Noah’s Ark owner Abbie McCorquodale is excited for families to see the new changes at the popular play centre. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
Noah’s Ark Play Centre has been a beloved location for Wagga kids for decades, but for the past four weeks, the popular playhouse has been closed.
With newspapers covering the windows and the doors locked, many families had feared the worst.
Turns out it was all part of Noah’s Ark owner Abbie McCorquodale’s plans. Not to sail off, but instead keep secret the exciting new changes that have washed over the centre.
With a new toddlers’ play centre, kitchen, carpet and even a new sporting space, there is something new for everyone at Noah’s Ark when it reopens on Wednesday, 3 December.
“We have been closed for just over four weeks. People have been thinking we’ve closed down permanently, which couldn’t be further from the truth,” Ms McCorquodale said.
“We wanted to make this a big surprise for people as well. They’ve waited a long time for it to happen.
“I’ve waited a long time for it to happen. And I wanted a little bit of mystery behind it. I can’t wait to actually pull down the newspaper and let people in.”
Ms McCorquodale said plans to update the facility had been in the works for about 10 months.
“We have extended our toddler section, so we’ve put all new equipment in there for toddlers and made it a lot more open, given them a little bit more room,” she said.
“Every section that you sit at in our cafe, you can see into the toddler section, which is amazing for mums and dads.
“Also, we’ve had an empty space upstairs for such a long time, so we’ve turned it into a sports arena.
“Nothing’s ever been done with it. The owners who built it just had it as an empty space as well. I thought it was time to get something up there and just get something for the bigger kids as well.”
Ms McCorquodale said that in her time as the centre’s owner, one of her biggest focuses had been to improve the food options, which led to the kitchen renovation.
“There used to be green, green walls, and I actually couldn’t wait for them to go,” she said.
“The kitchen is so beautiful and bright now and it’s got beautiful subway tiles, beautiful marble benches and a beautiful new display fridge where we can put all of our delicious cakes and things like that in. I couldn’t wait for that to be redone.
“I’ve worked really, really hard on making sure the food is exceptional. I cook all my cakes and my slices and things like that. We cook our own chicken, and we slow cook our own lamb and make our own pesto because we’re a nut-free centre.
“It’s a major thing, food. Everyone loves food, so that had to be a focal point.”
With the reopening only a couple of days away, Ms McCorquodale said she couldn’t wait to see the faces of the kids who got to see the new equipment.
“I’m getting quite teary thinking about it,” she said.
“I’ve spent a lot of effort planning this for them. We only get customers for a certain period of time in their lives, so I’m really looking forward to them seeing how much effort we’ve put into making this as enjoyable a place as possible.
“I’m so excited. I love this place so much. It’s like my third child.
“I’ve made such good friendships with mums and dads over time. So I’m really, really looking forward to showing them, and it’s for them as well.”
Noah’s Ark is open every day except Tuesdays, from 9:30 am on weekdays and 10 am on weekends.
