NSW School Holiday Fun this Spring

Jamberoo Action Park

With the Spring school holidays just weeks away, parents and kids alike are hunting for ideas for a fun-filled two weeks. From unique animal encounters to vibrant local festivals and family friendly events, NSW has something for everyone these school holidays.

Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer Sandra Chipchase said, “Spring is a perfect time to take a short break, explore new destinations and discover new experiences that the whole family will enjoy”.

Destination NSW offers some suggestions for the upcoming Spring school holidays:

REGIONAL NSW SPRING SCHOOL HOLIDAY IDEAS

• Camping festival style: Deni Ute Muster, in the Riverina, celebrates all things country and offers families a designated camping area. Kids will love the camel rides, balloon entertainer, racing pigs, reptile displays and Brophy Bros Circus. Parents can rock out to some of Australia’s top country music stars including Shannon Noll, Lee Kernaghan and The McClymonts.
• Tour and taste the Riverina: Learn where your food comes from at the annual Taste Riverina festival, a month long celebration of the region’s produce. The whole family will enjoy the authentic camp oven experience at the Grong Grong Earth Park Camp Oven Tea, the Bush Tucker Tour and Lunch with Wiradjuri Elder Michael Lyons at Sandhill Artefacts in Narrandera and Blast from the Past in Barellan where you camp out under the stars and enjoy the demonstrations of the working Clydesdale horses, as well as learn how to milk a cow, churn butter and brew your own ginger beer.
• Get wet wet wet: Jamberoo Action Park, near Wollongong, opens just in time for the Spring School Holidays. Perfect for teenagers, the Perfect Storm will have the adrenalin rushing as this 290 metre long water ride sees them travel through three tornados and up to 40km hour in a four person raft. While littlies will enjoy Banjo’s Billabong, a 760 sq metre aqua play area with 198 different water features.
• Blooming Blue Mountains: Celebrating its 30th Birthday, Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens Mount Tomah is set to have its biggest display of bulbs in flower, with more the 20,000 bulbs blooming from August to October. Pack a picnic hamper and reserve your own picnic spot so you can spend a day amongst the flowers. 
• Wild about Devils: Book a night or two at the newly opened Devil’s Retreat, near the amazing Devil Ark – the largest conservation breeding program for the critically endangered Tasmanian Devil in the wilds of the Barrington Tops. Sure to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, a stay at the Devil Retreat includes a private Devils in the Wild tour, a two and a half hour walking tour in the Devil Ark to see these endangered species up close and the rare opportunity to witness a communal feed to encourage wild behaviour.
• Test of strength: Contrary to the name, the Australian National Goanna Pulling Championships in Wooli on the NSW North Coast is actually a test of strength between two people, whereby contestants get down on all fours and are linked by a leather belt over their heads, enabling them to pull backwards, tug of war style. Weird and wonderful, this event needs to be seen to be believed. The Goanna Pulling Championship includes many other events including wood chopping, men's, women’s and children's novelty races, dog obedience trials, tug of war teams, market stalls, a jumping castle, an Old McDonald's Farm, Australian Reptile Show, bungee trampoline and a ferris wheel.
• Run with the sheep: The Running of the Sheep at the Boorowa Community Bank Irish Woolfest, in the Riverina, is NSW’s version of the Running of the Bulls, but with sheep. This fun weekend, includes plenty of sheep events, Irish bands and dancers, street parade and craft and food stalls.

SYDNEY SPRING SCHOOL HOLIDAY IDEAS

• Festival fun: Expect electrifying live shows, music, comedy, hair-raising amusement rides, interactive activities, workshops and yummy food atKidtopia Festival in Parramatta Park this school holidays. The festival line up will keep the whole family entertained with live bands, circus, comedy and tricks, including the Hillbilly rascal band The Pigs, junk percussion group Junkyard Beats and Samson from Justice Crew's Base 181 school dance team. 
• Wild about whales and animals: Taronga Zoo and Captain Cook Cruiseshave partnered to offer a Sydney wildlife package for animal lovers which includes a morning at Taronga Zoo, including tickets on the Sky Safari cable car, followed by an afternoon whale watching cruise. The cruises will operate daily until November 2017.
• Adventure is calling: Western Sydney’s Skypeak Adventures has amazing adventure climbs even for the littlest adventurer in the family. For kids from one metre tall, there are 12 challenges to climb, conquer and explore. While for kids over 1.4 metres tall they can bridge walk, barrel run, rope climb, chasm jump and trapeze swing their way through two hours of adventure.
• Staycation: New at Holiday Inn Potts Point is the Kid’s Glamp-out package. Checking into a family room, kids will be provided with an already set-up tepee filled with games, a starlight torch, toys and snuggly blankets to ensure a lux camp-out experience.

Share your favourite winter school holiday experiences with Destination NSW #ILoveSydney and #NewSouthWales. For more School Holidays inspiration go to visitnsw.com