Australia's
MOST
EPIC
WATER
PARKS!
Splashing, tubing, sliding – if anything is guaranteed to keep kids entertained for hours on end it’s a water park! And from those within hotels and holiday parks to dedicated theme parks, Australia has some awesome ones to discover. These are some of our favourites.
Opening image: Kraken at Adventure World in Perth
Wet'nWild, Gold Coast, Queensland
Experience Australia’s tallest water park slide tower and a huge splash zone at Wet’n’Wild on the Gold Coast! The slide tower is 27 metres tall and features three heart-racing slides — the Kaboom!, Double Barrell and Super Ripper. It’s surrounded by the H2Oasis splash zone, with tipping buckets, water jets and more. There’s also the AquaLoop, which releases you via a trapdoor and sends you into a vertical free fall, and the Wet’n’Wild Junior precinct designed for younger adventurers.
Image: Riding Mammoth Falls at Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast © Village Roadshow Theme Parks
BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park, Queensland
The water park at BIG4 Gold Coast is the tallest play structure in any holiday park in the Southern Hemisphere. It has more than 300 metres of slides, including a multi-lane body slide, four aqua tube slides, and a smaller slide for littlies. Not to mention the tipping bucket of all tipping buckets! Parents can look on from the comfort of a poolside cabana.
Image: The water park at BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park
Raging Waters Sydney, NSW
Brave some the tallest and fastest water rides in the world at this theme park near Blacktown in western Sydney. It has more than 30 slides and attractions, including a whole zone dedicated to little adventurers called Raging Waters Jnr. Don't miss the 360Rush and the first-of-its-kind-slide Whirlwind, which takes riders on a thrilling 206-metre-long journey. And it’s got the best beach ever, with white sandy shores and no rips or sharks!
Image: Waterslide fun at Raging Waters Sydney at Prospect © Destination NSW
BIG4 Easts Beach Holiday Park, Kiama, NSW
Sunny's Aquaventure Park at BIG4 Easts Beach Kiama has something for children of all ages. Think multi-level platforms with two water slides and a giant tipping bucket, an ocean-themed splash pad with fun and interactive features, and a shaded water journey for babies and toddlers. It’s set amidst beautifully landscaped gardens with a partially shaded sun lounge area for parents to relax and watch on!
Images above and below: © NEG Photography
Sea World Gold Coast, Queensland
Hop aboard a shipwreck-themed vessel and battle your way around the Battle Boats track – which features more than 80 water cannons – in Castaway Bay. The fully accessible interactive splash zone The Reef has an array of water cannons, spouts and life-sized animal sculptures. Neighbouring Sea World Resort also has a water park, where kids can dance and sing along to their favourite SpongeBob SquarePants songs under a musical water fountain during the the SponeBob SplashBash LED light show each evening. Plus there’s an interactive sculpture themed around Dora the Explorer and friends.
Image: Battle boats at Castaway Bay
Paradise Resort Gold Coast, Queensland
This award-winning resort has kid activities galore, but in our opinion the water parks are the main attraction! The star of the show is the incredible three-level Z4K water park, which has a tipping bucket, water cannons and several slides. There's also a large lagoon-style pool with a gently sloping beach entry, a spa full of happy kids, and another water park for little ones. Make sure to book early to nab your preferred dates, and check the website for any specials.
Images: The water park at Paradise Resort Gold Coast
Oasis Springs at Gumbuya World, Tynong, Victoria
Whether you’re taking the plunge on one of the eight water slides, soaking in the ambience with a drift along the 300 metre Lazy River, or getting deliriously drenched on Typhoon Island, Oasis Springs is bursting with family fun. Relax in heated rock pools, catch the perfect wave at Surf’s Up and be sure to try the state’s most impressive family wave pool. For the ultimate splash of style, book your own luxury cabana!
Image: The Red Belly Racer
North Star Holiday Resort, Hastings Point, NSW
Surrounded by tropical gardens and shaded areas, the giant water play area Sammy’s Adventure Lagoon has 65 interactive features, including mini slides and a colourful maze of water cannons. There’s also a lagoon pool, wading pool and two eight-metre high tubular Super Slides that spiral through a rainbow of technicolour light features. Kids will also love the 600- litre bucket Big Dripper, which dumps a cascade of water every six minutes.
Image: The water park at North Star Holiday Resort © Gold Hat Photography, The water park at North Star Holiday Resort at Hastings Point
Adventure World Perth, Western Australia
Perth’s only theme park has more than 25 rides and attractions to enjoy, including the giant pendulum swing ride Goliath, adrenaline pumping rollercoaster Abyss, and the longest, tallest and steepest water funnel slide on the planet, Kraken. There’s also the Hawaiian resort-themed Kahuna Falls, and an interactive aqua playground with colourful spray loops, mini bucket tips and a mushroom rain tree in the enchanting Kingdom Falls for younger kids.
Image: Fun times on Kraken at Adventure World
BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort, Airlie Beach, Queensland
With 13 colourful waterslides linked by bridges and stairways and a massive tipping bucket in an area the size of an Olympic swimming pool, this water park is nothing short of impressive! There are also fun smaller features for toddlers in the shape of a frog and octopus, with sun loungers nearby for parents to relax while keeping an eye on their water babies. It also has two giant jumping pillows, an 18-hole mini golf course and an outdoor cinema.
Images: BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort
Darwin Waterfront, Northern Territory
Covering an area of 4,000 square metres, the stinger and crocodile-free Darwin Wave Lagoon rolls out 10 different wave patterns, from gentle swells to waves up to 1.2 metres high, perfect for boogie boarders. There is a 20-minute break in-between each cycle. There’s also a shallow water play area for younger children, and you can swim, run, jump, flip, climb, bounce and slide your way through the four-metre-high floating inflatable obstacles at Darwin Aqua Park.
Image: An aerial view of Darwin Wave Lagoon © Tourism NT
Oaks Sunshine Coast Oasis Resort, Queensland
With water slides, fountains and interactive activities, the huge multi-level water play park at Oaks Sunshine Coast Resort will keep the youngsters entertained from dawn until dusk. Parents can kick back with a cool drink and watch all the ‘splashtacular’ action from their sun lounge vantage point atop the timber leisure deck, grass picnic areas and brightly coloured party tents.
Image: The water park at Oaks Oasis Resort on the Sunshine Coast
Whitewater World, Gold Coast, Queensland
Dreamworld’s sister park, WhiteWater World, delivers some serious splash with the help of ground-breaking technology. Like one of only two LIM-powered rocket coasters in the world and the only eight-lane Octopus Racer in existence. Ride into the centre of a surfer’s universe on Australia’s biggest funnel of fun, The Green Room, and go head-to-head with your mates on The Little Rippers and see who will be flushed out first! Or just play in Wiggle Bay or chill out in a tube at the Cave of Waves.
Image: The Pipeline Plunge water park at Whitewater World
Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley, NSW
Keep the kids happy between winery visits with a stay at the Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley, which boasts the only splash park in the region. It’s more than two storeys high with heated water for year-round use. There’s an assortment of slides, water cannons, flumes and jets designed to entertain the whole family. The highlight is the berry bucket, which fills with 600 litres of water before emptying every few minutes in one enormous splash. And once the kids have dried off, they can enjoy the carousel, train rides, pony rides, kangaroo spotting tours and lots more!
Images: Kids enjoying the new water park at Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley
Jamberoo Action Park, NSW
Thrill-seekers should head straight to the Velocity Falls precinct, which is built into the side of a mountain. Inspired by the tentacles of a Blue-ringed Octopus with eight lanes of twisting, high-speed thrills, Octo Racer is a must for those with a competitive spirit. Speed demons will also love The Stinger, based on the purple jellyfish. Little ones can play in shallow pools, enjoy mini water slides and dodge jets of water from large make-believe critters like Charlie the Croc, Percy the Pelican and Freddie Frog. Right in the middle of it all, The Settlers Shack is like a big aqua cubby house.
Image: Fun times at Jamberoo Action Park
