Editor’s Note: This is the 6th in a series of posts from John “traveler, father & wit” Ryan. He’s taking the family from Melbourne up along Australia’s eastern coast. Have kid, will travel is John’s motto. Read John’s previous post here.

Unbelievable. The pool in the backyard is out of bounds! Broken filter; broken dreams! For my wife, it represents one of life’s most crushing moments. I’m slightly disappointed. Seamus, who isn’t yet two years old, doesn’t seem to mind at all.

Still, the weather in Brisbane is great; on the border of spring and summer this really is one of the most perfect places to be. And the local Newmarket Pool is absolutely fabulous (and makes the missus a bit happier too!). It’s like an aquatic version of Mr Wonka’s chocolate factory with lots of water slides, giant colourful mushroom-shaped fountains, shaded wading pools and clear, cool water.

Seamus at the Duporth

We spent the afternoon with Elissa’s sister at the pool after a morning of relaxing and a trip to the park. Seamus is loving his holiday. He’s totally relaxed, and – by the look on his face as he slid off the pool into the water – today was his holiday highlight.

Oh, but I’ve missed a few days. Yesterday we arrived back in Brisbane after a couple of days in Maroochydore, just over an hour north up the coast. Having stayed with friends and at budget locations so far on our trip up Australia’s east coast, we splurged a bit here and shacked up at the lush Duporth apartments, perched over the point where the river hits the Pacific Ocean. Stunning.

Maroochydore is a popular holiday town, with beautiful beaches, a busy highway and malls aplenty. We filled our days with trips to the shops and playing on the beach. I took young Seamus to Underwater World - a massive oceanarium replete with sharks, seals, tropical fish, frogs and crocs – while his mum had a coffee and indulged in some chintzy window shopping in Mooloolaba. We saw the corny-but-fun seal show and fought through crowds of school-holiday kids look at the lame t-shirts in the giftshop. It was a bit crowded and a touch expensive; but Seamus looooved the seals!

On the way back to Brisbane this morning we took a slight detour to visit the Big Pineapple (see my previous post where we saw the Big Prawn and the Big Banana; marvel at the curious Australian psyche). I’d been there when I was seven, and remembered a really big pineapple.

John & Seamus at the Big Pineapple

The reality is slightly smaller (unless it has withered in the baking sun), but as a faded old tourist attraction, it’s surprisingly interesting and worth stopping by.

There’s a train ride through orchards of fruit trees, a petting zoo, a gift shop and – of course – the eponymous fibreglass yellow fruit. We picked up a pineapple (a real one – it’s an operational plantation) to eat later tonight and a strange little pineapple-peeling device as a present for my father-in-law (who likes these sorts of implements) and we headed back to Bris-Vegas.

After success at the pool today, we’re planning on a return visit tomorrow – our last full day before flying home to Melboure. The weather forecast is for another warm day, so we’re committed to making the most of it.

The pineapple, by the way, was the sweetest, juiciest specimen we’ve ever had.

–John Ryan

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s things to do in Australia, Gold Coast activities, things to do in Brisbane, and a complete list of kid-friendly and family-friendly tours in Australia.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 10th, 2007 at 12:20 pm and is filed under Australia & Pacific, Destinations, Family & Kids, Travel Inspiration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Get articles like this one delivered to your favorite RSS feed reader.
Subscribe to Viator Travel Blog now.