Tree Top Adventure Park, Sydney

A few weeks ago I won a double pass to Sydney’s Tree Top Adventure Park on Seana’s blog, Sydney, Kids, Food and Travel.

The entrance

We’ve arrived!

I was thrilled because the school holidays were approaching and I thought this would be a terrific outing for my little guy but Alfie was even more thrilled because he just loves climbing and ropes and flying foxes and trapezes and basically everything the park has to offer.


As the park is in the very west of Sydney we chose a day that wasn’t going to be too hot.  It took us around an hour to drive there having to go on all the toll roads like the entry onto the Warringah Freeway, Lane Cove tunnel, M2 and M7 with the round trip costing more than $22.00 in tolls.  The saying, ‘highway robbery’ isn’t for no good reason.

Tree Top Adventure Park is set in the Western Sydney Parklands that is a few minutes from the Elizabeth Drive exit off the M7 in Abbotsbury near Liverpool.

We drove into the park and found a car space and the good news is, parking is unlimited and free.  We walked several hundred metres to a shed-like structure that is Tree Top Adventure Park.  A woman at the counter greeted us but when I produced my gift certificate she passed me onto the other chap working beside her.

The shed-type structure of Tree Top Adventure Park

The shed-type structure of Tree Top Adventure Park

He stepped forward and he is a guy who is clearly asserting his individuality with his matted hairdo and chunk of orange plastic stuck through his tongue so intrusively it was giving him a speech impediment.  Never mind; that didn’t bother me, it was his other issue.  He had a case of bad breath so bad it made my dogs’ issues seem mild.  I took one step back from the counter but that wasn’t drastic enough and so I took another step backwards.

The children's climbing course at Tree Top Adventure Park

The children’s climbing course at Tree Top Adventure Park

He asked me if I had booked.

‘No, I didn’t know you needed to book’.

‘Well we’re very busy as it’s the school holidays and so it’s very important to book’.

‘I didn’t see that on your website’.  The information is actually there on their website but it’s not on the front page.  You have to do some clicking around to find it.

‘Will you both be climbing?’

‘Yes, we want to climb together’.

‘Okay, then you’ll need to fill out this form’.  And he handed me the paperwork and I had to fill out Alfie’s details.  When I handed it back to him he said, ‘We can’t get you in until 1.30, is that okay?’  And I calculated that we had a two-hour wait.

‘Yes, that’s okay, we’ll just go to the playground then come back at 1.30’.

‘Oh, hang on’, he said checking my form, ‘I thought your son was older.  He’ll have to do the children’s climb because he’s not 10’.

‘But he’s over 140cms and the website says if you’re over a hundred and forty you can do the junior climb’.

‘No’, he smiled as I took another step back, ‘You have to be 10 and you have to be more than 140cms’.  I don’t understand.  If you are 10cms taller than the minimum height, why can’t you do the junior course?

‘Okay, we’ll do the children’s climb’.

Then looking at me he said, ‘But you won’t be able to climb.  We don’t allow adults on the children’s course’.

‘So would I have to be in a different area?’

‘Yes’.

‘Okay, don’t worry, he’ll do the children’s climb and I’ll just stand around’.

‘Fine.  But we’re really booked out so he won’t be able to climb until 3pm, is that okay?’  Is it okay for us to sit around for the next four hours with nothing to do.

‘No, that’s not okay, we’ll leave it’.

The children's climbing course

The children’s climbing course

So I can’t tell you what the Treetop Adventure Park is like because I didn’t get past the front desk.

The flying fox

The flying fox

Alfie and I walked over to the playground where he played for an hour or so then we found a cafe where we bought a drink then we got into the car and drove 65kms home again.

A climbing thingy

A climbing thingy

For anyone wanting to visit Tree Top Adventure Park, don’t go unless you’ve made a booking; don’t expect to climb with your child if they’re under 10 years of age and even if they’re 150cms tall (5ft); and understand that if your child is doing the children’s course, you won’t be climbing with them and if you’re doing the junior course, your children under 10 won’t be with you.

A spinning thingy

A spinning thingy

Verdict:  It was such an ordeal to get there and then to have the rule book thrown at me by a guy with such bad halitosis I couldn’t be within three feet of him made this a very disappointing outing.  I’m not sure I’ll ever be back.

The cafe

The cafe

Tree Top Adventure Park:  Plough & Harrow Estate, Western Sydney Parklands.  Ph:  02 8605 4300

Child 3-9 years:  $25

Junior 10-17:  $35

Adult:  $45

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Comments

  1. How nice to be a child… Thank you dear Charlie, have a nice weekend, love, nia

  2. This looks like a great day out, Adventure too! I loved doing this as a kid, even when I as older but from real rocks & survival days!

  3. Well I’m officially thoroughly annoyed at this place. But it sounds like you guys made the best of it!

  4. How disappointing, especially after making the long drive and paying all those tolls, for an experience that could have been avoided by appropriate information on the website. Preferably right on the FRONT page rather than having to look for it and then having them leave out all the other warnings as well.

    At least Alfie got a nice outing of some sort.

  5. I wouldn’t return to this place either, not after the way you were treated. At least Alfie had an hour of fun.

  6. What a shame it didn’t work out. Sounds like such a fun place for a kid. Alfie looks happy, though, in the photos, so I think he must have weathered the disappointment well.

  7. What a bummer of a non-adventure. At least Alfie is a roll with it kind of guy!

  8. How disappointing for Alfie, well both of you really. You made the best of it, but I’d feel a bit annoyed. GG

  9. How frustrating! You really do go out of the way for your kids, that’s what I notice and appreciate.

  10. What a bummer on what should have been a very special day filled with memories for the two of you. I look forward to the next post where you tell us about happier times. 🙂

  11. Fun post!

  12. Oh dear! He sounds like the absolute wrong person to be in customer service-for his breath and attitude!

  13. The best advertisement for any place or service always is word-of-mouth! Thank God it works both ways. Especially with school holidays on I hope a lot of your Sydney readers post this sorry saga on their sites or talk about it whilst having a cup of coffee with friends . . . what a bummer for kids looking forwards to a funfilled day of activities . . .

  14. I can’t believe he was such an *expletive*… how rude!
    He sounds all ‘high and mighty’… ugh!
    At least Alfie is such a sweet kid, he wouldn’t have complained or anything, just gone with the flow! 🙂

    Cheers
    CCU

  15. G’day and what a fun park for Alfie to ply in Charlie, true!
    EVERY time I have visited NSW trying to booking into the Flying Fox (for adults), there has always been a problem for some reason too!
    Glad Alfie enjoyed the day…your photos capture what words cannot say!
    Cheers! Joanne

  16. Seriously, how many people would book in advance to go to an Adventure Playground. Sounds like this young man was just full of his own self importance. Makes me wonder if the management actually know what is going on there. Grrrrrr……..

  17. Oh, what a shame! I love the sound of this and know I’d enjoy it as much now as I would have as a child – but not with those rules and restrictions. Poor Alfie, and poor you with all that driving.

  18. Poor Alfie, but he’s such a good kid he made the most of the situation. I think Laith and Alfie would get along, they seem to have the same temperament, quite laid back and happy.
    I feel for you too, driving all that distance is bad enough, but to be met by bad breath and such attitude! Ugh.

    Nazneen

  19. $22 in tolls! Holy Moly!! That’s insane.
    I can’t believe what awful attitude you encountered, I really hope management read this and respond with a apology Charlie, just really poor form

  20. Ugh. I appreciate that they might be busy, but there’s no need to be rude about it, especially if they haven’t given you the information beforehand. And there’s no need for halitosis either. Gross. I’m guessing that the age/no adults on the junior equipment is an insurance thing and that’s why they weren’t able to be flexible.

  21. What a disappointing day out Charlie. Here’s hoping they see your posts and improve things!
    Have a happy week ahead.
    🙂 Mandy xo

  22. Bummer. The two of you must have been incredibly disappointed. Sounds like a very unpleasant place; or maybe it’s just the employee you encountered.

  23. I’ve heard lots about the customer service here, which is why I’ve not been. I do like the idea of what the place has to offer though.

  24. So cute. I didn’t realise that we had one so close. I know there is one just over the SA border!

  25. Oh no, I am horrified!! How awful for you. Now I must check back to my post on my blog and write in HUGE type that you must must must book…. I feel terrible Charlie…. Your humour shows through as ever but you must have been so annoyed. Remarkable restraint?

  26. Another awesome place to take Alfie during school holidays I wished my parents took me out to so many places when I was growing up I remember staying at home all the time hahahaha

  27. I would not have been happy, especially after driving 65km to get there. You showed much far more “grace under fire” than I would have. I do give you credit, though, for making the best of the situation. Seems like Alfie had a good time of it and that’s the important thing, even if not as planned.

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