Eastern Australia
October 2022
After settling into the bottom of New Zealand in 2022 we finally made an international trip to Australia! It was the shortest and easiest international flight we’ve ever done though!
Danielle had a conference to attend on the Gold Coast so we decided to make a family trip out of it. We flew into Sydney, stayed in a motorhome/campervan/RV at Newcastle, Port Macquarie, and Coffs Harbour, and then stayed at Paradise Resort for a few days on the Gold Coast.
Sydney
We didn’t spend much time at all in Sydney. We immediately booked an Uber XL to Apollo for our campervan and set out for Newcastle. We’ll definitely have to come back at some point and explore this area again.
Newcastle
The first thing we did once we arrived to Newcastle was stop for groceries and dinner. We started our trip with Mexican food at {antojitos} and we continued eating Mexican food every chance we had. There’s not a lot of TexMex in southern NZ and after spending our entire lives eating it we had missed it terribly.
We stayed at the NRMA Stockton Beach which was a pretty good drive from the city area of Newcastle but it was right on a beautiful beach. And there’s a ferry that you can ride to quickly get to town.
Ferry to Nobbys Beach
The first day we walked down to the ferry port and took a ride over to the city area. We had lunch at Cirque which had lovely staff and tasty food. We then explored the Foreshore Park and playgrounds and stopped for the kids to play in the water at Nobbys Beach. It was a little too cold for us grownups, but the kids didn’t mind getting wet.
We came across a ton of Bluebottle jellyfish which unbeknownst to us can sting. We did tell the kids not to touch them but they didn’t listen - luckily nobody was stung! They were beautiful and it was our first experience seeing them. We headed back to the campervan and had some leftovers and a movie night (most nights ended in movie nights).
Cameron Park
We headed to Cameron Park the next day to satisfy our thrill-seeking in climbing high amongst the trees at Treetops Adventure. Before we arrived we stopped at the Pasterfield Sports Complex which had a great playground for the kids. We then headed to grab a quick lunch at Mad Mex which reminded us of Chipotle or Freebirds in the states (told you Mexican food would be a recurring theme).
The Treetops Adventure was one of the highlights of the trip. In retrospect Pax was a little too young (almost 4 years old at the time) although they did cater to him. He was just a little too scared of the heights. Danielle took the girls to do some of the more advanced climbing while Donnie hung out with the boys. Milo and the girls loved it and we tried to stop at another Treetops (they have several in Australia) but the timing didn’t work out for it.
Stockton Beach
When we arrived back to the NRMA campground the kids were ready to play at the beach again so we put them in their swimsuits and walked right over to Stockton Beach that the campground was located on. They’re definitely getting used to the colder weather of Invercargill because it was much too cold for us parents.
Nelson Bay
Our next destination was Port Macquarie but along the way (well, actually a good deal out of the way) was the highly recommended Toboggan Hill Park so we decided to head up to the Nelson Bay area and explore for a bit.
Toboggan Hill Park
We didn’t plan to spend too much time here, but there was so much to do we ended up spending about 4 hours. First we waited in a (very long) line to do the main attraction: the toboggan. Pax rode with Danielle and Milo rode with Donnie. Along the way up the track Donnie dropped his phone out of the toboggan (they warn you not to get your phone or camera out). Donnie got his phone back but let’s just say he broke a few rules. After the toboggan ride, roller skating, bouncy castles, a maze, and a train ride, we headed to Port Macquarie.
Port Macquarie
We arrived late to the NRMA Port Macquarie Holiday Park but there was still an hour or so of daylight still available so the kids headed to the playground next door. Town Beach Park has an amazing playground and facilities that we took advantage of the entire stay in Port Macquarie. It was so nice to have this literally next door.
Our first day in Port Macquarie we had a “reset” day where we didn’t have anything planned or any outings. We just relaxed at the campground and park. We did head to the beach in the afternoon which was also right by the campground. The kids did some playing in the water but most of the time they enjoyed playing in the sand and with the stick structures some kids had created ahead of us. They took turns burying each other which meant a good shower was due for everyone before we headed to our dinner. We booked a table for Luna Bonita (yes, Mexican food) and it might have been the best food we had on our trip.
Koala Animal Hospital
The next day we slept in and had slow start (still coming off our reset day) but then we headed to the highly recommended Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie. This was such a neat place. We had a self-guided tour but there was a guide on site that told us the stories of all the rescued koalas within the facility. One koala was blind but still managed to climb trees and somehow jump between limbs. Milo’s favorite thing was learning how many poos a koala has every day - 200 :)
We picked up some lunch from Agostina and headed to Livvi’s Place for a picnic before setting off for our next stop along the eastern coast - Coffs Harbour.
Coffs Harbour
We stayed at the BIG4 Holiday Park in Coffs Harbour and it was probably our favorite of the three. NRMA’s in Newcastle and Port Macquarie were fantastic but this one was better suited for the kids and in general there were just a lot more kids playing around at the park. There was a jumping pillow, pool, playground, etc. The kids also made friends quickly with the neighbors and played together very nicely. We happened to be located right next to the laundry facilities here so we took advantage of that and washed a few loads as soon as we arrived.
Whale Watching
Our first morning in Coffs Harbour we woke early to get to whale watching with Whale Watch Experience. This was an amazing experience. One of the best parts was Mack the dog / whale watcher. Any time there was a whale above water he would spot it first and start barking - loved it! This was the closest we had ever been to whales and it was beautiful.
Park Beach
After our morning on the ocean we headed to Surf Club restaurant for lunch. We enjoyed the food and the view from the outdoor table. Afterwards we headed right across the road to the Park Beach area. This was a wonderful spot for the kids to play. Some pools had formed from the receding tide which created “hot tubs” (as the kids called them). We let the kids play here for an hour or two before heading back to the campground for the evening.
Gold Coast
The next morning we stopped for breakfast at Cafe Aqua (great breakfast menu!) and then it was time to head to the Gold Coast. Danielle was attending (and presenting at!) a RANZCOG conference at the conference center. We decided to spoil the kids a bit and booked Paradise Resort - a hotel and waterpark all-in-one. Danielle and the kids stayed at the resort while Donnie returned the campervan about an hour north in Brisbane and picked up the rental car.
We won’t comment much here on our thoughts of Paradise Resort but we’ll just say we had wished we just booked a standard hotel with a pool instead. The resort just seemed to be overbooked, the pool water was dirty, and it was quite chaotic. The kids absolutely loved it though - we’d only consider it again if not during peak holiday time.
The kids loved all the activities there - ice skating, slime making, hair dressing, cookie baking, arcade, etc. We spent a couple of days at the resort and ventured out a couple more while Danielle was at her conference.
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary
We had hoped to spot a quokka while in Australia (we learned they’re not on this side of Australia in the wild, but hoped to spot one in a zoo) and unfortunately we did not find one! But we did have a first-time experience petting kangaroos at the Currumbin Wildelife Sanctuary. This was a pretty typical zoo that we’re used to but the yard with 100 or so kangaroos was amazing! We had never pet a kangaroo and were surprised to learn they are SUPER soft - like a bunny. The kids loved feeding the kangaroos and petting them on the back. We even saw a couple of joeys clinging close to their mommas.
Springbrook National Park
We had hoped to make it to both Dorrigo and Springbrook but didn’t have enough time to do both. While at the Gold Coast we did make a day trip out to Springbrook but the weather would just not cooperate for us. It was a cold damp day with heavy rain at times but we made the most of it.
Our first stop was Purling Brook Falls but it was raining heavy when we arrived so we looked for a local cafe while we waited for the rain to stop. One of the cafes close by wasn’t really friendly to a single dad and four kids so we stopped by a different one really close to the Purling Brook Falls carpark. It was called Dancing Waters Cafe and the host and food were just what we needed that cold morning.
After warming up a bit we headed to a couple of lookouts Canyon Lookout and Best of All Lookout. Canyon Lookout was mostly clouds and by the time we made it down to the Best of All Lookout there was nothing to see on the lookout - just a white wall of clouds! But we made the most of it and enjoyed the short hike/jog in the rain.
We then tried our luck on the other side of the mountain. It’s a bit of a drive but the kids napped and soon we arrived to Natural Bridge. There was no rain finally but still a bit cold and we had not brought any jackets (smart one, Dad!) Luckily the Dancing Waters Cafe shop had some crafts from local sellers and were able to purchase a couple of beanies for the boys. We explored the entire area and the kids enjoyed seeing the cave carved out by the falls.
We decided we’d try for the Best of All Lookout one more time (40 minutes out of the way) before we headed home. We drove with blue skies and even saw about 10 wallabies on the way, but slowly as we arrived closer and closer the skies darkened and rain picked up (in hindsight it may have just been a cloud system stationary over the higher peak there). We didn’t bother to get out this 2nd time around and just headed back to the resort for some arcade time to finish off the day.
Brisbane
We ended our trip in Brisbane and decided to explore South Bank for a day after many recommendations from our friends on Instagram.
IT WAS PERFECT!
We loved our time here so so much. First we settled in for a picnic (leftovers from the failed rainy Springbook adventure) and then we headed to the public pools Streets Beach and Boat Pool. The water was a little cold but (as always) the kids weren’t bothered by it. Even Donnie jumped in for a bit to cool off on the warm day. Once we had our fill of the pool we walked over to the nearby playground which was awesome as well.
We wanted to visit the Wheel of Brisbane and the Brisbane Sign but the kids were worn out (understandably) so we called it a day and headed to our hotel for our last night before our early flight home.
We enjoyed our trip so much and wish we had had more time to explore. We’ll definitely have time to visit again while we live so close on the South Island of New Zealand!