By Callum Ludwig
Water play parks around the Yarra Ranges reopened in beautiful spring sunshine on Friday 15 September much to the fanfare of a number of families who got out to enjoy them.
The water play areas in Lilydale, Seville and Warburton are a free and fun way for families to cool off and play, especially with the hot conditions predicted this year.
Keysborough residents Andrew and Gillian were visiting the areas with sons Alex and James and stopped by the Seville Water Play Park along the way.
“We thought we’d come out today and were already heading out to the Yarra Valley anyway and then we’ve got this good weather so it was good timing that it was the opening day,” James said.
“You can bring a picnic along and make it as cheap as you want, all the kids need is a bucket and some water and they are happy, we will be back.”
“If you went to the pool, you’d have to pay to get in so it’s great especially at the moment when things are tight for people,” Gillian said.
The Seville Water Play Park is located next to the Recreation Reserve and War Memorial with parking on Monbulk-Seville Road, Warburton Water World can be found at 20 Woods Point Road, Warburton and the Lilydale Lake splash pad can be found near the play equipment at Lilydale Lake.
Libby and Meghan were supervising some splash-filled fun at the Lilydale Lake splash pad after the last day of Term Three and Libby said it’s great having something close to home.
“It’s something different for them to do that’s active and outside so yeah, we’ll probably come more and more over summer,” she said.
“It’s not something you have to book in to do or plan in advance, you can just show up on a nice day, it would be great to have even more of these around.”
The active season for local water play parks runs until 28 April 2024, with jets turning on between 8am-10am, depending on location and turned off at 8pm.
If the temperature is forecast 35 degrees of higher, the water jets at the play parks will stay on for an extra hour, keeping the fun going until about 9pm.
Yarra Ranges Council Mayor Jim Child encouraged community members to have a back-up plan when visiting water play parks on warm days, weekends and public holidays.
“Our water play parks are very well loved, but this also means that we get a tremendous amount of tourists and locals flocking when the temperature rises,” he said.
“When we pack our bags to head to a water play park, many people will be doing the same. Consider back up plans – including driving out to another park nearby, another outdoor playground, or one of our outdoor pools when they open closer to summer,”
“And of course, please make sure children are always supervised around water.”
