Bago Maze

last visited January 2013

Having visited Port Macquarie so many times we are always looking for something new.  We rather like heading out into the countryside on one day of our visit each holiday.

BAGO Maze opened in December 2012 so we were excited to give it a go.  The kids really enjoyed this activity as they had never done a big maze before.  We found the Maze wheelchair accessible except for the towers.  Not using the towers to navigate your way around probably gives you even better value for money as you wind your way from one path to another trying to find the exit.  When you arrive you get a code to key into the maze door giving it a bit of a feel of a spy mission for the kids.  You can hear excited kids voices as they call out as to whether they’ve hit a dead end or found their way to the next tower.  At each of the towers there is a musical instrument to play.  Both of these were at wheelchair height and added to the experience.

At the moment the ground is dirt but the owner told me he would like to put down fine gravel along the paths.  I’m not keen on gravel because it usually makes pushing harder but he was very keen for it to be wheelchair accessible and assured me what he was planning would be okay.

Our friends did the Maze with their son using an electric wheelchair.  They said that he had found it easy to get around.  If you are using a manual wheelchair I would suggest that when you buy your tickets in the winery that you ask the staff to give you vehicle access to the maze .  The maze is down hill from the winery and it is hard work pushing a manual chair back up the hill.  If it has been wet I would phone ahead to make sure that vehicle access is possible as they said in wet weather they may not be able to let cars drive through the vineyards as it may be too boggy.

The winery part of this attraction has tastings of course.  Lots of families were taking advantage of the cheese plates and wine available to buy to eat at tables on the verandah overlooking the Maze.   It was very reasonably priced but we were headed to Blue Poles for lunch and didn’t want to spoil our appetite.  Bago Vineyard also has Jazz in the vines once a month which would be fun and it is just a beautiful country setting.

There is no specific accessible toilet.  There is a ramp down to the ladies and men’s toilet.  The men’s toilet would not fit a wheelchair but the ladies toilet (a single toilet) would fit a chair.  Please be aware though that this is not a disabled toilet facility so it has no rails.

Although we did not use the Companion card I did ask before we left and I was advised that they will accept the Companion card for the Maze.

Check their website for further information regarding admission prices and contact details.