Australia loves its big things, and The Big Banana is one of the original big things from the 1960s and one of the most iconic. The Big Banana was built in 1964 by banana grower John Landi as a marketing idea, to attract passing motorists to stop at his roadside stall.
John Landi was inspired by a Big Pineapple. Not the one you are thinking of — the Queensland Big Pineapple 
wasn’t built until the 1970s, itself inspired by The Big Banana. John Landi heard of a “Big Pineapple” in Hawaii. It was possibly the 40ft pineapple water tower at the Dole Pineapple cannery in Honolulu 
, built in 1928.
Using a real banana and cutting it into 40 slices, the design of the Big Banana was scaled from the real thing. Constructed from concrete over an initial wooden frame, the horizontally positioned banana is 13 metres long, 5 metres high, and 2.4 metres wide. The banana is split (mmm, banana split) with a walk-though tunnel. Inside the tunnel has displays with some of the history of the big banana.
When it was first built, there was little more that acres of banana trees on the hills behind it. It opened in December 1964, and soon expanded to include a shop, cafe, and a larger car park. It was sold in 1988 and with a $30 million redevelopment, reopening in 1989.
The Big Banana helped spark the big things obsession in Australia and becoming a rite-of-passage for travelling families on the Pacific Highway. I remember stopping at the Big Banana in the 1970s and 1980s when travelling between Sydney and Brisbane with my family. There are family pics somewhere that I should try to dig up.
Today, The Big Banana still pulls in locals and travelling tourists. It is very different from the early days, over 60 years since it was built. it is now an amusement park, with 45-acres of rides, alpine coaster, laser tag, mini golf, a water park, and more. There are still banana trees viewable in the hills behind it, but Coffs Harbour has shifted from an agricultural town to a tourism town.
As a big thing, the Big Banana is still very much a tourist trap available for happy family snaps and modern-day selfies. It is accessible at any time, including when the fun park, shop, and cafe are closed. A camera mounting post sits to the side so you can mount your trusty DSLR camera and use a delay time to quickly sprint into the frame of the photo with the rest of your family. A more modern post is next to it with a slot to hold your phone upright while you perform a similar dash using your phone’s camera delay feature.
The photo taking posts will let you take the photo with you included nearer to the big banana, rather than a big head on the side. Of course, it isn’t compulsory — a standard selfie still works too, whether it is by yourself, your family near the banana, or someone else’s family.
Big Banana Amusement Park
The amusement park at the Big Banana is quite extensive. It has expanded with additional rides several times. Each ride or attraction can be purchased individually or as part of a combo that reduces prices. The prices vary for each ride, and for each combo, so it is difficult to include pricing to show here. The individual and combo pricing makes it a little convoluted to what you’d expect at amusement parks, but as a travel stop it makes it convenient to pay for one or two rides if you are passing through and having a break.
If you are around Coffs Harbour longer, there are two options to consider having a full day of fun.
Ultimate Pass
The Ultimate Pass is an all-day pass to ride and experience everything as much as sessions and time allows. It excludes Escape Rooms, Axe Throwing, and Fun Zone, but everything else is included. Note, however, that the various rides have their own session times or opening times, separate from the park opening hours.
The Big Bunch of Fun Pass
Want to split your fun over a number of days? The Big Bunch of Fun Pass is like a set banquet of rides except you can choose what order to do them in. They can also be experienced any day over 12 months. If you are staying in Coffs Harbour for the week, you can head there for an hour or two over a few days. The pass, at this time, includes the following rides:
- 2 x Toboggan Rides
- 1 x Plantation Coaster Ride
- 18 Holes of Mini Golf
- 1 x Theatre & Tour Experience
- 1 x Ice Skating Session
- 1 x Laser Tag Mission
- 2 x Racer Slides
- 1 x Water Park Entry
- 1 x 4D Ride Simulator Ride
- 1 x Bumper Car Ride
Some rides can be closed. I’m not sure what happens in this situation. Sometimes it is for maintenance, and the water park closes May to August, so if you are there for the week you may not get a chance to use your unused portion of the pass.
Sunset Sessions
Another option is the Sunset Sessions, with three hours of unlimited access between 5pm and 8pm. Some rides vary the hours slightly, which are noted in the list below:
- Water Park (from 5:30-7:30pm)
- Plantation Coaster (during sunlight hours)
- Toboggan (during sunlight hours)
- Ice Skating (from 6-8pm)
- Mini Golf
- Giant Slide
- Laser Tag
- 4D Ride Simulator
The Rides at The Big Banana
The rides and experiences at The Big Banana are:
Water Park
Slides and splash zones with varying levels of thrill and speed. Open body slides, tube slides, 45-degree kamikaze slide, kids aqua play area, mini donut slide and mini drop, children’s wading pool, and duelling dragons.
Plantation Coaster
An Alpine Coaster up to 12 metres off the ground, zoom through the rolling hills with lush banana plantations at heart-racing speeds. Riders can control the speed.
Toboggan
Experience the thrill of riding Coffs Harbour’s famous Toboggan ride down a metal track over 500 metres long.
Ice Skating
For beginners and seasoned skaters alike, beat the summer heat with some time skating on the ice.
Laser Tag
Armed with a battlesuit vest and phaser, seek out the opposition through the dimly lit and foggy arena and zap them before they zap you.
Escape Rooms
Work together with a group of up to six people to solve a series of puzzles with a mix of themes, from Prison Break, to Temple of Doom, to escaping an abandoned Hostel. Work with others or option private escape.
Giant Slide
Race with up to 6 people on the giant 83-metre indoor slide. Race against others or challenge your friends and family.
Mini Golf
18 mini holes of golf set amongst the bananas. With two courses, there are 36 fun putting challenges.
4D Ride Simulator
Take a seat in the multi-sensory immersive movie experience, from speed racer to canyon coaster, to moon thunder.
Hyper Bumper Cars
Like the Dodgem Cars you know with a twist. Shoot your opponents with an onboard laser. When they are hit, they spin. When you are hit, you spin.
Axe Throwing
Real axes for the big kids, Velcro axes for the little ones. Express your inner lumberjack with an axe throw into the target.
Plantation Tour
Self-guided stroll through the Banana Plantation, and an information presentation in the packing shed.
Duckpin Bowling
Haven’t heard of duckpin bowling? It was invented in Baltimore in 1900. Played with 10 duckpins and a smaller ball, find out how fun it is to play.
