal but the walk across the lawn isn't far. There are miniature trains somewhere but I didn't explore that.

A great place by the lake, especially for families. Abundant picnic space. Massive, fully fenced…read moreplayground. Cafe for coffee cravings. Pool facility. Bike/walking path along the water leading back to Warners Bay. Markets on the weekend and of course (if you're willing to chance the curse), Carols by Candlelight. Parking can be a bit challenging due to the popularity and sporting events. Single lane traffic on the main road can get very busy also.

A park for the whole family something for everyone. From a family picnic to bike riding or u want…read moreto go for a walk and family equipments for the kids too. Often they have events held here like the Sunday Markets to Christmas fire works. There are always something here.

We loved our time here! Great value! We spent 4 hours here... You get so close to the animals and…read morecan see them all really well. Free-roaming kangaroos that you can pet (or buy $2 food). There's an experience twice a day where you can feed bottles of milk to the baby goats and sheep. It's a crazy wild experience as they all run around!! You can also try milking a cow. Twice a day there's also a free tractor trailer ride around the park. Fun aviary that you can walk up stairs into. There's a year-round splash pad plus two playgrounds and many picnic tables to BYO lunch on, or buy their lunch food. All around a wonderful way to spend the morning!

Fantastic farm! Tons of Australian farm animals. This is such a wonderful place for kids. It's an…read moreintimate farm, but yet tons to do. Found the staff to be friendly and most importantly enthusiastic. For some of us it was our first time seeing a koala and camels and being able to feed them was an amazing treat. Found the pricing to be reasonable and again perfect outing for a family of all ages. We'll be back again for sure!