The Sugarworld KIPS area for kids under 10.
With its year round balmy days Cairns Queensland is a town that deserves a water park. The recently renovated Sugarworld Waterpark, in the the southern suburb of Edmonton fits the bill providing space, and slides for big and little kids to cool off. I am going to be honest here and say that I did not enjoy our visit to Sugarworld. At the same time I am going to take ownership of my discontent and say, in all likelihood my youngest (2 years old) was probably just too young for the water park. I know there were parents there with toddlers relaxedly playing together in the shallow waters of the children’s pool. I on the other hand spent the visit frantically chasing Bub 2 who was intent on fleeing all parental supervision so he could swim alone at will. Relaxing it was anything but. The problem was compounded by the park being very busy and therefore keeping my sights on my renegade child was particularly difficult. In the end I just didn’t feel it was safe, and we packed up and went home.
Now that I have vented my own angst about Sugarworld, what I will say is that my four year old has asked when we are going back, daily since we visited. At four, the slides in the little kids area were perfect for him, he had a fantastic time with his Dad (as I struggled with Bub 2) and he was very much old enough to interact responsibly in the environment. So while I am sure that one day I will make peace with Sugarworld, and that it will become a favourite family activity, I have banned it until Bub 2 is three and a half.
All of that out of the way time for a little more about the park: Sugarworld is much smaller than other watermarks on the Gold Coast such as Wet and Wild, but it is large enough for kids and adults (not chasing toddlers) to have a heap of fun. What I really liked was the “KIPS” section of the park, short for “Kids Interactive Play System” that is only for children 10 years and under, and their parents. Within the KIPS are a giant tipping bucket, mini-waterslides (still pretty fast though) and fountains. I actually can’t think of a better water play area for children under 10. There were a couple of children’s pools that were really too crowded for my liking. We didn’t try the larger water slides due to ages of our children. I also liked that the price of entry is graded according to the age of your children and what sections of the park will be used, in contrast to many other water parks and theme parks. No matter what ages your children, or what sections of the park will be used the prices were reasonable making this an affordable day out. The park is open on weekends, and during Queensland School holidays.
Sugarworld, Cairns Queensland
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