Port Macquarie may be well known for its stunning coastline but there’s more to this town than beaches – though we are rather fond of those too. The Bago Maze and Winery is about a 30 minute drive from Port Macquarie and is a favourite spot with local families. What could be better than sending the kids into the maze to find their way out and sitting on the hill “supervising” while sipping one of Bago’s wines and nibbling on a cheese platter? Of course this isn’t a suggestion, and it wasn’t what we did, but we did see some families with children old enough to do so, doing just that. Bago is a lovely place to enjoy a picnic and make more of an occasion of a visit. This is an accessible Port Macquarie attraction to pop on your must-see list at any time of year. .
BAGO MAZE & WINERY – ACCESSIBLE PORT MACQUARIE
Six years after planning and planting started on the Bago Maze, it opened to the public. The design of the maze is said to take inspiration from the surrounding vineyard. A walk through the maze is aimed at symbolising the process of wine production from vineyard to consumption. While we certainly appreciated the beauty of the maze from the hillside, while enjoying morning tea, I can guarantee the kids running around inside were having too much fun to worry about the process of wine making.
On arrival guests are given a code to enter into the keypad on the maze door. Once inside, young kids are tasked with not only finding their way out of the maze but finding dragons and unicorns (the hidden cut outs change regularly so it may be something different each holiday).
Young children seemed inspired by the idea of splitting into teams and racing to find either the dragons or unicorns. For eagle-eyed hunters there’s also a list of bonus items to locate within the maze.
We found the maze itself accessible with compacted gravel making pushing BJ’s wheelchair easy.The towers were the only area we couldn’t access which was seriously hampering our efforts to get out!
In the end one of us had to go up the tower and plot our way out. But we eventually made it to the exit and took a photo to prove it (see below).
ACCESSIBILITY AT BAGO MAZE & WINERY
The maze and winery are located in a lush country setting. It’s the ideal spot to relax before or after doing the maze, with the cafe overlooking the property.
BJ highly recommends the scones and cheese platter. Finding his way out of the maze was apparently appetite inducing because the rest of us had a hard time getting a look in at the cheese platter.
Picnic tables sit on the hill above the maze and families in the know grab the prime locations under the shade of the trees early in the day.
There are some access challenges getting to and from the maze. We chose to walk both ways with Hubby pushing BJ across the grass and back up the hill. Bago Maze staff have advised they will allow visitors with access needs to drive closer to the maze if needed. I highly recommend doing this as pushing across and up the grassy hill is tough going. You need to speak with staff to organise this on arrival.
The actual maze is easy to get around, so by driving down closer you’ll avoid the big push. Power wheelchairs may be fine on the grass.
Follow the signs for parking at the cellar door for the closest spaces to the entrance.
Although there is no dedicated accessible bathroom, the women’s toilet is also marked as accessible and is a stand-alone bathroom. Ramp access is provided to the bathrooms.
Our entry to the maze was complimentary thanks to Bago Maze & Winery. We are repeat visitors to the maze because we enjoy it so much.
You can read more about opening hours, entrance prices and the location of Bago Maze & Winery on their website.
If you’re keen to know where we stayed, you can read our review of Northpoint Apartments.
And don’t forget to check out our tips on the most accessible Port Macquarie beaches.
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