My name is Alfred and I am almost 2 years old and I am a very experienced traveller. Hence the 8 hour flight to Australia is piece of cake for both me and my parents.
Transport
We took a plane from Singapore to Brisbane and rented a car in Brisbane airport.
Reason
We have many reasons to fly into Brisbane but foremost a visit to Byron Bay has always been on my parents wish list.
Itinerary
Our holiday began with visiting family at the Sunshine coast, which is 1 hour drive north of Brisbane. Before driving towards Byron Bay we went to see Australia Zoo established by the legend Steve Irwin. It is the best Zoo I have ever been to. In Australia Zoo it is possible to feed the kangaroos and touch the koala bears. The kangaroos are in a huge area where they have a lot of space to roam. There are not that many animals in the zoo but the amount of animals was perfect for me when I am not even 2 years old.
We stayed 2 nights at Halcyon House by Cabarita Beach: https://halcyonhouse.com.au,which was 30 minutes’ drive north of Byron Bay. It a very small luxury hotel and not particular child friendly, but the hotel staff was very friendly and very child accommodating. They made the best spaghetti bolognaise for me. Cabarita is a small surfer beach and the town only have a few shops. The view from Norries Head was amazing and we were able to spot whales and dolphins from there. Cabana Cabarita Beach is a cute little coffee shop located in a camper appreciated by my coffee loving parents. The coffee shop is located on the other side of the road from the playground.
We left Cabrita Beach in the morning and drove to The Farm, which is located few kilometers outside Byron Bay. Since I live in a big city it is so much fun to watch farm animals such as chickens, pigs, cows and horses. The Farm has a great playground. It is also a very nice place to eat lunch. It is possible to order take away and sit at one of the tables located around the Farm, which we did.
In Byron we stayed 3 nights at Elements of Byron: http://www.elementsofbyron.com.au. A very family friendly beach front resort with private self-serving villa’s. The resort is located 3 km from downtown Byron Bay, but it is possible to take a 10 minutes solar train ride from the resort. This is a fun activity in itself. The resort is located next to a former industrial area that now host some nice boutiques and cafés. There are lots of activities at the Elements such as nature playground, tennis court etc. We did not use the beach very much since it was still winter in Australia and a little cold.
Besides the beaches around Byron Bay it is also worth take the walking route to see the Byron Lighthouse. My parents had to carry my stroller since I was sleeping most of the way to the Lighthouse. Again we saw dolphins swimming in the ocean.
On the way back to Brisbane we stopped in Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. It is a nice place to see koalas and kangaroos but since we arrived a Saturday afternoon there were a lot of visitors and the kangaroos were tired and just laying around relaxing.
We stayed the last night in Brisbane due to an early flight back to Singapore the next morning. The Brisbane Botanic Garden is fun to play in with a nice playground and the River Quay Green South Bank is also child friendly with activities and a manmade beach.
We love Australia and it is not the last time visiting. When I get older I would like to learn how to surf and my parents have promised me that I can take surfing lessons in Australia when I get older.
Price
High end due to the hotels.
Stretch
1 week.