Tucked away in a bend of Brisbane River is Colmslie Beach Reserve, aka the Octopus Garden Park…read more It's so much fun and has something for everyone. It's on the river, with a little sandy shore, so you can fish; there are quite a few picnic tables and barbecues (but get in early on weekends); there are wide open spaces for kicking a ball around and lots of shady trees to spread a picnic rug beneath. The funnest part, however is the kid's playground. The Octopus Garden has lots wood and rope climbing areas, big sandpit, water play features, giant colourful fish and octopus play areas and a flying fox. For kids and kids at heart, this place has a lovely vibe, with a backdrop of the river and the Gateway Bridge in the distance, Brisbane City Council's done a really good job here. Check it out.

Damn, this is one fancy suburban park. They don't make parks like this on the south side. Since…read morebecoming a full time mummy, my sister has become an expert on Brisbane parks. She could tell you which park is suitable for different age group, which park has the cleanest BBQ areas or has the most shade or has easy parking or has the best slides. It's a real eye opener tagging along and watching how kids interact with the playground. Whoever designed the Hamilton playground has thought of everything. There are three different designated play areas. One area is clearly for toddlers because the steps are low enough for them to climb up and there are simple slides and seesaws low to the ground. There's an adventure style playground for the older kids (and short adults like me!) with a climbing net and flying foxes. What I was most impressed with was the miniature road set. My nephew was worried that it was a 'real road' and pronounced in a sing song voice that I should get off the road. Once I explained it was a 'pretend road', he happily raced around the track on a pretend motorbike breaking all the road rules but at least giving way to pedestrians. There's an off-leash dog area attached to the park. This looks like gambolling doggy fun with an obstacle course for the bigger dogs. And when you're tired of running around, pop across the road to Portside for a coffee and cake.

Got a chance to see the Belle Lume Sculpture and just wow! So very aesthetically pleasing to the…read moreeyes. Very sturdy and beautiful!

From the owner: Over the last 40 years the staff of Natureworks has produced the masters for most of the "high…read morequality" fibreglass life-size animal art currently being sold on the world market. Natureworks has been sculpting moulding and casting life-size wildlife for almost 40 years. The collection of moulds of sculptural features now numbers over 2000 different individual pieces. Casts can be made in a variety of materials from Fibreglass, Glass Reinforced Cement (GFRC), Hard-Coated Urethane Foam and Cold Cast Bronze. New pieces are being created all the time. They can be adapted for domestic use, playground or zoological standard and are designed, reinforced & finished to varying standards as appropriate to its use.

This was such a lovely and peaceful place. We took our children during the school holidays and it…read morewasn't very busy which was nice. We started out going through the environment centre, which was only small but had interesting pieces. The staff was friendly and welcoming while we were there and gave us more information and encouraged us to look into more events that Moreton Bay council rang. Afterwards we went on the Hide and Seek Children's trail which was informative and interesting, although we didn't get to see all the things that were promised. We played in the playground for a while, while the adults cooked lunch and then after lunch went on another hike through the other walkways and paths that were labelled around the area. All around it was a great way to spend the day and a way to get out of the house without costing a fortune!!

How good is it to find a chunk of bushalnd ripe for the walking in the middle of the suburbs?…read moreDownfall Creek bushland at McDowall is like that. Right on the bustling, big Rode Road you can pull in to this reserve - also known as the Raven Street Reserve and head past the interpretive centre (open 8.30am - 4pm Mon - Fri) to walk the paths that take you deep into the bush. There are so many species of birds, mammals and reptiles here and if you head and down to the creek and you're really lucky you might spot a bearded dragon sunning itself on a rock or swimming across the creek like a tiny, prehistoric creature. Afterwartds, you can can picnic or barbecue in the reserve and kids love the adventure playground.

In my opinion, Newstead Park is the nicest Sunday afternoon hang out in Brisbane. Granted, it's not…read moreas huge as New Farm Park, but the benefits of this are that there's often more space and less crowds. And the trees are beautiful! A friend of mine celebrated their birthday in Newstead Park recently and it had been years since I'd hung out there. We had an afternoon full of food, friends and fun. There's an infectious relaxed vibe to the place and it's hard not to relax when watching the City Glider ride by on the river. Oh, the river! It looks so beautiful from the angle, especially on a beautiful day. It would be a beautiful place to host a wedding or any special occasion. Another friend of mine from overseas has fond memories of Newstead Park and maintains that some of his best times in Australia were simply spent taking a picnic there with some friends and kicking a football around for an afternoon. It proves that it's one of the best picnic spots in all of Brisbane.

This park is small but perfectly formed. The river curves beautifully around the manicured lawns…read moreand there's plenty of gorgeous old trees for shade. Kids can roll around and scream without bothering anyone, and adults can eat cheese and sip wine while enjoying a relaxing afternoon (what is it about the river that just instantly chills you out?) This is definitely a great picnic spot and although it is popular it never feels too crowded.

Outside of my own sentimental affection for this park (I used to sleep under it's trees on long…read morewalks home from the Valley), Bradshaw Park is actually a lovely little park to go and have a picnic while in the 'burbs. It's got a barbeque there if you want to put some snags on, and it's got plenty of shade provided by the grove of trees there. The park is also big enough for you to have a game of cricket or footy if that's your thing. The Kedron Brook bike path runs through Bradshaw Park, giving cyclists a nice place to rest alongside the waterway.

I was looking for a place to walk my dog when I saw a HUGE patch of green on the map…read more The Grange Forest Park is this incredible patch of remnant bush that winds from Alderley through Grange to Stafford. There's some awesome trails to walk, and the bike path takes advantage of the shade too along the very pretty Kedron Brook. It's a beautiful thing to see kids head off on their bikes with fishing rods in tow and this is not an uncommon sight in Grange Forest Park. Make sure you pay it a visit, your dog will thank you.