Petrie Park, Nambour

Post

Subscribe

Posted 2013-04-04 by JKnick ⇒ follow

Petrie Park in Nambour is worth a visit. It is located right in the centre of town and is easily accessed via Price Street, Petrie Park Road, Hospital Road, Florence Street or Carter Road. Parking is easy to find on any of these roads for park users. Footbridges traverse the park and walking or bike-riding is a good way to see it. Dogs are allowed to run around leash-free on the playing field, but only when it is not in use. They must be on a leash in the rest of the park and on footbridges.

Wildlife thrives in Petrie Park, so make occasional stops around the creek and watch out for some interesting native animals. Water dragons and fresh water turtles inhabit the creek and its surroundings. I have spotted a platypus on more than one occasion; I had to drag my dogs away from a red-bellied black snake on another and I once found a baby possum after a storm on the side of a footbridge. The possum was only a few days old and it must have been separated from its mother during the storm. The good side note is that it survived; the Wildlife Volunteers Association (WILVOs) took great care of it and has since released it back in the wild.

A one-way walk through the park takes fifteen to twenty minutes. There are rest areas in and around the park and they are good places to take in the lush and tranquil surroundings, to have a picnic, to enjoy the peace and quiet, and to watch out for native wildlife.

Petrie Creek starts on Nambour's western side, flows through the town and down to Maroochy River. Petrie Creek has thick growths of native Hibiscus, and in some areas, it is congested with Barnabas Grass. Its upper reaches are brackish and bream can be found and caught from the creek. This area is prone to voluminous flooding during the wet season.

Cradled among the trees in Petrie Park is the Nambour Aquatic Centre on Petrie Creek Road. The Aquatic Centre has a fifty-metre pool and a smaller, enclosed twenty-five-metre pool. Both pools are heated in the colder seasons.

The Nambour Skate Park is also on Petrie Creek Road. BMX riders and skaters use the current Skate Park, which is popular for its six-feet, steel half pipe; banks; pyramid; and bowled corner. Sunshine Coast Council is considering relocating the existing Nambour Skate Park to better and more prominent premises next to Quota Park.

The Sunshine Coast Railway Modellers Society track is in the confines of the park. The Society operates and runs passenger cars at Model Railway Park on Florence Street on every fourth Sunday of the month, as well as, on public running days.

Petrie Park is just another pleasant surprise in the unassuming and deceptive-looking town of Nambour. Discovering the area reveals lush and green hills, valleys and bushland; scenic views; murmuring creeks; cascading waterfalls; and beautiful and rare wildlife.