Children cool off as Ballarat’s splash parks open early

Children flocked to Midlands and Sebastopol outdoor water play facilities to cool off on Thursday as the mercury reached 31 degrees. 

Alby was one of the children to be the first to use the Midlands Splash Park this season. His mother Bree Skrokov said the four-year-old absolutely loved it. 

She said every time they drove past the park, Alby, who has been keeping an eye on the weather, checked if the equipment was in place.

“He has been bugging me all day, he wanted to come down to the splash park with it being nice and warm,” Ms Skrokov said at the park. 

“I was nearly going to call up to see if it would be open, but someone had said it was running so we knew that we could come today.

“It’s really good for the kids and it is free, so it’s fantastic and we only live five minutes away so it makes it easy.” 

While Alby usually meets his friends or the other children from mothers’ group there, on Thursday he came along with his little brother.

“Any opportunity to do something for the kids, especially when the warm weather comes to Ballarat, is really good,” Ms Skrokov said. 

Both splash parks were open from 9am until 9pm on Thursday, two days earlier than the usual opening day.

City of Ballarat community services director Neville Ivey said the parks were used as three on three basketball courts outside of summer.

"The key thing about the City of Ballarat splash parks is there is no charge to use them, they are inclusive in terms of age and ability, they are in accessible locations and they are open for family-friendly hours,” he said. 

Meanwhile, the Eureka Pools and Splash Park is set to reopen on Saturday.

There will be a longer wait for the Brown Hill, Buninyong and Black Hill pools, which are set to open on Saturday, December 1.