Sydney 2011: Activities at OBHP and around Umina

As I mentioned in my previous post, there were a few factors that drew me to Ocean Beach Holiday Park. First, there was it’s oceanfront location. Second, were the family friendly facilities and third, the kids club programme which they ran over the weekend. I was glad to find, after we’d arrived that, everything was as advertised. Maybe except for the heated pool. Ok, it was heated, but not nearly enough to actually be warm. Then again, I have this issue with most purportedly heated pools!

We only had one genuinely fine day when we were there, but that didn’t stop us from making the most of everything there was to do.

We popped straight off to explore the beach shortly after we arrived and Noey had a lot of fun picking up seashells with his Ah Kong. Pity it was too cold to let him loose on the beach. But how blue are those Australian skies? They just perk up my mood instantly.

We also explored the campsite a little and were fascinated by the tents and the equipment some folks had lugged along for their holiday. I guess when I think about camping, I immediately think of the hardship camps on Pulau Ubin and other ulu parts of Singapore that I went on as a student. We had just the bare bones when it came to equipment and facilities. This – with massive tents that were practically houses with collapsible walls? And TV, radio, full-sized mattresses, and super-equipped kitchens? This was luxury. Even I wouldn’t mind camping like that!

Aunty Jud introduced me to the term “glamping” and I realised that, yes, that’s how I would like to experience the outdoors! No more roughing it out for me! (Incidentally, my mum used to tell me how she was a school runner and used to do a lot of outdoor activities. I never really believed her. I can now see that history is going to repeat itself with my kids.)

There are a number of organised activities at the holiday park, particularly over the weekend. Since we had no plans for the evening, we spent some time sitting in at the outdoor concert and BBQ they were having on the green. We didn’t last that long before we started freezing, but man, does hot BBQ food taste great in chilly weather!

When the weather was good, we were able to:

(1) Go on a tractor ride around the park

(2) Take a dip in the (not so) heated pool

The pools were actually looked quite fun, with a slide, and water play features. Noey gamely went into the water, but Nomi was NOT PLEASED AT ALL that I had stuck her in the water. She refused to even give us a single smile the whole time. Hah. When Noey started shivering so much that his teeth started to chatter, we pulled them out, much to the husband’s relief.

(3) Spend a lot of time at the Playground

Of the lot, the giant jumping pillows were the hot favourite. They were essentially rubbery tarps which were inflated from the bottom such that they were dome-shaped. Similar to what they have at playgyms, except that these were mechanically inflated (they deflate them every night to prevent kids from playing on them after hours), and they were HUGE. Slightly smaller than a basketball court? They were excellent to jump on, and as you can see, the adults also got in on the act.

We also spent a morning exploring the Ettalong Markets, which had a number of interesting stalls. Noey scored a mini tape measure from a nice man in the hardware shop. We were so surprised to learn that he was over 90 years old! We zipped off thereafter to the Ettalong Beach Club for lunch, and I thought the food at Halftide was pretty good.

 All in all, it was a nice little holiday within a holiday. Port Stephens has more to offer, but this little getaway at Umina was a good alternative to the usual touristy sights.