Driving from Adelaide to Brisbane - any reccommendations

Hi Tara,
Dubbo zoo wasnt all that great when we went there last April - our opinion though. Many of the exhibits were closed for maintenance and they are now asking people to pay for the privelge of hand feeding the giraffes and other certain animals. You only get a good look at those animals at this point otherwise they dont venture very close at all to where the visitors are allowed.

Having 2 rug rats of our own (5 & 2), we would recommend going to Sydney's Taronga Zoo over Dubbo or better still Australia Zoo in Brisbane. We are heading that way in June and going to be staying at BIG4 Treasure Island Holiday Park with our kids and camper trailer in Biggera Waters near the Gold Coast. Great park for kids we have been told. Doing two theme parks and then heading for Brisbane to go to Aust Zoo.

We are from Newcastle NSW, so if you are calling in here bring your winter clothes too as it is freezing here at the moment. Stockton has a beachside caravan park on the beach and there are some great parks at Nelson Bay, including Halifax Caravan Park and Soldiers Point to say two of many. Depends how close you want to get to the Bay itself if that interests you. Otherwise there is a great Caravan Park out at Swansea NSW which is classified as Lake Macquarie and it is on the water as well and has loads of spacious sites etc etc.

Have a great trip. And dont forget the the Aquarium at Darling Harbour is only a ferry ride from Sydneys Taronga Zoo if you decided to go there and that makes for a good couple of fun days out with loads for the kids to see and get excited about.

Cheers

Tara said "We are planning on taking our 4WD, camper trailer, and two rugrats (4 and 2) on a road trip between Adelaide and Brisbane and back.... any recommendations?"

One does immediately spring to mind...

D O N ' T
.
.
Bugga - ol' farts disease strikes..

Was that don't take the 4WD, or don't take the camper trailer, or don't take the rugrats, or don't do a road trip, or don't go to Brisbane...

I forget.

Oh! Now I remember...

Despite all the above... Don't forget to have a great time.

lol
Ken

Tara

You're set up for a bit of adventure, how about Peterborough Broken Hill Tibooburra Innaminka Cunnamulla Brisbane

or Adelaide Alice Plenty Hwy Boulia Winton Longreach Emerald Brisbane?

I'd avoid Sydney like Swine Flu. It'll take you a week merely to get from one side to the other.

Bob

With your timeframe probably quickest to go through Broken Hill to Dubbo then up the Newell. Just watch out for the goats and roos etc. between BH and Dubbo. To see the Dish probably go down thru Dubbo on the way back to Parkes then turn off to Hay further down.
My two favourite cp's on the Gold Coast are Tallebudgera Creek, (perhaps not quite as convenient to the theme parks), and the Broadwater CP right on the Spit at Southport.
Tallebudgera cp has the river beside it, hugelake behind it and 200 metre walk along the riverbank to the surf beach. 20 minute walk across the mountain to Burleigh Heads.

Both are Top Tourist parks from memory, could be Family Parks.

Ken D
Bris

I went to Dubbo zoo last year and would recommend it. It is a full day trip and nicely set up there, you can drive/walk (as we did) or you can also hire bikes, which I think it a top idea when the weather is sunny. The dish is a good idea for the kids too but I must admit I just had a look while driving along the highway...

Good things to do along the way...
- Girraween National Park, Stanthorpe area
- Dubbo Zoo
- Mineral museum at Coonabarabran, good if you are a science nerd like me... lots of fossils and things for the kids to look at too

Then if you decide to take a scenic route:
- Blue Mountains National Park (head through Bathurst, Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens is gorgeous in the Blue Mountains, and the Blue Mountains are such a lovely drive for only a couple of hundred km extra), then head through the Hunter Valley and up the Pacific Highway from Ballinaish...
- Goulburn Valley area, Shepparton etc in Victoria, not much of a detour either, and you can stop through Horsham/Grampians area along the way which is also good for a day or two

I haven't stayed in a whole lot of Caravan parks along the way as I usually do the drive for work, however I can highly recommend the park at Cowra, just lovely!

The tourism people make brochures for the Newell and New England Highways which are good when you are wondering what to see in the towns along the way :)

A good way to plan your trip is to go to the NRMA Travel Planner. For the forward trip put in Adelaide (from address) - Brisbane (to address) and Parkes (via address.) For the return put in Brisbane - Adelaide - Taree - then click on "Add more via addresses " and insert Merriwa. These will give you some good starts for your trips. If you wish to look at alternatives then play around and substitute other towns for those I have suggested.

PeterD

We did a similar trip in January this year with 5 kids (8,6,3,2 and 1) and the grandparents in tow for help. We went a bit higher than Brisbane choosing to stay at Airlie Breach and experience the Whitsundays and we got there in 5 days from SA taking the most direct route.
We traveled back down to the Gold coast over a number of days visiting towns and attractions and stayed at Treasure Island Holiday park to do the theme parks and shopping.
Then we traveled down the coast as far as Ballina then heading inland for the trip home. All done in 24 days with a caravan and a camper trailer. It was busy and sometimes boring for the kids but it was the best Family holiday we have had so far.

Matt