A great outdoor adventure for younger kids in the Western Australia forest
Looking for an exciting new way to enjoy the forests of Western Australia?
Set up around the Nanga Mills Campgrounds – just outside of the regional centre of Dwellingup – Trees Adventure has 9 obstacle courses that combine flying foxes with physically demanding challenges.
We undertook our adventure on a very soggy July day so I’ll be honest, I was somewhat dreading how my VERY city born and breed children would react.
They could not have been stronger or braver in taking on this adventurous outdoor experience – come and see exactly what happened when the Globetrotters took on Trees Adventure Lane Poole Park!
This post is part of our series Discover Australia – come and see all our Aussie Adventures with Kids
Yellow Course for 4-7-year-olds
We spent all our time on the 2 yellow courses as I was the only adult accompanying the Globetrotters, recommended for the 4 to 7-year-old age group. Each course involves a variety of obstacles including flying foxes, balancing beams, wobbly bridges and tunnels.
The only real difference between the two yellow courses was one course was harder for adults to assist from the ground, so do bear this in mind if you are assisting younger children.
You are asked to arrive 30 minutes before your pre-booked session to hand in your liability disclaimer, get kitted in your safety gear and go through your safety briefing. As this is all done in plenty of time and each session is number controlled per half hour block, you get a full two hours actually on the course.
Once you are taught how to use the equipment, staff will take you to the course starting point. Once they are confident all the kids are using the gear correctly – which mostly involves manoeuvring your carabiner clip around the metal plates that hold the ropes together, you are left to it.
If at any time you get stuck a loud “HELP!” and one of the staff will come running – the staff tent is adjacent to the course.
Related Reading: How to Road Trip Western Australia with Kids
Our experience at Lane Poole Park with the Globetrotters
Entry to the park is based entirely on age, not height, so at last, our little Master J was delighted he could be included in an active family adventure – so often the poor little thrill-seeker is sidelined.
He is, I will admit, quite short for his age only turning 4 a week before, but was more than competent in completing the courses (albeit at a slower, steadier pace than the older kids).
He did need some assistance at certain spots to hook himself properly to the flying foxes as he simply wasn’t tall enough to reach for himself. I would say a child under about 1.05m will be challenged in spots.
Master 6 was utterly in his element. He got the hang of things immediately and only needed a little encouragement to start with before he was working independently. He had to learn to use his own strength to correct mistakes then he was off and racing!
It was definitely too easy for my Miss 8, but I am sure the step up to the Green and Blue courses would have been challenging for a quite unfit mum like me! Kids attempting the green and blue courses under the age of 8 must be accompanied by one adult per three children.
There are further Red and Black courses for kids 10+, 13+ and 16+. All courses except yellow are open to adults.
If kids are finding the low ropes course easy but are too young to move up, they have a challenge wheel so they can add some difficulty to what they are doing.
Highlights and need to know facts about Trees Adventure Lane Poole Park
- Lane Poole Park is 1.5 hours south of Perth, about 20 minutes beyond Dwellingup
- You can start from as young as 4 years old
- There are varying levels so you can have a different experience each time as your skills improve
- Sessions last for 2 hours
- Easy online booking with immediate access to how many slots are available and immediate confirmation (do not turn up without booking)
- Prices range based on age and course from $25 (yellow course) through to $48 for adults
- Group bookings welcomed
- Unisex pit toilet on site
- No mobile reception on site so print your map out or have an offline map on hand!
- Small cafe on site with basic snacks – hot drinks!!
Staying nearby? See these accommodation options in the Dwellingup region of WA
Globetrotters Recommend
This was definitely one of the highlights of the Globetrotters summer holiday to Australia. They have tried indoor climbing and low ropes courses before but doing ‘the real thing’ in the forest thrilled them to no end.
The on and off rain all day did not dampen their enthusiasm – albeit they then slept very well on the back to our destination!
They have already requested to return on our next annual visit Downunder where I will be making sure we have a second adult so Miss Z can move up an ability level to try Green and Blue.
The staff on hand were absolutely lovely and patient in explaining everything and clearly attentive to patrons and putting safety first. A few times we saw them rush to help people who felt stuck and always a smile on their face.
You can learn more about Trees Adventure and book here.
Like this? Bookmark this page or save to Pinterest for later
You can learn more about road tripping southern Western Australia here, as well as more great weekender and short trip ideas from Perth
Check out our latest adventures ziplining through the forest in Dubai – yes there are trees in the desert!!
Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post, we were full fee-paying customers of Trees Adventure. This post may contain affiliate links that can earn us a small commission at no extra cost to you. Our full disclosure policy can be found here.
© Our Globetrotters
Pingback: Hanging out at Yanchep Trees Adventure - West Australian Explorer