This post was written by Sharon, the winner in our Royal Easter Show competition thanks to Countrylink!

We arrived at Olympic Park within 20 mins. I have to say the train service down there is so quick and easy! Again, it was just a short walk from the station to the entrance of the show. There were lots of helpful people just waiting to help point us in the right direction, give us maps or just say welcome!

We were buzzing. As we walked to the entrance you could hear the noise of the show, the sounds of excited voices, squeals of delight from ride goers, and at least a dozen different types of music. The atmosphere is electric, full of anticipation and excitement!

The first thing we saw was the 1D van! One very excited almost teen was hard to drag away from that particular stand! But, we headed out in search of the Sunday Telegraph animal walk. This is a walk, marked on the ground that takes you into each of the animal exhibits and give you a good overview of what is at the heart of the show. Our little miss, who was not feeling the best this day, had an absolute ball looking, touching, petting and talking to all the various animals.

They had plenty of activities along the way for the kids too, colouring in, digging, climbing on tractors. It was very hands on and very interactive!

While the littlest member of our family had a much needed nap in her pram, we headed into the Woolworths Food Dome. What an amazing place! The food displays from each NSW District was impressive!

We managed to eat enough to be counted as lunch and hubby and I had a few wine tastings too before heading into the craft displays. What an amazing array of things they have on display there. Crochet toys, photographs, scrapbooking pages, cakes, jams….it’s simply inspiring to go and have a look!

Then came time for the much anticipated rides! We headed to the Kids Carnival and the girls and I had a ball going on lots of different rides. I am surprised that they have a few thrill style rides for the little ones now as well as the old favourites.  But our little miss is clearly an adrenaline junkie and loved each and every ride!

After rides for the whole family, it bucketed down with rain! There was thunder, lightning and even some small hail! It was very exciting, but thankfully, although we all got soaked, it didn’t last long!

Next came the racing and diving pigs. This particular attraction has been running for many years, so I was excited to finally see the pigs in action! They raced around their little track and ran up a ramp and dived into the water, no fuss. They seemed to enjoy all the attention!

Our day was drawing to a close. We headed to the main arena, got some dinner and settled down to watch the Rodeo. Again, this was something the whole family enjoyed watching.  We relaxed and rested our VERY tired feet while the Aussie riders, including one from Mid North Coast, competed against a team from New Zealand. I am very happy to report a win for the Aussies that night!

The final stop was, of course the Showbag Pavilion. What a magical place! Anything and everything, and it comes in a bag! Toys, lollies, chocolate, chips, drinks, magazines….THIS is the place that sends families broke, and we were no exception! But, how often to you get to splurge in this way?! It’s fun, and they are pretty good value. Loaded up with several bags for each of our family, including Dora, Girlfriend, Lindt and Australian Womens Weekly bags, we very wearily set off back to our hotel for a long desired sleep in those very comfy beds!!

I can honestly say, it is very hard to find something we can do as a family that we all can enjoy. It’s one of the hassles of having an 11 year age gap between our girls. However, the Easter Show gave each and every one of us something to enjoy, something that made our day, and it was all things that we are a family to could do and enjoy together. It really was a great day out for all of us.