Please help - 1 week in Australia/NZ
 

I have a week to go anywhere with my two girls (9 and 5 years old) before going to Hong Kong for a family reunion. (Before I got my geography straight I told the girls we could go to Australia;) We will be flying from DC during the last week of March. I would appreciate some help focusing our trip, since I'm not sure what to expect.

About us:
Kids are good travelers. They want to see kangaroos, koalas, and wildlife. They are fine on road trips and they enjoy beaches. We appreciate local insight and tourist icons (the Sydney Opera House for example) but would like to avoid tourist traps. Our most recent trips have been to Southern California, North Shore Oahu, Toronto, Seattle, Cancun, and Hong Kong.

Flight constraints:
Inbound - can fly directly into SYD or connect via AKL (8 hr layover) to BNE
Outbound - none

General plans (so far):
I have been thinking that we would fly via AKL and get out to walk around the city before going to BNE. Spend 3 days in BNE, see koalas/kangaroos, and Gold Coast. Fly to SYD for 2-3 days. Off to HKG.


Questions:

1. Is getting out to see AKL during an 8 hour layover (on a Saturday) worth the hassle? Flight gets in at 7:55am, departs at 4pm.

2. Is Lost Pine Sanctuary a good place to see/touch koalas and kangaroos?

3. Any recommendations on what to do if based in BNE? Gold Coast/Surfers Paradise?

4. How is the drive from BNE to SYD? Is there a place in between that would have interesting wildlife/scenery that we should stop for a night?

5. Any other recommendations for cities to visit, things to do? In other words, what would you do if you have a free week to spend with two young explorers?

6. In general what is the weather like at the end of March?

Thank you all in advance for your help!

1. No. By the time you get through immigration, customs, bio security and time for check in for AKL-BNE you do not have much useful time. AKL skybus https://www.skybus.co.nz/auckland-city-express
2. Is ~OK. Touristy. And on the Sunshine Coast (north of BNE) better for the kids:- http://www.australiazoo.com.au/
3. Gold Coast is very touristy. It has theme parks
4. Terrible. A lot of large trucks. Do not drive BNE SYD: fly
5. Take your time to see places and not rush from place to place.
6. Good. A good time to visit.

Note public holidays about this time (and school holidays)
30 Mar 2018 Good Friday
2 Apr 2018 Easter Monday

Is there any particular reason that you want to fly into Brisbane? I would go for the direct flight to SYD. Auckland is pretty boring compared to the rest of NZ, and even if your girls are great travellers, I'd budget on a lazy first day to get used to the time difference, not a big day of sightseeing and then another flight.

I'd personally just pick Sydney and stick with that. You can overnight in the Blue Mountains, the weather should still be warm enough that you can swim, take a trip down the Royal National Park, which has some excellent beaches (avoid the nude ones ;)). Taronga Zoo has everything you need in terms of native wildlife, although state law dictates that you cannot hold a koala in NSW. There are even some pretty easily accessible campsites near Sydney where you will be surrounded by kangaroos and wallabies in the morning (or you can just do a day trip). You can head to Bondi and get fish and chips and eat it in the park next to the beach.

When we had OzFest in Surfer's Paradise last May, we visited the Carrumbin Wildlife Sanctuary a few miles outside town. Take a look at the photos I took there and see what they offer. The place is big enough that they have a small train you can ride around on. Plenty of beach right there in Surfer's for the kids, too, without having to drive off somewhere. Yes, it is touristy, and you'd probably want to avoid the place during school holidays, but might be perfect for the kids.
Carrumbin Wildlife Sanctuary PHOTOS

https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel-Au...9_100222-M.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel-Au...9_104557-M.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel-Au...P1160958-M.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel-Au...P1160959-L.jpg

Surfer's Paradise PHOTOS

I went to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary a dozen or more years back and about all I can recall is walking in a pen with kangaroos, so can't be much help there.

One other place to consider north of Brisbane, on the Sunshine Coast, is Australia Zoo, associated with the late Steve Irwin. Don't know if his TV programs are still airing in the U.S, or whether your kids might be familiar with him, but just something to toss out there if they are. I've passed by it a bunch by both bus and train over the years but have never gone in. There's also an aquarium nearby in Mooloolaba.
http://www.australiazoo.com.au/
https://www.underwaterworld.com.au/

The Steve Irwin zoo is a couple hours from Brisbane. Fly. It's either Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast but I can never remember which is which.

Otherwise, if this isn't a high priority, I'd suggest the following to maximize Australian animals:

Skip NZ as you don't have enough time.

In Brisbane, take the boat trip (combined ticket) on the river to see the koalas. Be sure to walk over the bridge from downtown where you look down and see sharks in the water. There's an interesting tourist place to see different types of Australian sheep (with dog herding demo shows) and a variety of other animals, IIRC accessible easily by light rail and then a walk. It's a good place to feed (friendly hand raised) kangaroos and hold koalas too. The botanical gardens near the river sometimes have wildlife.

In Sydney, be sure to take the boat to the zoo (and ride the cable car to the top when you arrive, then work your way down the hill and back to the ferry--look for big birds such as pelicans and ostriches/emus walking around loose), take the (different) boat to Manley and see its small and somewhat quaint aquarium, ideally at a time when there are divers in with the sharks. Also go to the big Sydney aquarium; the place there where you walk through a glass "tunnel" surrounded by lots and lots of sharks (that followed me) is impressive. Sometimes you see wildlife in the botanical gardens.

In Melbourne, go the the zoo (my favorite), ideally at a quiet time so you can get close to the kangaroos in the walk through exhibit. There's also an aquarium and an interesting historical prison and market. Take the streetcar to the old beach resort town on the sea in a suburb of Melbourne. I also liked the penguin parade, but it's only practical to do it as a tour. I found one that left Melbourne in the afternoon and first stopped at a small private zoo or wildlife place where you could handle some Aussie animals. Then we went to a place with lots of birds nesting (this may be seasonal) and finally to the penguin parade. It was somewhat of a "hippie" tour run out of a backpacker hotel almost across from Victoria Market, so the guide and group were casual and fun, with an interesting mix of people (but nothing that would be inappropriate for children). Other tours to penguin parade do different schedules and itineraries, but penguin parade is after sunset, so expect to return to your hotel very late. If there's time, try to do at least part of the Great Ocean Road.

When I was in Brisbane, I looked at the logistics of getting to Australia Zoo without renting a car or taking a tour bus, meaning using public transportation only. I decided not to try.

You could take the train from Roma Street to Beerwah and it's about 80 minutes. The zoo runs a free shuttle from Beerwah, just 5 minutes away.

So, get from hotel to train, wait, take 80 minute train ride than shuttle bus to the zoo, It sounds like about two hours to me.

Thank you Mwenenzi. I think I'll save AKL for another time.

bensyd We would fly into Brisbane as a base for the Lone Pine koala place. Maybe stay somewhere easy near the beach in Gold Coast while we get time adjusted. Really appreciate your tips. Thanks!


Hi tom911 thanks for posting your albums. I think my kids would really enjoy some of those places in Carrumbin.

Thank you MSPeconomist. I'm glad there's a consensus to skip AKL. The Steve Irwin zoo looks like it's really well done and I think the trip to/fro Brisbane will be nice. The boat ride to Lone Pine is a good idea too. I hadn't seen that.

or Manly. :cool:

If you decide on SYD try the Roar and Snore at Taronga Zoo. You can sleep overnight at the zoo (pretty comfortable too) and have a number of interactive experience - feeding giraffes and sea lions. The price also includes the day at the zoo.

If it's purely to visit a zoo I really wouldn't bother. Taronga has everything you'd need. The Gold Coast has a fair bit to offer families (theme parks mainly) but it's a city built on tourism (and investment scams:D), sort of a hybrid between Panama City, FL and South Beach.

North of Brisbane is much nicer. Noosa is very nice and would tie in with a visit to the Australia Zoo. You could also check out Fraser Island.

Thank you FlossieFlyer and bensyd. I think we will try to stay overnight at Taronga. Their booking calendar is only open thru December right now.

If we go to Melbourne instead of Brisbane, is the penguin parade worth seeing? I've read reviews that it's been spoiled by misbehaving tour groups. Is there anything else you'd recommend in Melbourne?

Thanks again, everyone.

Looking at hotels for SYD. Is staying near the airport and taking the train into the CBD/harbour area a hassle?