We're wild about mazes
Sunshine Coast Daily, 4 January 2007
the new rope maze at Bellingham Maze at Tanawha.
Harry Potter may be just as famous for sparking new and sudden childhood interests in hedge mazes as much as he did in reading.
And the managers of Sunshine Coast attraction the Bellingham Maze are certainly not complaining.
Brisbane tourist Andrew MacLean's three daughters, Toni, Caitlin and Zoe, made a beeline to the Tanawha attraction just 24 hours after they arrived on the Coast.
"They just had to come here, it was an absolute must," Mr MacLean said.
"The girls just zeroed in on it and said they had to go, I think Harry Potter had a big influence on why they wanted to play in the hedge maze."
The boy wizard had to meander through an enchanted maze in the Goblet of Fire edition of the series, sparking a liking for the brain-teasing hedges in a whole new generation.
Mr MacLean said the Bellingham Maze was a perfect match for his three girls.
"My daughters are really big on anything that includes something physical and mental," he.said. "Something that has an intellectual and a physical challenge as well as a test of determination, they love it." Mr Maclean, along with his girls and his wife Anke Willems, intends to spend the week visiting the Ginger Factory, the beach, Mary Cairncross Park and Caloundra.
Maze manager Sophy Wrangell said a new rope maze had just been added to the attraction, designed by famous English maze designer Adrian Fisher.
"We try to keep the prices as low as we can but there are a lot of expenses with running a business like this. "But it's cheaper than the movies, so I think it's good value," Ms Wrangell said.