Puzzle this! - Amaze'n, Margaret River, Western Australia

It's been school holidays here the last couple of weeks, and we have had a few sleep-overs and day stays with our grandsons - aged nearly 9 and nearly 11. Last week we took them to Amaze'n, which is just south of Margaret River in the south west of Western Australia. Amaze'n is a great place to spend the day with children and is great for adults too! There are several mazes, as well as a 18 hole mini-golf course, and other games to play, such as a giant chess game, and indoor puzzles. And beautiful gardens to stroll around. You can bring your lunch, cook your BBQ, and sit at the picnic tables in the shady gardens, or buy lunch at the Cafe. And so everyone can be included, all paths are pusher and wheelchair friendly.

The centre piece is the 3 metre high giant hedge Maze which was planted in 1994, spread over half a hectare and with 1.5 kilometres of paths. We let our grandsons take the lead. I had no idea where I was, so I am glad they were leading the way.

The aim of maze is to get to the middle where there is a lookout tower. There are bench seats to find, or sit on, along the way, and an emergency exit, if you can find it, for a way out if you get lost. One of the games you can play is to find all 9 of the different benches. 

After conquering the giant hedge maze we went over to the "turn left" maze. For this maze to get to the exit you can only turn left or go straight ahead. Once they had worked it out the boys had fun seeing how fast they could get around it.
I think this would be a great way to set out a vegetable garden! 

 The maze you see below, sorry the photo doesn't show it very well, is the brick paved hill  maze which is on bricks set around a small hill. 

Next we headed over to the giant chess board which is set up under shady trees.  Nice on a hot day.

 While our eldest grandson and his Pop played chess, I went over to the stepping stone maze with our youngest grandson. This maze is a great one for getting the brain working. You must only step in the sequence of white red black to get to the middle. It took me a while but I eventually made it! 

 And the Labyrinth which the boys also decided to do as a time trial.... oh well, good exercise!

 Then it was time for lunch, after which the boys played a sometimes frustrating game of mini-golf on the challenging 18 hole course. 

On the way home we stopped in at Millers Icecream just out of Cowaramup for a delicious icecream. Made from milk from their own cows, and hand made into icecream by third generation dairy farmers, there is a delicious array of icecream flavours! 
To finish off the boys played in the playground - and once again made it a time-trial obstacle course!  I'm glad I didn't have to participate in that one!

My verdict? The boys had a great day at Amaze'n, though I thought the admission was rather expensive, but you can spend the whole day there, and there are activities for older kids too. They have a family entrance price, which I guess when you divide it by 4, it really is not too bad for a whole day. I thought the price of the mini golf should have been included in the entrance fee to the maze, and that they should provide more toilet facilities.

Thank you so much for stopping by. Do your children or grandchildren have favourite places they like to visit on the school holidays? Perhaps you can tell us about them in your comments.
I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 

For more information, please go to these web sites: I have not been paid anything to promote them:
Amaze'n, Margaret River 
Millers Icecream, Cowaramup 

You might also like these Western Australian travel ideas from my blog:

10 things to do in Yallingup without going to the beach 
A walk through Ambergate Reserve, Western Australia 
What do Gerald Durrell and Nannup have in common? 

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