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family travel in Australia and the Pacific
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KidsHolidaysOnlinefamily travel in Australia and the Pacific |
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Sunshine Coast Attractions The Sunshine Coast region has many family attractions. But which ones are worth visiting? This page reviews a few of the places that we've visited and lets you know what to expect, how much it will cost you, if the attraction represented good value and if the kids enjoyed it. We visited in October 2001. Australia Zoo 
Australia Zoo is located at Beerwah which is on the Glass House Mountains Tourist Route. The admission price is around $40 for two adults and two kids. The place was having some renovations done when we visited, including a new entrance area and new enclosures.
There are plenty of native animals to see as well as some American alligators and plenty of snakes and lizards. There are lizards running all around the zoo so watch your step. There's a playground area for the kids and an outdoor diner for lunch.
The highlight of the day is the crocodile feeding (at 1.30pm). Its amazing to watch these huge reptiles launch themselves out of the water to take their food. You can hear the fear in the handlers voice as they attempt to get the crocs to jump up. Other things to see are the camels, the snake demonstration, the land tortoise, and the otters. The kids enjoyed seeing the crocs and snakes and got to meet Terri (Steve's wife).
Check the Australia Zoo website at
www.australiazoo.com.au
Aussie World and the Ettamogah Pub  Located on the Bruce Highway at Palmview the Ettamogah Pub is hard to miss as you drive by. The pub itself is well worth a look at (and a beer in). There's a bistro upstairs and a huge barn area out back. Behind the pub is Aussie World which is like a scaled down version of some of the bigger theme parks on the Gold Coast.
The rides here include three rides for the younger ones (a merry go round, car carousel and a train type ride). For the bigger kids there's the Wild Mouse roller coaster, mini golf, ferris-wheel, dodgem cars and a couple of others. The Luge is very popular and there are sheep to feed, ponies to ride and a sheep shearing demonstration to see. There's also a snake and reptile exhibition and craft and specialty shops. Just next door you can have a game of skirmish.
Entry is free and you only pay for the things you want. The Luge is $6.50 for three rides, pony rides are $3, the snake and reptiles is $2 a visit (you can put a snake round you neck if you like), and the rest of the rides are a couple of dollars each ride. We made use of a special offer which allowed the kids unlimited rides for 2 hours for $15 each.
There's a good selection of food at the diner or you can go back to the pub for lunch. Whenever there are rides involved the kids have a good time and this place was no exception. Check out the Aussie World web site at
www.aussieworld.com.au
Underwater World  Located on the wharf at Mooloolaba is Underwater World. The admission price was $55 for two adults and two kids. This is definitely on of the better aquariums we've visited.
The place is well laid out with plenty of room to move around and plenty to see and do. A huge underground walkway with sharks and stingrays inches from you're face, crocodiles, otters, seals, displays, touch pools, jelly fish on four levels. The seal show is great - very informative and goes for a good half hour.
Your admission price also entitles you to a ride on the Subsonic Adventure Ride, a simulated underwater roller coaster. (There are minimum height restrictions on this ride). The kids enjoyed themselves. Check out the Underwater World web site at
www.underwaterworld.com.au
The Big Pineapple 
The Big Pineapple features a Train ride through the pineapple plantation, a Macadamia and Rainforest tour and the Harvest boat ride. The train ride also includes information on how the pineapples are grown. The cost for an individual ride is about $36 for a family of four or you can get a combined tours package for about $83.
There's an animal nursery where you can pat and feed the young animals and an enclosure with kangaroos and wallabies and Koalas in the Australian Wildlife Garden. The train ride stops near the animals or you can as easily just walk down the hill.
There's also the big pineapple to climb, a rainforest walk, fantastic desserts and fruit salads in the cafe. There are a number of shops including the Macadamia Factory shop and the Plantation shop where you can pick up clothing, arts and crafts, Macadamia products and fresh pineapples.
Plenty for the kids to do and see but we found it a bit pricey.
Check out the Big Pineapple web site at
www.bigpineapple.com.au
Superbee Honey Factory 
Visit the three bears cottage, snow white and the seven dwarves and the house that jack built. There's rides for the kids including a merry go round, electric cars and mini golf.
There's a live bee keeping demo and factory tour held every hour, rainforest walks and plenty of animals to see and feed.
You can taste over a dozen different types of honey before you buy and there's plenty of souvenirs and honey products to pick from.
The kids enjoyed this place and the rides and bee keeping demo are reasonably priced.
Well worth a visit. The website is at
www.superbee.com.au
Nostalgia Town You can take a ride on the enchanted rail or journey through time on Albert's Incredible Time Machine. You get these two rides and a round of golf for $49 for a family of four. The fairies dell was popular with the girls where they can dress up as fairies . The mini cars were also popular with the kids. There's plenty of souvenirs to choose from in the Market place and some exhibits to see. It kept the kids entertained for a couple of hours but it was a bit pricey for what you get. The web site is at www.nostalgiatown.com.au Links Sunshine Coast Accommodation Queensland Videos Sunshine Coast Tours & Attractions |
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