South Bank Parklands is a sprawling paradise for families, with winding, leafy walkways, shady lawns and ingeniously designed zones for active fun – both wet and dry. The main kids' playground here, constructed among the poinciana trees and well-tended plant beds, is a colourful and exciting wonderland that has a large turnover of fun seekers at all daylight hours, happily raising havoc while the ibises prowl around inspecting the contents of unattended prams.
The first thing you see on approach is the epic, custom-made Sky Walk, with four Sky Cabins and two bridges bookended by long silver slides. Older kids will love scrambling up into this thing and exploring while the skyscrapers of Brisbane City look on from across the river. There's also a wide slide, rock climb slope, swings and a Supernova wheel – but the turning thing that draws kids unstoppably is the Mouse Wheel.
This monster is a rotating drum ride that looks like it could be an MRI or an Anish Kapoor sculpture. Eight or more kids can cram into it and, exactly like a hamster wheel, start running for dear life. Approach with caution: once this thing starts rolling, it's hard to stop!
Riverside Green is one of the destination playgrounds of Brisbane, but keep a close watch on your little ones: it's right next to the public swimming zone Streets Beach, a huge temptation on a sweltering day. Another drawback is parking: there's plenty of it underground but you have to pay handsomely, although the South Bank train station is a short walk away too.
