Cairns to Brisbane

Hi,

Last August myself, partner and 2 year old drove from Brisbane to Cairns. We stayed mostly in youth hostels which often had family rooms which were good value. Their are some great activities for the whole family along this route and i would recommend a visit to daintree national park a few hours north of Cairns, we stayed in Cow bay at(crocodylus village) our 2 year old loved sleepind in the huts. A good day trip while in Cairns is to Green Island. Cairns also has a good man made beach as does Brisbane. Airlie Beach has good snorkeling and there is a company called fantasea which has a floating pontoon out at sea with under water viewing chambers and sub rides to allow children to see the fish. Whale watching at Hervey bay is great and would recommend staying at Colonial log cabins. Also while driving down check out the big fruit. Hope this has given you a few ideas. e -mail if you need any other info.

Stupot

Husband and I and the two year old also did the Brisbane to Cairns (and return) road trip last year in July, over 3 weeks and had a great time. We mainly stayed in all sorts of places but found that villas in caravan parks and on site caravans were really great. Highlights for us:

Daintree NP
Lake Barrine and Lake Eacham, in the table lands
Townsville
Cape Hillsborough; and
Hinchinbrook Island.

As locals, the following are also worth a visit:

Fraser Island,
Rainbow Beach
the sunshine coast (Coolum/ Mooloolaba)
Sunshine coast hinterland around Maleny
Australia Zoo

Happy to provide further details if you want more info. Enjoy your trip to the sunshine State.

MrMurphy

Hi,
You will enjoy this trip with your kids. For fun free places visit the Strand water park on the esplanade at Townsville, the Cairns Esplanade also has a water park with lagoon. Redcliffe north of Brissie also has a top swimming pool, playground and walking tracks along the foreshore. In Brisbane Southbank lagoon is unreal, you can take a cruise up the river on a city cat (boat) for a reasonable rate, you can get off and get on under same ticket ( Ask driver when Paying ) Newfarm is one of the stops, it is a beautiful park with a boardwalk along the river and a top playground. Rockhampton and Bundaberg both have parks with playgrounds and small but free zoos that the kids will enjoy. There is a crocodile farm just north of Rockhampton that the kids will love, I cant remember the name of it at the moment (perhaps try an internet search). There are the usual attractions, that will depend on your budget. I think Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo is good and reasonably priced. Whale watching is great in Hervey Bay. There are so many good places to take your kids, I could go on forever! Anyway I hope this has been of help to you, we have a website that covers holidaying with kids in Australia check out http://www.byokids.com.au for more info. Any questions feel free to email us, we are currently in NZ building that part of the site, so it may take a couple of days to get back to you. Have fun

leah

Hi

Don't forget the Whitsundays. Haven't stayed for many years but it is the absolute highlight of the Queensland coast.

August if a perfect time to travel in terms of weather and missing the school holiday periods.

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>Redcliffe north of Brissie also has a top swimming pool, playground and walking tracks along the foreshore. <hr></blockquote>

Redcliffe is nice for familes. It is close to Brisbane, very close to Airport. Accommodation is much cheaper than Sunshine coast or Gold coast. We loved the holiday house we stayed in in Redcliffe. Pool, spa, internet, xbox and boardgames. New and very comfortable. find it here: http://holidaydeals.net.au[L=]http://holidaydeals.net.au[/L]

I will try again http://holidaydeals.net.au</a>

Wanna see Koala bears ?
Just go to Magnetic Island , just great !!!
Don't miss the Whitsundays as said before bygalaxygirl !
Have fun

We loved the Night Zoo, just outside of Cairnes. A dinner outback style (well, not great food bu fun), an evening tour of the zoo including petting koalas and wombats, a cowboy band and dancing- a fun night out with the kids. We stayed for a couple of nights in Crocodylus Rainforest Village north of Cairns- you can find it on the internet. Quite inexpensive. You might consider trying to find a house rental around Cairnes- although we stayed in Palm Cove, just north of Cairnes. I didn't like Cairns itself- too commerical and big- a real city. I strongly recommed that if you go out onto the reef that you take the huge mega boat with the semi submersable, despite the cost. We chose to go on a small boat and would have loved it but the water at that time of year is cold and we were miserable in it. And we went in July, so it will be even colder in August. I didn't like the idea of so many people and such a big show and tell- but in the end, we didn't see much of the reef as the water was a bit rough and cold. We would have had a much better experience with the big ship with its viewing windows. We were expecting tropics, but it really wasn't. And the swimming pools sound great, but almost none of them are heated and it is winter. My kids got in, but again, they were cold. I do not understand the obsession with unheated pools- I like my water warm.

We thought that Tjapukai should also not be missed- (www.tjapukai.com.au)- Aboriginal dancing and art, teaches throwing a spear and a boomerang, and how to play a digeredoo- staffed by Aboriginees. We went both in the day and to the evening meal and show. That was great, but the "gourmet" wasn't very good nor was it very gourmet. We took the duck trip up in the mountains above Cairn and that is the thing my kids most talk about when remembering the trip.

You might also hunt up mockchoc, who usually hangs out on your choice and get stuffed- she has kids (alhtough they are a bit older) and lives south of Cairnes. We took a train down as we didn't have the time, but agree that also Steve Irwins zoo is great.