Rainbow Ridge is one of the villages along the Enchanted Forest trail at Illawarra Fly. Photos: Supplied.
Southern Illawarra Men’s Shed has added a sprinkle of pixie dust to give Illawarra Fly’s ever-growing Enchanted Forest full of fairies, gnomes and dragons a glow up.
Illawarra Fly Treetop Adventures general manager Andrew Zentrich said the Enchanted Forest was added to the experience in 2021, after gaining inspiration from a similar concept at Otway Fly Treetop Adventures in Victoria.
“I was working across both sites at the time and I really wanted to bring that concept back up here,” Andrew said.
“Prior to the Enchanted Forest, it used to be just a little bush track, but we wanted to add a bit more magic to that space.
“I brought back a handful of houses and things from one of the men’s sheds in Colac in Victoria, and then we started to build it out from there.”
He said since 2021, staff had added villages each year, with this year it’s first time bringing the Southern Illawarra Men’s Shed at Oak Flats in to help.
“This July school holidays was all about a little bit of a glow up and to add some really awesome new theming,” he said.
“We added a big school camp, rustic wood vibe ‘Enchanted Forest’ entry sign at the start and then at the end of the trail itself we put in a little doorway with a sign on it that reads, ‘Knock four times, spin around and then go back to reality’.
“We’re really big on trying to create that great experience for people.”
He said the goal of the Enchanted Forest was to add an extra feature for families experiencing the treetop walk or zipline tour, which they marketed as a “my first zipline experience”, with kids as young as four able to take part.
“It’s very much geared towards families and having kids being able to go in and experience that little bit of magic when they visit,” he said.
“It’s a nice way to keep the kids engaged at the end and even parents go through there and give us really great feedback on it.”
As Andrew talks about each of the villages along the trail, he speaks with child-like excitement.
He said the walk starts with Rainbow Ridge, established in July 2022, and inspired by wanting to include something for Pride Month.
“That’s one we did a big glow up for and the men’s shed contributed to,” he said.
“They gave us a big, new windmill that spins and rotates, which is really fun, and then they put a heap of really awesome flower decorations in there that they made for us as well.”
Next is Pixie Hollow, incorporating a large fallen tree on the bush track and houses placed within the area to blend into the natural environment.
He said Dragon’s Glen involved an activity where, throughout the treetop walk, five signs with personality test questions determined whether someone was a dragon rider or dragon hunter, along with a little training ground with foam swords.
“We’ve got Gnome Meadow, which has our original pioneers in the Enchanted Forest,” he said of it being the first village established in the 2021/2022 summer.
Andrew said next was Mermaid Crescent, inspired by the Byron Bay beach box houses, and finally the Pirates of Bush Track Cove to complete the trail.
“There’s a big pirate ship in there, and it’s built purely from pallets we’ve used and even the little sail on there is from old staff uniforms,” he said.
“We’re going to start working with the men’s shed a lot more now we’ve got that connection, but even prior to that, there was such a great involvement from our team, and using recyclable materials to put everything together.”
He said it had been great to have the men’s shed involved and seeing their passion for the project.
“Coming to them with this really creative idea was something quite unique for them,” he said.
“Seeing how much love and dedication the team were putting into it was just so great and that came through in that final product and final theming.
“As an attraction, I love that we’re able to showcase some of the talent they have within their team and the stuff they’ve been able to pull together.”
He said they would continue to add new villages each school holidays.
“Outside of that is just the upkeep and keeping the residents in the Enchanted Forest happy,” he said.
For the next school holidays, Illawarra Fly is working with an app developer to create a location-based educational app for children to explore nature.
Learn more about the Illawarra Fly’s Enchanted Forest.
Loading ...
