FlowRider at Melbourne Sports Hub

Post

Subscribe

My 2 boys (12 and 9) are water babies. It could be 10 degrees but if there is a bit of sun and a pool, they will tell me its hot and they need to cool off. So school holidays inevitably involve a trip to a pool at least once. We have become quite the connoisseurs of public pools. One of our favourites is the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC) at Albert Park.




Yesterday my boys were especially excited to head there as I had purchased them passes for the "totally cool" Flowrider" attraction. Normally a day pass costs $30, but thanks to the wonderful people at Groupon, I managed to get two all day passes for $35, which included access to other school holiday attractions at the centre (bargain!).

Flowrider is a stationary, machine produced wave which can be used for boogie boarding or surfing. Users are required to watch an instructional video and sign a permission form. Instructors are on hand to assist. Both my boys have surfed, but never tried anything like this before. They picked up the boogie boarding easily and it wasn't long before they were trying tricks, such as turning, kneeling, and 360's. Surfing was a bit harder - totally different to riding a real wave so they tended to stick with the boogie board.





Although the weather was nice, it was by no means hot, so that meant no long lines. Basically you ride one at a time until you wipe out, or if you are exceptionally good and don't loose your wave, the instructor will motion to you when its time to move off and let someone else have a turn. We certainly got our moneys worth, but I imagine on a hot day the waiting would get a bit much for the young 'uns.

Also available at MSAC during the school holidays is an inflatable obstacle course, diving boards, wave pool and water slide. There is also a great toddler water play area, indoor & outdoor 50mtr lap pools and a couple of smaller indoor warm water play/exercise pools. I personally swam in the outdoor and indoor lap pool, and found them both to be exceptionally clean and clear, and not overly chlorinated.





Swimming in the outdoor pool was particularly enjoyable. It was quiet and nice to be out in the fresh air. (It is under cover and heated, but still refreshing). There is a spa, steam room and sauna, but you need to pay extra to use these. The centre has plenty of change rooms and showers, as well as lockers and a café. I managed to get a park in the multi-level parking area next to the centre for $8 (all day rate otherwise $3 per hour). There are age and height regulations for some activities so best to head over to the website to check these details.




FlowRider Operating Hours

Summer (1 November – 30 April) 7:30am – 9:00pm
Summer Weekends and Public Holidays 7:30am – 8:00pm
Winter (1 May – 31 October) 9:00am – 7:30pm
Winter Weekends and Public Holidays 9:00am – 7:30pm

#swimming
#surfing
#school_holidays
#school_holiday_activities
#kids
#inner_south
#family_attractions
#family
#child_friendly
#albert_park
#swimming -pools
%wnmelbourne