Buying for Dad can be tough, until you remember most dads have never grown up and still nurse a basic desire to compete, hunt and go fast. Here are some gift ideas that will allow your dad to share those boyish instincts with the whole family.

Paintball & Laser Tag

Giving dad the chance to go hunting is one thing, but a chance to shoot out the family is the next level up. There are a bunch of paintball fields within 1 hour of the city and plenty of laser tag venues in and around Perth. Our recommendation is definitely paintball, but if you want to avoid the bleeding and bruising or have kids under the age of 15, then laser tag is the answer. Join an existing team or organise a crowd and have the field to yourself. See below for a list of venues in and around Perth.

Go-Karting & Glow in the Dark Mini Golf

Go-Karting is one of those activities that feels so fast and so dangerous, in the namby-pamby age of today, it’s hard to believe it’s still legal. HI-Voltage Entertainment in Belmont is WA’s largest indoor go-karting circuit and caters for all ages and experience levels with single karts, duo karts for people with passengers (young children) and junior karts for children aged 7-11 years old. When you are done, there is a café and licensed bar available noting that drinking needs to be done ‘after’ driving the karts. Aside from go-karting, HI-Voltage Entertainment offers two 9-hole indoor glow-in-the-dark mini-golf experiences. Hi-Voltage is open on weekdays from 9:00am to 10:00pm and is located on Hubert Street in Belmont.

To book please click here.

V8 Drive Day at Barbagallo Raceway

Get Dad’s engine revving with an exhilarating V8 driving experience with V8 Drive Day. This is one of the closest experiences to a V8 Supercar you can get your hands on, as you will be driving on the Barbagallo Raceway in Wanneroo. Put Dad in the driver’s seat of a Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon, or even allow one of the highly experienced and certified instructors to take him to top speed. Dad will have the chance to speak with local and state champion race drivers and receive coaching tips. V8 Drive Day is open on weekdays from 8:00am to 5:00pm. Packages can include driving 4 laps (one sighting lap and 3 fast laps) in a purpose-built V8 racer car. Packages range from $130 - $850 and with so many to choose from, you can tailor any of their high-speed experiences to suit Dad easily.

For more information click here.

Treetop Adventures

For dads who love adventure and intense physical activity, treetop adventures provide the opportunity to test both physicality and courage. You will need to put aside at least a half-day and if going as a family, check minimum ages, which vary between 8 and 10 depending on the venue. Operators advise you wear loose clothing, closed shoes and if you are intending to use the zip line, a shirt that covers your shoulders so your harness can be easily fitted. There are two operators to consider:

Climb Zone in Bullsbrook and Tree Adventure who operate in Lane Poole Reserve and Yanchep Park. Challenges include obstacle courses, the flying fox, suspended tree-top bridges, a climbing wall and for the really adventurous, the air-borne skateboard.

Axe Throwing

You can’t get much more violent than throwing an axe. It is a little disturbing that there is enough demand in Perth to support three permanent axe-throwing venues. Each venue comes with a range of axes to choose from but also allows the public to bring their own. What kind of person collects their own throwing axes; we don’t really know?

Nevertheless, feedback suggests that a half-day of axe throwing actually makes for a great day out and gives Dad, and the family, a chance to unleash the repressed Viking in us all. The minimum age is 13 but anyone under the age of 18 needs to be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Axe-throwing is surprisingly popular with women, so all are welcome. On weekends in particular, the venues are often fully booked so ensure you arrive on time, or you will miss your slot. Check out the venues on our list below.

Activity venues

[widget-v2-html]data-prop-widget-view=map data-prop-widget-mode=discover data-prop-region=perth-and-surrounds data-prop-type=attractions data-prop-categories=192005 data-prop-smartlinks=Axe Throwing::?categories=192005&type=attractions&region=perth-and-surrounds&siteval=Axe%20Throwing;Go-Karting ::?categories=97336&type=attractions&region=perth-and-surrounds&siteval=Go-Karting%20;Driving::?categories=70015&type=attractions&region=perth-and-surrounds&siteval=Driving;Paintballing ::?categories=70047&type=attractions&region=perth-and-surrounds&siteval=Paintballing%20 [/widget-v2-html]