Day 2286 - Bell's Carnival Batehaven, Bateman's Bay NSW

It's time to hit the fair!

Every year for the past 15 years or so we've been heading to Bateman's Bay during summer and visited the fair at Corrigan's Beach, Batehaven.

It started with Chelsea as a tween and her cousin Nathan as they each experienced the grown up rides like the Hurricane, Tornado, Thunderbolt and Cha Cha. Then we had to include the toddler and preschooler rides when Tahlia was born finding a balance between ensuring the tweens/teens were happy while at the same time giving the bub some fun.  We went full circle again as Tahlia grew and Darby joined us.



It used to be that I would chaperone by actually getting on the rides as well.  All that spinning is right up my ally.  There was no complaint from me.

But once the youngest hit double digits with capable teens by his side, I became happy to just hang around the edges watching, waiting and taking photographs.

So it was with this sense of relaxed observation that I took the kids and their cousins to the fair last night.

The ferris wheel, music trip, thunderbolt, swings, hurricane and cha cha.
So much spinning!

There is carnival food and the rides we've all grown to love.
For just $25 per person for three hours, it only takes 5 rides to get your money's worth.

Not a lot has changed. The rides are pretty much the same and the ticket prices have only gone up by $10 per person in the last 15+ years.

Even the carnival folk are familiar, year in and year out.

As the kids and their cousins grow and prepare to leave the nest, I wonder how much fair we have left in us.  It's become a tradition and I'm going to be sad to see it go.

Darby enjoys having it as part of his birthday week, so perhaps I'll be less of the relaxed observer and more of a spinning participant again in the years to come.  Just to keep him company.

Who knows.

What I do know is that Bell's Carnival at Batehaven is a fun addition to our summer holidays.

Right now it costs $25 a person for three hours of rides across 90% of the carnival.  There are a handful of rides that come at an additional cost.

The water bubbles, No Limit, large jumping castle and bungee trampolines come at an additional cost.

There's lots to do for the younger kids to get their $25 worth.

Sideshow Alley comes at an additional cost

The fair arrives in Batehaven a few days before Christmas and has its last run on Australia Day. Bell's show their community spirit by partnering with local businesses to put on fireworks on both New Year's Eve and Australia Day,  It's open from 7.00pm and 10.00pm daily.

When was the last time you went to the fair?