Free school holiday activities at Tasman Holiday Parks – North Star on the Tweed Coast

Check out the line-up of free activities for families at Tasman Holiday Parks – North Star this April.

With a vibrant mix of creativity, outdoor exploration and relaxation, there’s something to entertain every member of the family throughout the school holidays. To book your best holiday yet, visit the website or call to reserve your stay.

• Creative workshops for kids: Let your little ones unleash their creativity with engaging activities such as poppy flower crafts and colouring sessions.
• Explore nature’s marvels: Dive into adventure with our free Rocky Shore Adventure, a fascinating journey through the unique coastal landscape of Hastings Point, or visit the sparkling tidal estuary that’s perfect for kayaking.
• Movie nights: Share the magic of cinema with special movie nights with the family.
• Marine Discovery: Visit the Marine Discovery Centre where interactive exhibits bring both adults and kids closer to the wonders of the ocean.
• Happy hour specials: Unwind with happy hour specials and live music sessions.

Tasman Holiday Parks – North Star (previously North Star Holiday Resort) in Hastings Point has everything you need to reset and recharge. Its palm trees, pools and aquatic playgrounds provides a heavenly retreat for families on the NSW Tweed Coast. Writes Rebel Wylie.

Boasting a 28 degree heated pool, free kids club, massive water park and two epic 8.2-metre water slides. Plus outdoor movie nights and tennis courts, this holiday resort is a hit with all ages. Tasman Holiday Parks – North Star also has a games room, outdoor playground, free Wi-Fi and camp kitchen and BBQ area. The resorts wide sealed roads are perfect for bikes or scooters. Beyond the resort, it is just a stroll to surf beaches and a tidal estuary. The resort reflects the Northern New South Wales landscape, dotted with towering palm trees, verdant greenery and manicured gardens, cocooning families in a coastal oasis.

Inspired by its seaside surrounds, a water theme flows throughout Tasman Holiday Parks – North Star from Ripples Licensed Café and Neptune’s Castle Kids’ Club to the Seascape adults retreat. There are accommodation options for all family sizes on the 10-hectare site, from powered sites to cabins and cottages plus apartments and villas that can house multigenerational groups.

Sammy’s Adventure Lagoon

Kids can’t get enough of Tasman Holiday Parks – North Star’s adventure park, Sammy’s Adventure Lagoon. The aqua playground, lagoon pool, toddler pool and two giant ‘super slides’ here are a lure for water babies of all ages.

As I stake my claim at one of the shaded cabanas, I survey Sammy’s to find my tribe. My freshly zinced youngest has joined his sister in the two-storey water playground. They both are ready to new friends from one of the water cannons; his sister stands underneath the ‘Big Dripper’. She is eagerly awaiting the 600-litre bucket to tip and drench her with its cascade. I don’t even need to look for my eldest – I know he’s climbed to the platform for another go on one of two eight-metre-high tubular water slides. They spiral 64 metres through a rainbow of technicolour light features, before splashing into the pool’s landing strip.

Accommodation options

Tasman Holiday Parks – North Star not only offers endless entertainment options but also accommodation to suit all budgets and tastes. Guests can choose to experience the leafy campsites and caravan spots, or opt for well-equipped, practical holiday cabins, or even spacious villas with all the luxuries you would expect to find in a five-star hotel.

The spacious Tuscany Villa has three bedrooms and three bathrooms set across two levels, with a spa bath adjoining the King suite. The villas have full kitchen facilities and a washer and dryer. It could easily accommodate two families or grandparents who can be convinced to join in and help with babysitting duties.

Two-bedroom apartments sleep five. With a washer-dryer, a fully appointed kitchen and a generous living area that includes an alfresco balcony. Basically, plenty of room for families to be together or apart. Most of the camping sites also have leafy palm trees to offer shade and privacy from neighbours. Ensuite sites mean trips with a dodgy torch to the loo at night can be avoided. The communal cooking area offers plenty of undercover seating so campers can keep an eye on roaming kids.

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Neptune’s Castle Kids’ Club

Children are in for hours of fun at Neptune’s Castle Kids’ Club, which runs daily sessions every weekend and daily during school holiday periods. It has a three-level spiral slide, ball pit, mirror maze and fully supervised and free kids’ club. There are two separate age groups: one for those aged from three to six, and another for seven- to 12-year-olds. 

The kids make amazing friends at the Kid’s Club during our stay. They don’t need to be asked twice if they’re keen to head to Neptune’s Castle for the second Kids’ Club session of the day. Kids aged up to three years can play in the Little Treasures play corner. The resort also has an outdoor playground, games room, tennis courts and bike hire.

Seascape adults retreat

Next door to the kid’s club is the luxurious Seascape Leisure Centre. It’s perfect for a little parental pampering. There’s a day spa, hairdresser, 25-metre heated lap pool, gym, jacuzzi and sauna. Bliss! Kid-free for 90 minutes, we settle into the hot tub and take a breath to reflect on the fact that right now, our kids are happy – and so are we.

Ripples Licensed Cafe

If you want a night off barbecue duties, outsource dinner to the on-site Ripples Licensed Cafe. The poolside cafe is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The cafe caters to every taste, from kiddie crowd pleasers through to more sophisticated dishes for parents. The kids’ menu is cheap and cheerful, with ice-cream included. We enjoy a steak sandwich and Thai salad for dinner and a refreshing acai bowl and big brekky for breakfast. Keep an eye out for events like Mother’s Day lunch and live music during the school holidays. Ripples Licensed Cafe has timed its happy hour to coincide with kids’ club diversions. Cheers to that!

Marine Discovery Centre at Tasman Holiday Parks – North Star

The hands-down highlight of our stay is the Marine Discovery Centre, one of Australia’s largest privately funded marine education museums. The estuary and rockpools on North Star’s doorstep are home to a kaleidoscope of local fauna for families to discover. And thanks to the resort’s very own Marine Discovery Centre, you’ll learn exactly what you should be looking for when you explore.

Kids are encouraged to explore and make the most of the state-of-the-art light and sound technology, plus the interactive digital terminals, as they look up in wonder at the realistic displays of life under the sea. Hands-on demonstrations with marine educators are on offer throughout the day and need to be booked.

Founded in 1999, the interactive museum reopened in March 2021 after a million-dollar revamp with an impressive collection of local specimens and biological drawings amassed across 50 years. The exhibition is a digital and tactile journey from the mangroves to the coast with everything from preserved sharks and rays to microscopic critters plus specimens that kids can touch and examine. It’s a fascinating insight into the natural world around Tasman Holiday Parks – North Star.

Things to do in Tweed Heads

The holiday park is right at the heart of everything on offer for families in the glorious Tweed region. it’s only a short stroll across to Maggies Beach or the estuary, a great fishing spot. Opposite the resort is  Cudgen Nature Reserve – a koala habitat. A day can happily be spent a day exploring by bike, cycling the safe, wide paths to the estuary.

Within 15 minutes of Hastings Points you can be catching a movie or visit the Tweed City Shopping Centre, complete with an al fresco entertainment precinct. It’s also a quick drive to the nearby towns of Pottsville and Cabarita. Treat yourself to lunch out in Cabarita, a funky little spot five minutes drive away. It has essential shops such as a supermarket and chemist, as well as boutique craft shops and eateries. The Cabarita Beach Hotel has beautiful ocean views.

There’s farm fun at Tropical Fruit World, plus surf schools and adventure-sports equipment hire at every local beach. Kids can also try their hand at clay throwing and pottery at Kingscliff’s Stone Studio, or head off on a crab-catching adventure with Tweed Eco Cruises.

For those keen to travel 50 minutes north into Queensland, you’ll be at Dreamworld, Sea World or Burleigh Beach. Or you can head south to Bryon Bay or The Crystal Castle in Mullumbimby. If bushwalks and waterfalls are your thing, you can head inland an hour or so to Mount Warning, a mountain in the Tweed Range formed from a volcanic plug of the now-gone Tweed Volcano.

Where to find Tasman Holiday Parks – North Star

Located in Hastings Point on the beautiful Tweed Coast, Tasman Holiday Parks – North Star is 30 minutes south of Gold Coast Airport, 30 minutes north of Byron Bay and 1.5 hours from Brisbane. The resort occupies an enviable location between a tidal estuary and the Pacific Ocean, fringed by lush rainforest and a nature reserve.

From uncrowded beaches with world-renowned surf breaks to crystal-clear estuaries that weave their way right through beachside communities before joining back up with the Pacific Ocean, the far North Coast of New South Wales is an idyllic family destination.

When you’ve got three kids it can be stressful at a busy holiday park, but there’s a real community vibe here. Everyone keeps a look out for each other, cars move at a snail’s pace and families gather and laugh the night away.

At the end of your stay, you will find that the kids won’t want to go home. They will have had endless fun riding their bikes with the new friends they made at Neptune’s Castle Kids’ Club and the whole family will have made awesome holiday memories together.

For more information, visit northstar.com.au or call 1800 645 790.

For hot deals and seasonal specials click here.

This article originally appeared in Holidays with Kids magazine. Subscribe to the latest issue here.

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