If you’re going to be in Gauteng this festive season and are looking for things to do with Kids in Joburg, this Guest Post by Rebecca, who blogs at In These Stilletos, will be useful to you. If you’ve been following my blog, you will know that Rebecca has done a previous Guest Post here.
You may just be surprised at how many of these places you were not aware of which Rebecca shares with us. Well, it’s not too late, you can now make a plan to visit or revisit. I myself have been to a few of these places, not all, but also before Kayden was born. So I certainly will make a point of taking him to some of this places, which looks like fantastic entertainment for kids. Be sure to check out my Facebook Page: Peanut Gallery 24/7 – I will share photos as and when I do visit.
Well then…let me hand you over to Rebecca now…
So I keep getting people asking me for tips on where to go and what to do with their kids. I’ve been trying to sit down and write a list for a while now but as any multi-tasking, working mum would know every day seems to escape me and my to do list just keeps getting longer.
Firstly I have to pay homage to the Adventure Clubs app (https://www.adventureclubs.com/). What an absolute life changer it has been for me.
After our move back to Johannesburg from Cape Town I was at a loss of what to do with my boys in a big city and struggled to find a mums group like I had in Cape Town. A friend suggested a download the adventure clubs app and our lives changed forever 🙂
It’s opened up my eyes to a whole new Johannesburg, discovering hidden gems and unique places to take my boys in addition to just the new places, I have developed the most beautiful friends and have such a great support group that I would not have met if it weren’t for the app.. So thank you thank you thank you Adventure Clubs
That being said, here’s my list, together with some of the places we have discovered of fun things to do, with your kids in the big city:
Lion and Rhino Safari Park
New and improved, the recently re-opened Lion and Rhino park is bigger, better and has a lot more interaction for kids and a great Giraffe feeding deck
Crocodile City
We had such a good time at our outing to Croc City. They boys got an educational talk on crocs, on how thick their skin is and got to hold and observe their eggs. They also house a number of reptiles and much to my horror my boys lined up to hold the snakes!
I conquered my fear and held the python. After a tour of the croc park the kids ran around counting and feeding as many tortoises as they could. The play area of course provided hours of entertainment.
Old MacDonald’s Farm Yard
This is a true hidden gem. Home to the Fat Olive restaurant and a Beach bar, Old MacDonald’s has free roaming Zebras, geese, duck and a whole mini farmyard for kids to feed/interact with. It doubles up as a party venue as well as a restaurant. There are even canoes to take out on a paddle on the small lake.
Crazy Kids Farmyard
A diamond in the middle of a bustling city. Crazy Kids has also recently had a bit of a refresh with some new animals (including another pony and a friendly pig), Crazy Kids is literally smack bang in the middle of a residential area in Randburg. It has a huge variety of play equipment for kids, a ton of bikes to ride around and an epic sandpit. This is a winner, every day of the week.
Clay Café
About twenty minutes out of Johannesburg Clay Café is opposite the iconic Red Barn in Irene. Kids can choose from a large variety of ceramics to paint with lots of accessories to add patterns/ shapes to their masterpieces.
Pappachinos
Of course – Broadacres seems like the biggest, Clearwater mall also has a bike track
Lori Park Zoo
Holds a nice variety of crocodiles, predator birds and of course lions/ leopards – though I do feel for the bigger cats as their enclosures are very, very small.
Irene Dairy Farm
One of the last real working dairy’s left in the Johannesburg area. The Irene dairy has the most exquisite gardens, endless tractors for the kids to play on and a wonderful play area. Their café is famous for its lunches and tea’s.
The Johannesburg Zoo
A timeless classic and always good for a family day out.
Delta Park
Probably holds the best play area out of all Joburg parks. It also has glorious walking paths with gigantic trees shading them.
Lonehill Park
Between Lonehill Park and Angelo’s Restaurant you are guaranteed a good time with the kids. Lonehill Park has a beautiful enclosed play area for kids and Angelo’s Kitchen borders onto the park with additional jungle gyms, bike tracks and games for kids
Raspberry Picking at Fieldberry Farm
A morning spent in the fields at Fieldberry farm is a morning well spent. A beautiful day out for the entire family, kids will have an amazing time selecting and picking the juiciest berries to pick. After all their hard work mum and dad can relax on hay bales around the play area while sipping on a handmade smoothie. SO much fun. Raspberry season typically ends around April. You can see my review on it here.
Alliepad Alpakkas
A bit of a drive out of Johannesburg, Alliepad Alpakkas is just before Magaliesburg and has the most adorable fluffy Alpacas to go crazy over. Make it a weekend drive or wait for one of their festival days when you can get a tour around the farm, learn more about how they get wool and feed the Alpacas.
Willow Feather Farm
Originally started off as an Indigenous tree farm, Willow Feather now hosts a nursery, tea garden and awesome Farmyard for kids. They have a number of interactive activities for kids and the number of animals in the Farmyard is exceptional. Alpacas, pigs, bunnies, cows. Kids can get up close and personal to the animals and of course participate in feeding. There’s also a wonderful kiddies play area to keep little ones busy while mums can enjoy hot tea and scones.
Yeesh! Fun for Kids
If its rainy (or sunny) – Yeesh for Kids in Woodmead is a firm favourite of ours. With a huge soft kids play area, Yeesh goes the extra mile by hosting cupcake/cookie decorating sessions, as well as an art corner where kids can paint a range of items ranging from t-shirts to canvas to ceramic ornaments.
Tres Jolie (Ruimsig)
Traditionally thought of as more of a wedding venue, Tres Jolie actually is a littler wonder world for kids. They offer a touch and feel farmyard, giant sand pit, pony and camel rides, and a big jungle gym. You can bring your own food to feed the animals or buy packets at the Kiosk.
Throughout Joburg there are various weekend events do with your children. Riversands Farm and GoG Lifestyle Park are great for Saturday and Sunday activities with the family.
Riversands offers a fantastic kiddies play area, Playscapes as well as TreeTop adventures.
If the list above doesn’t meet your fancy or if you are still at a loss of what to do with your kids over the holidays download the Adventure clubs app (its free) and see if there are any adventures or experiences you would like to join in on!
