Lovely tranquil park

I went to Sundial Park with my family over the weekend. We live in Tewantin and have lived here for years, but had only just discovered the park after randomly seeing it on a Sunshine Coast social media page.

We absolutely loved it. It feels like such a hidden little treasure. Even though it’s in suburbia, once you’re in the park it really feels like you’re surrounded by nature, particularly around the pump track with all the beautiful established trees and natural shade.

I was there with my three-year-old and nearly two-year-old, and there were probably another five families and 10–12 kids there at the time. Most of the children were quite young, which was actually really nice. It felt like our kids could play quite freely and safely without having to navigate around much older children, which can sometimes be difficult at busier playgrounds.

We also really liked having the playground so close to the pump track. Our kids went backwards and forwards between the two, and at one point my son wanted to ride his little scooter on the pump track while my daughter wanted to stay at the playground. Having the two areas close together made that much easier to manage.

The playground itself is definitely a bit tired, although overall the kids still had a great time. The one element I would really like to see addressed is the chain bridge up quite high on the play structure. The gaps between the chains are too large for a toddler to comfortably step across. My son nearly fell through it and I managed to catch him because I was standing close by, and I saw another young child nearly do the same thing. If it was close to the ground it probably wouldn’t be such an issue, but it looked to be around 1.5 metres high, so a fall from there could be quite serious. I’d definitely like to see that made safer in any future playground design.

The swings were very popular, as they always seem to be, and my kids loved the seesaw. There was also a spinning element, although personally our kids don’t tend to use those much. They get disoriented and fall over, so it’s not something we’d particularly miss if that space was used for something else.

Access was really easy once we found the park. We had no trouble parking and the path from the parking area to the playground was easy with small children. The only issue was actually finding it in the first place. Google Maps took us to the back of the park rather than the Blackheath Drive side, and given we had lived in Tewantin for years without knowing the park was there, I wonder whether better signage or making it easier to find online would help more local families discover it.

Unfortunately, it started raining so we had to leave earlier than we would have liked. That made me think some covered space around the playground would be really useful. The existing trees provide beautiful natural shade, which I would absolutely want to keep, but some weather protection would mean families could stay when there is light rain as well.

A couple more bench seats around the playground would also be useful. There was one bench facing the playground, which I really liked because you could sit and watch the kids, but another family was already using it. I actually prefer that kind of seating to lots of picnic tables. There is plenty of lovely grass if families want to put down a picnic blanket.

Overall, we thought it was a beautiful little park and will definitely go back. I’d love to see any renewal keep what makes it special now — the trees, natural feel, quiet setting and connection between the playground and pump track — rather than changing it too much. Improving the playground itself, making some of the equipment safer, adding a little more seating and weather protection, and making the park easier to find would make a great little local park even better.