Three Days in Brisbane, Australia: Australia Series Part 2

On this day, we did many outdoor activities. Our first stop was Springbrook National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is much more scenic and larger than Burleigh — which is typically suggested as a place to visit. It is free to enter the park and typically takes five to seven hours if you do the park in its entirety. There are plenty of suspension bridges, waterfalls, rock pools, picnic spots and volcano tubs. However, we did a condensed itinerary where we walked Natural Bridge, which is a naturally formed arch over Cave Creek. There is a large waterfall that pours through the arch opening, and if you visit after sunset, you can see glow worms in the cave. There were also several bats sleeping when we visited during the day, so we didn’t venture too far in.

On the way out of the park, we visited the Tamborine Mountain glow worm caves. This was a guided tour where we got to learn about the glow worm and then walk through a completely pitch-black volcano tube to see them. If you get nervous in the dark, this may not be the best experience. Afterward, we headed to Gold Coast, which very much reminds me of South Beach, Miami. Lots of different beaches, tall skyscrapers and beautiful coastline. Despite being late summer/early fall in Australia, the water was extremely cold, so we did not get in at any of the beaches along the coast.

Yes, the K was intentional. For my birthday, we spent the day at the Lone Pine Sanctuary. This is the world’s first and largest koala sanctuary. We got there bright and early to see the various animals at the sanctuary. There is a large area where you can hand-feed free-range kangaroos. It was such a cool experience being able to see joeys (aka baby kangaroos), very large and muscular male kangaroos and free-roaming emus as well. There was also a wild lorikeet feeding, where the beautiful colorful birds fly through to a specific area of the sanctuary to be fed. I got to spend “koality time” with a koala and take a selfie with it in my arms. It smelled of fresh eucalyptus and its fur was so soft. We also went to the flight raptor show, where we got to learn about eagles, owls, kites and falcons and watch them showcase their agility. There were several other animals on display, but the cutest encounter we had was with the dingos. Very similar to dogs, as we were leaving the park, they were going on their walk, so we got to walk alongside them and chat with their carers. Like dogs, they were soft, loved pets and very sweet. This was probably the highlight of my trip.

After the sanctuary, we headed to Mt. Coot-Tha Botanic Gardens. It is recognized as Queensland’s premier subtropical botanical garden and sits on 56 hectares (138 acres) of land. It is free to visit and will take about two hours to walk through. There are several different areas of the park, which feature different flora and fauna specific to different geographies and climates.

North Stradbroke offers both outdoor adventures and relaxed beachside experiences. The island has pristine beaches, national parks and unique coastal scenery. Catch a water taxi from Cleveland to experience activities like whale watching, hiking, surfing, stand-up paddleboarding and wildlife encounters. We did the North Gorge walk, which was a scenic 30–45 minute trail. It has stunning ocean views where you can potentially spot dolphins, turtles and whales (if the right season, unfortunately we didn’t see any animals). You can also go down to Cylinder Beach for water sports and picnicking. We also went to Point Lookout to visit Headland Park to try to spot kangaroos (also unfortunately didn’t see any) to then visited the rock pools at Deadman’s Bay. It’s a great way to spend the day and unwind.