Bigger is better
The Farm’s Three Blue Ducks cafe, Ronan talks about the resurgence of holiday parks. “We’re certainly seeing a focus from families on a disconnect-to-reconnect mentality... that [idea of] choosing a simpler holiday within a couple of hours’ drive from home.”
“They just want good, honest, simple fun.” And it’s this kind of fun that’s promised at Discovery Parks – Byron Bay.
Great expectations
After a three-million- dollar investment, the park has a new resort-style activities hub, with an impressive water park, featuring a plethora of fountains, two water slides and a dumping bucket. As children run amok, parents – myself included – watch from a lagoon-style pool, while older kids burn off energy on the nearby jumping pillow. Another two million will be spent on more cabins, safari tents and a kiosk, due by Christmas 2016.
The park is the perfect example of the new style of accommodation that’s sweeping the country and has led to an increase in people taking caravan and camping holidays nation-wide. Although caravanning has long been part of Australia’s fabric, it fell out of fashion in the nineties and early 2000s, as families opted for package holidays at island resorts. But the corporatisation of caravan parks has seen a reinvestment in facilities with a refocus on treating caravan parks as destinations in their own right.
So how do you entice families back? Discovery Parks – Byron Bay, for instance, offers a variety of ‘kids stay free’ deals throughout the year, has an adorable Sunday Funday with activities such as free buggy rides and, in the school holidays, the tennis court is transformed into an outdoor cinema. These are just a few of the delights aimed at keeping both mum and dad and the little ones smiling. Byron Bay is just the beginning, with many of Discovery Parks’ 60 properties earmarked for special treatment. One of the next in line is nearby Discovery Parks – Ballina, formerly Ballina Lakeside Holiday Park. The park will initially receive rental stand-up paddleboards, kayaks and bicycles, with more changes down the track.
Ronan says it’s all in line with an industry emphasis on natural play spaces, jumping pillows and bicycle tracks. “There’s a focus,” she says, “on providing good, non- electronic activities in parks that give parents a sense that they’ve given their kids a really good, fun outdoor adventure.”
And judging by the smiles and natural glow on my own family’s faces at the end of our stay, it’s a concept that’s working.
Information
www.discoveryholidayparks.com.au www.visitbyronbay.com
Getting there
Ballina Byron Gateway Airport is five minutes’ drive from Ballina’s centre and 35 minutes from Byron Bay. Fly Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Rex from Sydney, Newcastle or Melbourne.
Stay
Discovery Parks – Byron Bay has a large range of accommodation, from unpowered sites (from $17) to powered sites with ensuites ($ 55), deluxe studios ($159) and two-bedroom ($189) cabins, and safari tents ($149). Facilities include a water park, bouncing pillow, two swimming pools, a tennis court, barbecues and a camp kitchen.
Eat
The Farm Byron Bay www.thefarmbyronbay.com.au