Australia Trip Report: Balancing Fun for Everyone

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It’s hard to believe over a week has passed since we returned from our awesome trip to Australia! I have a whole queue of blog posts started about some of the finer details of our trip, but I wanted to start out by giving an overview of what went down while we were there and how we managed to have fun as adults while still finding experiences that would be enjoyable for our sweet two-year-old. Every day was a balancing act, but it was worth it to be sure everyone walked away from this trip happy.

Day 1: Morning arrival in Sydney – After being picked up at the airport by an old friend of my husband’s we got settled into our flat and let Nathan open his birthday cards.

Then, we decided we were ready for coffee and a snack. We hadn’t had time to scout out all of the cafes in the area yet, so we decided on churros con chocolate with our coffee.

It was a cool morning so we looked out on the water as we ate and then headed down to the beach to scout it out. We spent about an hour or so walking around before we realized we were ready for some real food. We found another spot on the opposite end of the beach to enjoy an adult beverage, eat some seafood, and relax for a few minutes before we headed back to our flat for a nap.

We had to set an alarm so we wouldn’t sleep the whole afternoon away and once it went off we went exploring a little more. We found an out of the way playground that was super toddler friendly and played a bit. Bonus in that it was right next to a beer, wine, and spirits store, so we grabbed some beverages to take back to the flat and headed home. We were all still exhausted, but we managed to stay awake long enough to eat some takeout food and watch a movie before bedtime. We were definitely satisfied with our first day and felt ready to conquer some sights on our second day.

Day 2: Exploring Sydney – This was our great big tourist day! We bought Big Bus tickets and saw a lot of the sights around Sydney including a lengthy walk around the Sydney Opera House and Royal Botanic Gardens. We had an awesome kid-friendly lunch at Social Brew Cafe. Then, we checked out Darling Harbour, which was hopping, and wandered around a good bit before stopping to sample some food and drink while Penelope had her afternoon nap. The buses to and from Bondi made it easy to get back home after we had enough for the day and we ended up having takeout for dinner again once we were back at the flat.

Day 3: The Beaches – For our third day in Sydney, we decided to meet up with Nathan’s friend and her family. Her sweet daughter is almost the same age as Penelope so we were sure they would enjoy spending some time together. We took the ferry out to Manly Beach.

Once there, we spent some time walking around, playing at a local playground, digging in the sand, and walking around some before we had a tasty lunch and hopped on a ferry to Watson’s Bay. Both girls slept the whole ferry ride and for the first part of our visit to Watson’s Bay, so we took advantage of that time to have some ice cream! Once they woke up, we all went to the overlook there to check things out.

We grabbed a bus back to Bondi mid-afternoon and spent a little more time at the beach and playground there before we decided to have dinner out! Woohoo! Then, it was back to the flat for some time to relax.

Day 4: Taronga Zoo – I have a whole separate post I’m working on about our trip to Taronga, but let’s just say it was fantastic! You take a ferry from Circular Quay to get there, then a sky bucket ride if you want to go to the upper entry. There are animals galore including your typical zoo fare like elephants and giraffes, but there are also koalas, a walkthrough kangaroo area, sea lions, and a platypus. We felt like we could’ve exploredso much more, but were quite satisfied with the close animal encounters we had by early afternoon.

Since nap time was approaching, we headed back to Circular Quay on the ferry and found a local brewery for a flight of beer and some appetizers before we headed back to Bondi. The appetizers were quite filling, so by the  time we were back in Bondi, we just grabbed some dumplings and soup to take back to our flat for dinner.

Day 5: Bye-bye Sydney, Hello Brisbane – After breakfast and packing, Nathan needed to put in a bit of work, so Penelope and I had some time to explore on our own before our Uber driver picked us up. We ended up taking on a good bit of the Bondi to Bronte walk. It was gorgeous, but exhausting!

Then, we were off to the airport and on to Brisbane where a business colleague of my husband’s retrieved us from the airport and took us to a dinner party for some of the guests of the music festival my husband was attending. We played with stuffed animals and enjoyed great food and drink while getting to know new friends before we finally ventured to our Brisbane flat and quickly fell asleep for the night.

Day 6: Anniversary Day – We started out 5th anniversary morning at a great cafe and then had a nice walk to the Kurilpa Bridge before Nathan had to get serious about his work.

While he took some time to get himself mentally prepared for his clinic, Penelope and I found a playground at the park next to our flat and went to pick up some snacks at the local grocery store before heading back to the flat for a light lunch and a nap while Nathan taught. Once he was back, we ventured to the South Stanley Street area where we had found a Spanish tapas restaurant for our anniversary dinner (a bit of a tradition since we went to Spain for our honeymoon). Penelope enjoyed her first tastes of octopus and we picked up some dessert to bring back to our flat for later in the evening.

Then, Nathan was off to rehearsal while Penelope and I made our way home via the riverfront path. Once she was asleep and Nathan was home from rehearsal, we cracked open our anniversary wine and desserts and sat out on the balcony of the flat, taking in the city as we read letters we had written to each other on our wedding day and enjoyed each others company. It was really the perfect ending to our day.

Day 7: Exploring Brisbane – We had more time to explore the city the next day, so we took advantage. We were feeling a little guilty because we came to Australia fully prepared for running a couple of times each week, but we had yet to do so. With running clothes on, we took to the pavement and managed to get in nearly three miles before a playground break and then a little more running before breakfast. After we ate and got ourselves cleaned up, we decided to check out the Queensland Museum where we all enjoyed seeing the dinosaurs and wildlife exhibits and Penelope had a ball in the area that they have put together just for kids.

Then we ate some lunch and ventured across the river to the City Botanic Gardens. We enjoyed the gardens while Penelope napped and then headed back to the flat in time for Nathan to go teach again.

After he finished up, we ended up enjoying another small plates style dinner at a marvelous little spot we just happened to stumble upon called Wandering Cooks. After that, we took Penelope for gelato and then headed back to the flat for the night.

Day 8: Concert Day – Nathan had another clinic to teach and a concert to perform in this day, so Penelope and I struck out on our own after a delightful family breakfast and walk. We decided it was a good day for souvenir shopping, so we hit the shops at the Queen Street Mall to find gifts for her classmates and teachers (and maybe a couple of things for her too). Then, I took her back to the City Botanic Gardens because as we passed through the day before I noticed a killer playground that I knew she would love and I was right! I think she played for over an hour before it was time to walk back to the flat to have some lunch and a nap.

After nap, it was time to get cleaned up and head out for an early dinner so Nathan could head over to the concert for his sound check. Penelope and I lingered over dinner before we headed to the concert hall and enjoyed a lovely evening of music. She was attentive through the first three pieces as we waited for her dad to come out. She was thrilled to see him on stage and applauded loudly when he finished. I decided at that point not to press my luck, so walked out of the hall between pieces to wait in the lobby. As I carried her out, she hugged me tightly and said, “That was some good music!” My heart swelled.

Day 9: Art and Music and Food – We crammed a lot into this day! After breakfast, we walked, rode the Wheel of Brisbane, and hit the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art.

Then, we picked up sandwiches from the local grocery store for lunch before being picked up by a local percussion teacher and heading into a different part of the city for Nathan to teach a workshop. I got some downtime as Penelope napped and then there was a short reception before we went back to the city center to enjoy dinner with the organizers of the event. It was a fun day and so nice to watch Nathan in his element talking about percussion music.

Day 10: What We Really Came Here For – Our last day in Australia was the big one. We started out with a quick trip to Streets Beach (mostly because we had promised Penelope a trip to the beach in Brisbane and we were running out of time). Then, we got cleaned up and boarded a river boat bound for Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. This is another thing that warrants its own post, so I’m not going into a lot of detail here, but there was koala holding and kangaroo feeding involved. How can a day that includes those things not be awesome?

We had a little time to relax back at the flat before we got cleaned up and went to dinner for our last night in Australia at a fabulous restaurant, Libertine. It was a little drizzly as we made our way back to our flat following dinner, but we took our time. Without saying anything, I know that we were just savoring those final moments of our awesome family vacation.

At the end of our trip, I was just so happy that we had this time together as a family. We got to explore some great sights, and thanks to nap time, we had some nice time together as adults as well. Seeking out gardens and museums really works well for us at this point of our life together as a family.

The children’s exhibit that was on display during our visit to the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art (Day 9) was a perfect example of how we find experiences for our family that satisfy us as adults, but are also exciting and fun for Penelope. The “We Can Be Heroes” exhibit featuring the work of an indigenous artist, Tony Albert, had interactive computer displays for children to make themselves warriors, illuminated representations of the Mamu trickster spirits, cut and paste monster collages, and interactive animated collage monster digital displays.

Penelope had to go through the entire thing twice because she was enjoying it so much while we appreciated the beauty and humor of the artwork. Penelope obviously had fun while Nathan and I walked away knowing that we had seen something unique, creative and satisfying to us both as adults who crave culture and new experiences. It was a perfect example of the types of experiences we seek as we travel together as a family.

Are you interested in travel? Be sure to check out the Weekend Wanderlust Facebook group soon!