It’s business as usual at Live Wire Park amid upgrades to its tree-top Canopy Circuit and Spring Circuit to improve visitor safety and experience.
Nestled across a sprawling 10-acre landscape in bushland in Lorne, Victoria, Live Wire Park is embarking on a significant transformation of its popular Canopy and Spring Circuits, prioritising safety, accessibility, and visitor experience.
Seven years after its initial opening, the park’s Canopy Circuit has undergone a major upgrade, raising safety barriers from a standard 900mm handrail height to two meters.
“We wanted to make sure the circuit was more accessible for toddlers and young kids and parents carrying children,” explains Mr Luke Nisbet, the park’s director.
Established in 2018, Live Wire Park is the first completely off-grid elevated adventure park in Australia. Each year, hundreds of school students walk through its gates to experience the Shockwave ZipCoaster (Australia’s most extreme zipline), high ropes courses and treetop canopy walk.
Previously, parents were not permitted to carry children on the Canopy Circuit, which stretches 120 meters.
Elevated 10 metres above the ground amongst the native Blue Gums, the upgrade to the wheelchair-accessible suspended pathway wasn’t only about safety; it was also about creating a holistic experience.
“The new safety barriers are made out of wire and netting, so you can see through,” Mr Nisbet says, highlighting the engineering that preserves panoramic views while ensuring visitor’s safety.
The upgrade process was carefully orchestrated with the park’s preferred installer, Mr Nisbet says, undertaking the project in March to avoid the park’s peak Summer season.
“We have a great working relationship with the installer, and we had been in talks with them for a few months about it and were just waiting to get through our busy period to start it.”
Despite the four-week closure of the Canopy Circuit, the park remained operational, minimising disruption for visitors.
“We still welcomed many school groups during this period and gave them advance notice that the Canopy Circuit was going to be closed,” Mr Nisbet says.
But the innovation doesn’t stop with the Canopy Circuit. The Spring Circuit is set for an equally impressive makeover in May, with plans to replace the existing circuit with a larger netted area, ball pit and larger jumping zones in a new configuration, Mr Nisbet explains.
Understanding the potential challenges for school groups, Live Wire Park is offering schools visiting in May a 35 per cent discount on their next visit.
During the Spring Circuit’s upgrade, schools will instead receive educational talks about park sustainability, local flora, and fauna – transforming a potential inconvenience into a learning opportunity.
Expected to take seven to eight weeks, the Spring Circuit upgrade represents another leap forward. This redesign isn’t merely cosmetic; it’s a strategic move to improve visitor flow and accommodate more participants.
“The old circuit just wasn’t working for us from a flow point of view,” Mr Nisbet says. “We wanted to make it larger to accommodate more people and improve the flow of people coming in and out.”
The new design promises to address previous limitations, creating a more intuitive and enjoyable experience for visitors.
These upgrades reflect more than just physical improvements. They represent Live Wire Park’s philosophy of continuous evolution and commitment to visitor safety.
“We’re also considering further improvements later in the year,” Mr Nisbet hints, suggesting that innovation is an ongoing process at the park.
For schools and adventure enthusiasts, these changes mean more than enhanced safety. They represent a reimagining of what an adventure park can be – a space that prioritises protection without compromising excitement, that educates while entertaining, and that continually adapts to visitor needs.
To enquire about booking a school excursion, visit livewirepark.com.au.
