We’ve just returned from a 3 day weekend in Margaret River, and there are so many fun things to do for kids! Here were our favorite five things to do while in the area.
Sunflowers Animal Farm
The owners of Sunflowers Animal Farm have put a lot of love into it, and they were really welcoming and friendly. They have more farm animals than you can count, plus so much more! After you pay the entrance fee, buy a bucket of animal feed and visit all of the animals and feed them. They have chickens, turkeys, ducks, goats, ponies, horses, alpacas, llamas, sheep, guinea pigs, parrots, cockatoos, cows, pigs…it is an incredible assortment of farm life. They have a bottle feeding program in the morning, and the kids can help feed bottles to the baby farm animals. In the evening you can take a tractor ride on certain days of the week, which was really enjoyable.
To top it off, you can even stay here and be a part of the farm as much or as little as you wish. We stayed in the south cottage, and it was perfect for our family of four. It has a kitchenette, fully equipped, a dining table, a sofa, a TV and two bedrooms. It’s a little rustic, but it is a farm and it is totally suitable for the surroundings. They also have a pretty extensive video library to loan if you’re staying as a guest, and of course, guests have unlimited free access to the farm and complimentary feeding buckets twice a day. My kids really enjoyed waking up every morning to go feed the animals. We visited Australia for 12 days total on this trip, and this was everyone’s favorite place to stay. Not only was the farm great, but it is well located and only a short distance from the main drag in Margaret River.
Mammoth Cave
We visited both Mammoth Cave and Calgardup Cave, and they were really a special highlight for all of us. Both caves are great places in Margaret River for kids, and easy to get to from Margaret River. Mammoth Cave is more built up and has better walkways and a self-guided tour, which I really enjoyed. It has a massive cavern with tons of stalactites and flow forms. It was awe inspiring and well-run. They offer discounts to the other caves owned by the same group, which would be useful if you planned to visit more than one of their sites. We also did the nature walk outside the cave. It took about an hour to fully visit this site, and both of my kids really loved it.
Calgardup Cave
Calgardup Cave is much smaller and more rustic, but still easy to visit with older kids. It’s one of our top five places in Margaret River for kids. There is no self-guided tour, but they give you helmets for low ceilings in places and everyone gets a torch (aka, flashlight for the Americans). The kids’ helmets were also equipped with lights. The cave was smaller than Mammoth cave, but still took us about 45 minutes to fully visit. There are two main sections of the cave, and the cave is equipped with boardwalks to keep you safe and on path. It has an overall shape of a dumbbell inside, and you enter in the middle between the two main caverns. Since this one has no lights other than your own torches, it is fun to go to the main caverns and have everyone turn their lights out. You get to experience total darkness. There is a river inside, but it was pretty dry the day we visited.
When we finished these two caves, my kids were ready to explore more caves! Alas, we had no more time and had to be on our way.
Black Brewing Company
One of the top five places in Margaret River for kids is the Black Brewing Company, in one of the neighboring towns near Margaret River, with friends and it was a really great spot to hang out and let the kids play. The building is beautiful, and we were able to score a table outside on the patio. The kids ate quickly and then ran off to play at the playground. We really loved the atmosphere. The food was decent, the beers were cold and the weather and the backdrop were amazing. After your meal, take a walk through their extensive gardens, it’s a beautiful backdrop for family photos.
Amaze’n Margaret River Maze
If you like to golf, the Amaze’n Margaret River Maze made our list of the top five places in Margaret River for kids. It has a fun and well-shaded mini golf course along with a giant hedge maze which is sure to keep your family occupied for an entire afternoon. The maze is three meters high with over 2,000 Leightons Green plants. The gardens surrounding the maze are complete with benches to rest in the shade, and full of native Australian plant species, making it an attractive haven for birds and butterflies alike. There is also a cafe with ice cream and a playground, making this the perfect place to visit on a hot afternoon.
