Activities with a Toddler in SW Sydney.
In light of moving to a new place and leaving our apartment in Narellan, I thought I’d share all our activities and things to do when living in the Macarthur/Camden area. As a fulltime stay-at-home-mum (and especially after emerging from postpartum depression the previous year and needing to finally leave the house!), I went all out in finding things for us to do when we moved here a year ago, so here’s my list of things to do with a toddler in SW Sydney!
Mess It Up: Messy play space for toddlers (and babies)! This was a fun space for Azura to explore new activities as she developed, so each week we’d attend a Toddler Tornadoes session at their HQ in Currans Hill. Casual passes available
Timbernook: Probably my favourite of them all, this is a nature/bush play program for toddlers, based in a beautiful spot in Appin with a running creek throughout and a bit of rainforest too. With the class going from 9:30-11:30am, it’s the perfect way to spend a wake window and you’re both grounded afterward too (I also encourage a stop at Appin Bakery on the way home!). Have a look at their insta to see what they’re about 🍃 Casual passes available.
Shine Shed: A playgroup held each Friday morning at Shine Shed Campbelltown hosted by Bumps Babies & Beyond. This is a more active activity with trampolines, stairs and slides, swings, as well as imaginative and open-ended play, and a great way to burn energy before a lunch nap. $10 entry and comes with a free coffee.
Mt Annan Botanical Gardens: My favourite way to spend an afternoon as the sun starts going down - fresh air, grounding, a calm walk around the gardens and lots of stairs to climb to burn little ones’ energy, as well as a great park if you want to add that on at the end too (Azura loves the flying fox ☺️). We were living in an apartment with no backyard (just a balcony), so we made this our backyard.
Oran Park Splash Park: One of the best water parks available in the area (don’t even bother with Camden compared to this!). Having opened just last year (when I moved here, a godsend!) and only open in the warmer months (as of Spring), this is how we survived summer in south west Sydney!
UOW Early Start Discovery Space: This place is amaaaazing and so big, you’ll spend hours on end here! I made a reel about one of our times here for you to see what’s included and what there is to do ☺️ We’d have a wake window here, grab a takeaway lunch from the cafe (grilled chicken and chips - GF friendly meal!) then drive back home for a longgg lunch nap
Twinkle Cafe Macarthur Square: So many of these fun cafes are popping up lately! This one is in Macarthur Square, and you can spend hours playing here with so many different things to do and different environments.
Tada Cafe Oran Park: Same as above but in Oran Park, and has an even bigger pretend grocery shop section and Mario Kart you can play together 🤭 (big tick from me as a gamer haha). They’re like a Montessori style mixed with modern technology which is really interesting to experience, you’ll have to see for yourself
Doohan Park (Oran Park): Just a play park we like to go to that’s gated (that seems to be big for parents?) and has lots of different play options. In case maps sends you to the soccer fields, the park is on the other side and in walking distance.
The Farm Cawdor 2570: Local fresh produce and feeding of the cows for your little one! On weekends they have coffee and hot food, it’s a whole vibe and a very lovely family operated business to visit. So affordable too compared to Woolies/Coles!
Other ways we’d spend our time together would be produce shopping at Grima Bros then visiting the pet shop or getting some new learning activities from Officeworks, having swimming lessons or just having a casual swim at the leisure centre, walking to the library down the road for an hour then playing at the park next door, playing with friends, or just staying home and having open-ended play or cooking together!
I hope this gives you some inspo to get out and try some new things as you bond and have fun with your little one, if you have any questions or comments just send me a message on insta or comment below! 🤍
