Shell V-Power Motorsport Park at The Bend, Tailem Bend

Shell V-Power Motorsport Park at The Bend is an automotive-themed adventure park for families seeking an exciting day out or a memorable holiday spot. Parents and children will be delighted to discover this unique destination that offers far more than just motorsports.

The Welcome Centre serves as the heart of The Bend, featuring an auto gallery that will captivate young minds with its collection of unique cars and motorbikes. Families can enjoy a meal together at the Apex Bar x Dining, which offers panoramic views of Pit Lane.

For those wishing to extend their stay, the on-site BIG4 Holiday Park is a paradise for children. It boasts an array of kid-friendly amenities, including a Mini Golf course, BMX Pump Track, Jumping Pillow, Swimming Pool, and Playground. The recreation room is packed with entertainment options such as arcades, movies, board games, and table tennis, ensuring that young visitors will never have a dull moment.

While car enthusiasts will certainly feel at home, The Bend has something for everyone. Families can try karting, with specially designed family and junior karts, on tracks that are safe and fun for children. For those seeking more thrills, Hot Laps (14+ years of age) and Driver Experiences (adults only) provide unforgettable moments that are likely to ignite the passion for motorsport in almost everyone. Young racing fans can let their imaginations run wild as they explore various motorsport disciplines, all conveniently located in one place.

Throughout the year, The Bend hosts an array of events, including circuit and drag racing, complemented by a rich program of family-friendly entertainment. Parents will appreciate that children 15 and under enjoy free entry to all events, making The Bend an accessible option for families with different budgets.

Beyond the motorsport park, families can explore the surrounding Murray River Lakes and Coorong region. Nearby attractions include the Monarto Safari Park, water sports and river cruises in Murray Bridge, and wineries in Langhorne Creek for the adults.

The Bend truly offers a unique blend of high-octane excitement and family-friendly fun, making it an ideal destination for parents looking to create lasting memories with their children.

Kids in Adelaide Review

We recently had the opportunity to take the family and spend the weekend exploring and experiencing many of the activities, events and facilities within the Shell V-Power Motorsport Park at The Bend, and WOW, it’s a weekend with the kids that we will always remember.

They have a busy events calendar well worth checking out and planning around in advance for the motor enthusiasts. We decided to book our stay around ‘Off Street Drags’ at The Dragway, and also jagged a motorbike ride day that we were able to watch on the main track. The view across the entire precinct from the Level 4 viewing deck is not to be missed! You can find their upcoming events here. We are pretty keen to go back and watch a ‘burnout’ competition, because how fun would the kids think that was!

Accommodation: For those who want more than a day trip, we loved our stay at the Big 4 The Bend. Our three bedroom cabin was modern and very comfortable, with a king sized bed, queen sized bed and four bunk beds. All linen and towels were provided and the cabin was fully self contained – hello eggs and bacon breakfast! The park itself is a ripper and could be your sole purpose to visit, offering endless activities from a large pool, jumping pillow and playground, fire pit, games room, basketball hoop, mini golf course and throw in the bikes for the large dirt bmx track! There are options for all budgets from campsites (beautiful camp kitchen), to powered sites, ensuite sites, cabins and even dorm style accommodation (presumably for schools and race teams). Prefer the elegance of a hotel stay? Rydges Pit Lane Hotel has well appointed modern accommodation overlooking the racetrack.

Drags: An absolute highlight was the Shell V-Power Motor Sport Park Dragway. What an impressive facility! We spent our Saturday morning watching motorbikes and cars of all kinds run the quick drag strip. Every one in our family loved this so much, we left for some other activities and came back, all wanting more, for the late arvo / early evening. It was action packed fast fun and we were glued! Not too loud either, although our nine year old chose to wear ear defenders, I didn’t think it was entirely necessary. Check for next events here

Eating: Famished after a huge day, we had dinner booked in APEX Bar and Restaurant. It’s a spectacular outlook over the race track, comfortable and with an easy modern menu that’s a little bit fancy, but not overcomplicated. The staff were friendly and the kids meals with colouring pack, drink and ice cream were welcomed. Open seven days a week for breakfast lunch and dinner – it pays to book. You can also just grab a coffee or drink here – the kids will love the balcony views. Find the menu and info here

Go Karts: Our Sunday morning was spent on the track at The Bend Kartdrome. The track is outdoors and can work in three configurations. So impressive! Located just a very short drive from the main arena. Much to our youngest daughters delight, they have tandem karts, so while she couldn’t drive her own, she was able to ride with Dad and actually could chose to have steering. The exciting news is, Junior Karts for 8yo + are arriving these July school holidays! For the standard karts, kids need to be minimum 14yo and 138cm tall. This was so fun, ‘those things fly’ according to our fourteen year old daughter who is no stranger to a kart. Don’t miss this experience, prices currently start from as little as $30pp and you can find all of the info here. Well worth a day trip! This would make an epic teenagers birthday activity, a couple of car loads of kids, a warm up and a race!

Welcome Centre: The Shell V-Power Motorsport Welcome Centre is FREE to enter and view an eclectic collection of impressive cars and motorbikes on display. It’s open seven days a week and shouldn’t be missed. You can snap photos in here and read information about the ever changing line up. We loved the powder blue Lambo. Worth noting there is fabulous coffee and light snacks available. Read more about what to expect here

Hot Laps: Perhaps the pinnacle of our visit – finding out that kids from age fourteen years can do a hot lap of the circuit. What a wild thrill! Can we just say one of our teens was a little more reluctant than the other, and the staff and drivers were beyond kind, accommodating and earnt her trust and she had the absolute time of her life. This one is an epic special gift or experience. Our speedy laps were in Ford Mustangs. What a thrill and what a way to end an incredible world class weekend experience. We will be back. Many times. Check out all of the driver experiences and prices here.

Honestly, we were blown away with the quality of everything here, all underpinned by staff who seemingly love their jobs, take pride in what they are doing and just can’t do enough for you. We have always known this facility existed the past few years, but it’s an actual credit to South Australia to have something of this calibre in our state and accessible to everyone. I knew we would like our time spent here, but we actually loved it and strongly believe more families need to experience a visit or a stay! Teenagers are hard to motivate and impress…. this was a massive win.

Find out more and book your stay!
www.thebend.com.au
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