Brisbane, Australia

[chieni]

We will be going to Brisbane for 2 weeks in late September. We already have our accommodations sorted out but I would like recommendations for child-friendly places to go to. We have an active 2-yr-old who will keep mom busy while dad is attending a conference. If you have any other recommendations on travels to Brisbane with a 2-yr-old, I'd greatly appreciate it!

[rachelw]

I live in Brisbane at the moment and depending on where you are staying there's lots to do with toddlers. If you are staying around Southbank it's a fantastic place to take kids. There's play equipment as well as great swimming areas for little ones. Make sure you take togs. You can walk from Southbank to the museum and also to the State Library which has a play area for babies to 5 year olds called The Corner. They do stories and have lots of different games, equipment and activities for kids to do. The Museum of Modern Art usually has a number of activities for children to do that tie in with their current exhibition (Picasso at the moment). All of these things are free. You can also take a ferry ride from Southbank to Orleigh Park at West End which has a fantastic playground for toddlers. They can pretty much do everything in the playground by themselves. If you want to see some Australian animals you can catch the ferry from Southbank to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary at Fig Tree Pocket. This is quite a long trip. A bus might be quicker. You can hold a koala, feed kangaroos and the like. Have a good holiday and let me know if you need more ideas. I am moving to Taipei in September. You will have to give me some hints for things to do there.

[chieni]

Thank you for all the advice on Brisbane. It was a wonderful trip for us. We stayed near Dutton park and took the bus into South Bank daily. We went to all the museums and the botanical gardens, and of course Streets Beach. I was impressed with how child-friendly the city seemed--there were lots of parks and each museum had interactive displays for kids or activities for kids to be involved in. We even went to a book reading at the library during the writers festival and my daughter actually listened to the readers! We also took the ferry, which my daughter liked a lot. Her favorite, though, was definitely the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. We took the boat there then took the bus back and it was a lot of fun. She now likes to tell everyone about koalas and kangaroos. It is a great city, one I would definitely recommend for people with kids.