Mahoneys Reserve in Forest Hill is HUGE. When I say huge I don't just mean HUGE, I mean MEGA HUGE…read more Read on and you will totally agree with me! Reasons to validate not only how HUGE this place is, but also how damn good it is: 1.This place has two general grassy areas surrounded by trees. These are wicked picnic spots with fluffy, comfy grass to lounge on. There are plenty of shaded areas as well as sunny spots. 2. It is right next to the Bob Saker Oval, which has a fence and is great for allowing your furry friend to run around without fearing that he/she might run away. Make sure to clean up after them though as this is used for sport regularly. 3. There is a massive multi-purpose field with goals and line markings used by various clubs. This is fenced off however so you will have to join a club to utilise this. 4. There is a large, un-fenced soccer field complete with goals at one end. This is a little shabbier than the oval with the fence, but at least it's free right? 5. There is a decent sized kids playground behind the oval. It is great for kids, or for getting a good view of the footy games played on weekends. 6. There is a heap of parking spots. 7. There are batting cages around the back of the clubhouse. (Did I mention there was a clubhouse?) 8. The Clubhouse is available for hire. Seriously guys, Mahoneys Reserve is the place to be if you are into sport. It totally rocks and is awesome to relax at on a sunny day.

Trekking across town to attend my nephew's 1st birthday, it was our first time at Lollipop's and we…read moreloved it! Not being familiar, we found it a bit hard to find but once we found out it was on Level 3 next to all the cinemas and games, we were set! The play centre is well laid out with a separate area for toddlers so they don't get knocked over by the older kids and there is an awesome foam ball room with canons and vacuums that suck up the balls to different sections ready to launch. There's even an awesome pirate ship ride inside the venue! On first impression the centre is clean and well maintained and the staff were very attentive especially amongst all the birthday excitement. The staff were loud and clear when giving instructions and made sure all the kids had drinks topped up and birthday cake. Both the kids and adults were fed with sandwiches, fruits and hot food and you if you're after something a little more special you can also order some desserts from the window display. I think we've found another new place to catch up with our mummy friends! :)

Came here once 1.5 years ago and my daughter had a blast. This time... absolutely appalling…read moreexperience. If you want rude staff, zero atmosphere and your child to experience direct hostility in a crappy atmosphere... this is the spot. I asked if I could take a photo of my daughter rock climbing... just met with the word "No" repeatedly - no matter how a question was phrased. No No No. She wanted to go on the dodgem cars... the lady put her in by herself... ran it for 30-45 seconds then just switched them off, and wordlessly pushed her out. If you are unable to civilly interact with children... I'd suggest finding a different line of work than a supposed children's play centre. And this was consistent across all staff in direct contact with children. Would not return. Would not recommend. We lasted about 30-45 mins maximum. I regret giving them a cent of my money. Utter crap and an awful experience.

From the owner: Rainbow Town is set to become the largest play centre in South East Melbourne…read more Featuring a range of activities such as the indoor Playground, Rope Course, Mini Car Play Centre, Rock Climbing Wall, Trampolines and Ninja Course, Rainbow Town is looking to deliver a safe, fun and unforgettable experience for kids of all age.

Templeton Reserve is quite la-di-da compared to the other reserves in the area. For starters it has…read moreits own driveway that winds up to a large carpark on site. Higher still sits the clubhouse, which is converged on by football teams and their families and coaches come weekends. There is a football oval on the right and it is common to see kids down here practicing. Next to the carpark and furthest from the footy oval is a decent sized playground. It too was being utilized by a group of children - perhaps because of school holidays, I'm not too sure. Either way the playground looked good enough to warrant decent popularity. There are a few different ways to enter the park on foot and there are walking tracks provided for convenience. I really liked that there was a row of pine trees lining the edge of the park and separating it from the road. It made the park look a lot nicer and contributed to its more upper class feel - well as upper class as a park can feel when there are kids everywhere. It is a nice place for a walk, and great if your personal trainer has told you to find some hills to run up - yep, that was the reason I was there. Warning - there are some real calf-killing hills so I wouldn't let your personal trainer find out about it or you'll be there faster than you can blink!

The Birchfield Reserve is a great little hidden gem in Wantirna South. While only small, it has so…read moremany features that make it the perfect place for countless children's games. There is a little playground with two swings that is, as usual, surrounded by tanbark. The area around this is pretty flat and has a good spread of grass. There is a long line of pine trees along one side of the park and they are perfect for the game "What's the time Mr. Wolf" or even "Forty-Forty". Hide and Seek would also be good, but it'd be pretty obvious that you would be hiding behind a tree because there is really nowhere else to hide! The park doesn't seem to be very well attended to as there were three trees lying on the ground that had fallen over at some point. There are three paths that lead to the various exit points - two out of three are cement but one is loose stones and crunched up cement. The birds here were really noisy but there was no other sound so it was actually really peaceful. The streets that border the Reserve are all courts or dead end streets and there is barely any traffic at all. I really enjoyed spending time in this Reserve.

The William Morris reserve on Harold Street definitely exceeded my expectations of a suburban…read morereserve. Most are pretty flat and clear, might have a few trees and a park bench, but this one had all of that and way, way more. It was dense bush land with trees and shrubbery packed in really tight. Little tracks crisscrossed their way all through it and there were a few moments were I panicked, wondering how I would find my way back out again. For those who don't like to have trees brushing their elbows or have to duck under branches, there is one main path that leads right through the middle. All the little paths eventually meet this one as I soon found out. I walked through a lot of cobwebs on the little paths, which could mean one of two things. Either the park is really unpopular, which I cannot fathom, or there are a lot of spiders there. The birdlife here is awesome and there was constant movement above my head. It got pretty tight in there at times so I was happy when the path opened up and there was a little clearing with a bench - a rest was definitely needed. At the end of the main path there is a little playground with a park bench. When I reached this I was really hoping someone had moved my car to this end so that I wouldn't have to walk back through the narrow paths. Of course no one had moved my car, but this allowed me to fid the wider path, which I had walked straight past on my first entrance into the Reserve. Lesson learned. I'm looking forward to taking my dog there for an excursion - he would love snuffling through all the shrubbery and there are so many twisting paths that I could easily walk him in circles for a few hours and he would have no idea. Perfect!

The Kaisman Square Playground is really quite bizarre. It is set in a grass island in the middle of…read morea suburban court and I was quite surprised when I stumbled across it a few weeks ago. It isn't anything too amazing but it is a nice place to stop and stretch your legs if you have been driving for a while. It also had a really great bench to sit on. It had a colourful painted wall around it that was quite unique looking. It also made the seat a bit more comfortable as there was something to lean against. There isn't much space to run around here so the playground is more suited to young children. It is a wooden playground with two swings, a little springy ride thing and a platform kids can climb through to come down a slide or through a tunnel. It was pretty impressive for its location. I really am quite jealous that my street doesn't have a park just like this, literally metres from my front door, but I guess I'd be too old to really utilize it now anyway. There is another playground similar to this, but a bit newer just a couple of streets away in Cobain Square.

The Cobain Square Playground is set in the middle of a grass island in a suburban court. It has a…read moredecent sized grass area complete with a tanbark surrounded metal playground. There are two wooden seats to sit on and a nice sprawling tree not far off that is good to look at. The playground itself has a big red slide, monkey bars, stairs, a little house at the bottom and a curly pole to slide down. There are also two swings. The grassy area unfortunately has a slope to it and as such is a bit impractical for ball games, particularly soccer, as one person will always be kicking uphill and the other downhill. Cars seemed to be coming and going pretty regularly to this little court but they were all residents. The playground was clean. There was no rubbish and aside from the cars it was otherwise quite quiet. There is another playground similar to this, but a bit older and more artistic just a couple of streets away in Kaisman Square. The Kaisman Square Playground is more suited to younger children whereas this Cobain Square Playground has bigger equipment and more space for kids to run around so it's better for older kids.