Christmas 2015 sees us packing up from Auckland and all decamping to Bribie Island just off the coast of Brisbane for a family get together. The brief? A relaxing break for our family, spanning in age from 3 – 61 years old, where we can spend time together as well as get out and forge some family memories together.
Location: given that most of us have been to Queensland a fair few times, and one lives there permanently, there was little sense in basing ourselves in the big city or on the Gold Coast so we went to the relaxing island off the coast of Brisbane called Bribie Island. Bribie is a large island in Moreton Bay and is accessible by bridge (which worked out really well for us).
There are lots of choices for accommodation and we chose to stay in Woorim, a quiet hamlet on the north east point of the island. Having spent some time here, I would also recommend Bongaree if you want more amenities on hand (shops, cafés, markets etc.)
Travel:
We came from different parts of NZ and Australia to get there. Caleb and I flew in from Auckland on Virgin Australia – a code share with AirNZ. I booked about 10 weeks in advance and paid $524 NZD for Caleb and I to fly one way to Brisbane. That is good for Christmas time. I wouldn’t be rushing out to fly with Virgin again, the inflight entertainment didn’t work (it runs on wifi and it seemed as if there was just not enough juice!) which led to a long flight!
Flying home, I flew on emirates. what a different experience! These flights were marginally more. I think that Caleb and I flew home for about $700 NZD.
Getting around:
Bribie Island is about 40 mins north of the airport so I would recommend renting a car. Once on the island, most things are within walking distance. We stayed in Woorim, which is away from the main area of Bongaree, but has a small supermarket, bottle store, pub, and bakery (and a few other shops). We did a few walks along the beach but mainly drove down to the supermarket (there is a well-stocked Woolworths on the island) and to Bongaree for dinner, shopping and activities.
Accommodation:
We rented a holiday let through the Professionals. The three bedroom apartment beside the Bribie Island golf course was perfect for our family. We also rented a smaller apartment for our teenagers and young adults closer to the beach. Our apartment had a pool within the complex which led to great family fun. My wonderful sister Sarah sorted all of the accommodation but it cost approximately $950 AU for both apartments for the week (which isn’t bad for the week following Christmas).
What to do:
- Swim
Given that it is an island, there are heaps of beaches to swim at. We spent our time at Bongaree Beach (even though we were staying at Woorim, go figure?) where you can hire stand up paddle boats and small sailing boats to enjoy the water.
Our resort had a great pool which we all enjoyed. For the time of year that we were there, a pool was essential. Oliver, my six year old nephew, was dressed and ready to go for a swim each morning. Our pool also had an adjacent playground and a BBQ area. Why leave the resort?
- Walk
There were heaps of walks through the national park on the island, great if you are an outdoorsy type.
- Fishing trip
We hired two boats on our last day on the. Island from Bribie Island Boat Charters. For five hours on the water we only paid $180 AU for both boats, what a bargain! The people who worked there were fantastic, they made my niece and nephew (aged 3 and 6) feeling at ease and safe in the boats, showed us the best places to fish from (although there were no bites that day), and made sure that we were feeling confident before heading out. While we didn’t catch anything, we did have a great meal of fresh fish and chips from Sylvan Seafood on the island. It was great to be able to tie the boats up on the jetty here.
Day trips to Brisbane and the Gold Coast
– shopping in Queen St. Mall
Being on an overseas adventure doesn’t always lead naturally to shopping but it was just after Chritsmas and many of us had funny foreign money burning holes in our pocket. Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall is a great place for shopping. It has a mix of high end stores, such as those in the David Jones complex, high street chain stores such as Zara, H and M, and Forever 21, as well as souvenir stores to buy your fill of koala or kangaroo merchandise. We parked at the David Jones complex and shopped for a few hours.
– Movie World and Wet ‘n’ Wild
In order to suit all of our families needs, we did head down to both Movie World and Wet ‘n’ Wild. These are great theme parks that work for all ages. We opted to buy the multipark ticket, which gave access to both parks (and SeaWorld) for seven days for $99 AU. Even though we were only planning on visiting the parks for a day, it worked out cheaper to buy this way. Purchasing the tickets was quite an ordeal! We had to line up for about 50 minutes and the went through a slow process of getting our photos taken.
Once in the park, we split off to different zones – thrill rides for the young adults (and Nana!) to more sedate rides for the young kids. The rides can have a long wait, so make sure you bring your patience! Retrospectively, we probably didn’t give ourselves enough time at Movie World. My suggestion is try and arrive in time for opening.
Wet ‘n’ Wild, while probably as busy as Movie World, seems a little more relaxed. It is a mix of thrill rides and swimming pools. Highlights for us as a family were the the lazy river and wave pool. Caleb and I chose to eat to Wet ‘n’ Wild, it was quite expensive. It is possible to bring a chilly bin of food in with you which could offset costs. While theme parks are not everyone’s cup of tea, for us they proved to be a great day out for our whole family.
Eating:
We didn’t eat out much but did stop at this deli for lunch one day, the food was delicious, fresh and reasonably priced. For four of us, it was about $40 AU for our lunch and drinks. The setting was great; enjoying our delicious salads and quiches amid a nursery on a hot day was a great find.
RSL
As a New Zealander, I would be surprised if someone suggested that we dine at the local RSA. So my expectations were really low for the Bribie Island RSL. There were multiple places to dine (formal or informal), a kids play area, and lots and lots of pokies. We chose to dine in the formal dining room, and while we were waiting we experienced one of those strange things in a Returned Serviceman’s League – a rememberance speech for the fallen. The food was delicious, portions were large and the service was fast. There are minor dress rules, like no jandals, and while they let me eat there (with my feet neatly tucked under my table) I was denied entry to the pokies. RSLs are such Australian institutions and are definitely worth a visit.
Tips and tricks:
- Australian suppermarkets don’t sell alcohol; you need to buy this from the adjacent bottle stores.
- wear plenty of sunscreen! Sunburn is NOT fun on holiday and it can get quite hot here on the island
- factor in activities for all of the family – antique shops for nana, theme parks for teenagers and young adults, expensive shopping for young adults, relaxation and socialisation for parents.
Travelling with kids:
There is no daylight savings in use daylight savings which means that it is light around 5 am. It might be worthwhile to get the kids to take a siesta or find some accommodation with light blocking curtains or blinds.
There are great playgrounds on the island – Bongaree Beach has some neat places.
The Peterson Odyssey 