We only discovered this summer just gone the recently rejuvenated playground down at Long Beach in Sandy Bay, and it's quickly become one of our favourite outdoor haunts. There is a fantastic multi-level play structure, with slides, rope ladders, suspension bridges, tunnels, spinning things, ramps, poles and more. There are plenty of swings, a climbing wall cubby, a balance wheel and it's all surrounded by clean sand and tanbark, tall shady trees, large lushly green grassed areas and flanked along its length by the lovely, and eminently swimmable Long Beach. You can also barbecue your lunch (if you can dibs a spot!) under a large pavilion. The beach itself is clean, gentle and edged with a new cement promenade.
There's an awesome ice-cream shop around the corner, where you can buy a generous single scoop, in a waffle cone, for a measly $2, splash out on a double for $3. They don't have a huge range, but they've got all the basic flavours, and for a two-buck treat, I'm not complaining.
There is a well-paved path running the length of the beach and around to Blinking Billy Point (where you might find an accommodating rock-pool or two) and then to Blinking Billy Beach, another lovely beach, very much quieter than Long Beach (but it's seriously a five minute stroll) but just as nice for swimming and poking around for smooth stones.
Long Beach is a fantastic day out. There is plenty of parking by the playground, always a bunch of kids to muck in with, and it can cost you nothing if that's all you have.
Where: Beach Road, Sandy Bay (left off Sandy Bay Road as you leave the city, just past Lipscombe Larder, but that's another post...!)
