Here at G’day Parks, in-park scavenger hunts are one of our favourite holiday activities to keep the family entertained.
Why are holiday parks so good for scavenger hunts?
Image Credit: Discovery Parks - Byron Bay, New South Wales
Our holiday parks are packed full of fun, thanks to each park’s range of features and facilities. Depending on where you’re staying, these could include a swimming pool, splash park, bouncing pillow, playground, mini golf, pump track, hire equipment (like pedal karts), tennis court, and so much more.
Plus, they’re often located right in the heart of nature, surrounded by towering trees, wide green spaces, and visiting wildlife. Kids are instinctively inquisitive, and a scavenger hunt gives them the perfect excuse to get out there and see all that colour and natural beauty.
Image Credit: Discovery Parks - Nagambie Lakes, Victoria
Another benefit of holiday parks is that kids can safely and independently explore within the boundaries of the park (while the adults kick back and relax), and whatever their energy level, they can work through a scavenger hunt at their own pace. If they’ve got a phone or camera you're happy for them to use, ask them to snap photographs or a video to prove they’ve completed each item on their list.
Prefer they ditch the technology? No worries. Just make sure the clues are things that they can bring back in a tote bag (without taking anything that belongs to fellow guests, obviously!). Otherwise, you can accompany them around the park as they tick off each box.
Let’s get started
Image Credit: Paradise Country Farmstay, Queensland
Before you embark on your trip, we suggest you make or find a scavenger hunt template online and print out a few copies. Then, you can fill in the clues to create your scavenger hunt once you arrive at the park, to make sure it’s the right difficulty level for your child/ren. If you’re travelling with multiple kids, they can either work together as a group or have a mini competition to see who can find everything on their list first.
Here’s a few ideas of what you can include in your scavenger hunt.
Want to get the kids out in nature?
Image Credit: Beechworth Lake Sambell Caravan Park, Victoria
Add these to your scavenger hunt sheet:
- tree
- gumnut
- leaf
- butterfly (or more broadly, ‘insect’)
- dandelion (or more broadly, ‘flower’)
- feather
- pine cone
- animals (you can be more specific, depending on the local wildlife, e.g. koala, kangaroo, possum)
- footprints
- bird sitting on a branch.
How about adding some caravan park-specific clues into the mix?
Image Credit: Yarrawonga Riverlands Tourist Park, Victoria
Tell them to look for a:
- map/tourist brochure
- welcome sign
- list
- camp kitchen utensil/equipment (you can specify an item like BBQ tongs or use a prompt like ‘an item you can use to cut up fruit’)
- bicycle safely chained up to a cabin or caravan site
- dog on a lead
- tipping bucket at a splash park
- board game
- recycling bin (you could even offer them a bonus point if they find any litter around the park and successfully recycle it).
You can also challenge them to look for something specific, like a word, number, shape, or colour (you could even ask them to find something for every colour of the rainbow).
Staying inside due to wet weather?
Image Credit: Discovery Parks - Goolwa, South Australia
It’s easy to tailor a scavenger hunt to work inside your cabin, villa, caravan, or glamping tent. A great way to get the kids thinking creatively is to give them general clues that encourage them to think outside the box, such as:
- something warm
- something that lights up
- something heavy
- something with wheels
- something to eat
- something shiny
- something to read
- something round
- something cold
- something crunchy
- something fragile
- something you use to clean
- something colourful
- something that turns on and off
- something to write with
- something that sinks
- something that tells time
- something that makes you happy (or something that makes Mum/Dad happy!).
Remember, they can only use an item to solve one clue at a time (e.g. a reading light cannot be both ‘something that turns on and off’ and ‘something that lights up’). This will keep them guessing and thinking about the many items that make up their home-away-from-home for ages.
A scavenger hunt is the perfect addition to your next trip
Image Credit: Discovery Parks - Emerald Beach, New South Wales
Ready to start planning your G’day Parks adventure? Hop onto our website or download the G’day Parks app to fall in love with more than 340 locations around Australia, with camping sites, glamping tents, and cabin accommodation. Then, let the fun and games begin!
