Most families travelling to the Gold Coast will have their days jam pack with sight seeing, beaching, theme parks and a seemingly never ending assortment of activities.  With so much to do in the region, it can be a very busy and tiring time.  For those looking for a bit of relaxation while the kids burn off some of their infinite energy reserves, there are a number of parks around the Coast that offer swimming, activities, BBQ’s and seating.  Let the kids run around, swim and play while you eat, drink and relax.

One such place is Harley Park in Labrador.  Harley Park is right on the shores of the Broadwater and offers a swimming area protected by sand banks (Ian Dipple Lagoon).  The water in the pool washes in and out with the tide, which conversely changes the height of the surrounding banks of sand.  There are also plenty of shaded picnic tables and children’s play areas.  There are toilets and showers (cold) so you can hang around for as long as you like.  To top things off, Charis Seafood has a shop right on the edge of the park that offers both cooked and fresh seafood.  The range is enormous and I can vouch for the freshness, it’s fantastic!

There are often cultural performers at Harley Park on a Friday and Saturday night during summer and the daily highlight for most children is the pelican feeding at around 1.30pm.  You will see the pelican population building up from around midday at the rear of the Charis Seafood shop until feeding time.

One final piece of advice to anyone that plans using Harley Park – get there early.  This park is becoming increasingly popular on weekends and by mid morning most of the shaded picnic tables are taken, as are all of the car parking spaces.  The BBQ’s are council provided and are free.

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Family Compass is an exciting new concept in social networking.  This site is dedicated to providing families with advice on travel and travel related activities.  The best thing of all is that the advice will come from other families, not from travel consultants or operators.  We encourage you to explore the information on our site and to share your experiences, so others may learn from you.
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