3 Family Friendly Things to do in Western Sydney

This post is part of the Kidspot voices of 2015 put yourself on the map challenge

You know I think I may have a bit of gypsy in my blood because I am happy to be nomadic, not tied down to a particular area or suburb, I'm happy to call any place home that sees hubby and I together with our girls.  So when about 6 years ago we had to up and move our family of seven to the Penrith area out of necessity rather than choice I just embraced the move as another stage in our family's story.

Moving 50kms away from Sydney's CBD to Greater Western Sydney was never the plan but sometimes that's how life rolls.  So we found ourselves living near Penrith, we found new preschools and schools for the girls and we found a whole heap of new things to do as a family.

Let me share with you 3 of our favourite family friendly activities in the area.

1.  THE NEPEAN RIVER

The Nepean River is the perfect place for a family friendly day out. Arrive early and grab yourself a gazebo for the day.  Bring your own picnic or make use of the fantastic bbq facilities to cook a snag or two while the children play at the nearby playground.

After lunch have a game of cricket on the plentiful grass areas or take a walk down by the river where the children can ride along on their scooters or bikes and take a look at the Nepean Belle paddlewheeler.  You could even go on one of the bush walks featuring amazing lookouts or perhaps try your hand at fishing further up the river.

The river is home to family fun every weekend all year round, it's just a beautiful place to be and best of all it's free!!

2.  AQUA GOLF

Aqua Golf is a lot of fun for the whole family, even our youngest gives it a good go. According to my children hitting golf balls into water makes golf less lame!

Aqua Golf is open 7 days a week from 8am til midnight and Friday and Saturday nights til 1am (way past my bedtime !!!)  It's a great way to fill in an afternoon and gives a whole lot of laughs if you play anything like I do and hubby can use it as a bit of stress relief after a particularly hard week at work and it's cheaper than therapy!!

It is an especially great activity to partake in on long summers nights.  Your children can even have their birthday party at Aqua Golf with full use of their seating areas and bbq facilities!  

It's easy to find as it's located at Panthers Leagues Club, you can check the map here.

3.  THE MUSEUM OF FIRE

The Museum of Fire is a wonderful place to take the family.  With interactive displays and fire engines dating as far back as the 1800's the kids will be entertained whilst learning without even realizing it...bonus!  It even has an area dedicated to educating about home fires which is eye opening.  

You can go through the museum at your own pace so expect to spend a few hours there.

There is an area inside for the kids to dress up in firemen's jackets and helmets and play on a few fire engines and outside there is a playground and tables where you could enjoy your picnic lunch and soak up some sun.

The Museum should definitely be on your list of family things to do in Penrith.  You can find out more details about admission prices and opening hours here.

One of the things that I really notice about living here is the sense of pride and loyalty that the people here have for the area.  My slightly nomadic self was initially blown away by their passion for their suburb.

But you know what,  these people have every right to be passionate about this place. I have even grown to love it a little bit!  

The gypsy in me does't know if this will be our forever home but for now it is making a great next chapter in our story.

A snippet of a whole heap more family friendly things to do in and around Penrith

Thanks for taking a look at my Western Sydney!  
Have you been to Penrith before?  If so what would you add to 
the list of family friendly activities in the area?

Linking up with Essentially Jess for #IBOT