When I want to book accommodation in a warm location I prioritize hotels with a lagoon pool. By lagoon pool I mean a pool with sloping edges rather than an abrupt ledge into the water. These are two of my favourite lagoon pools in Cairns North Queensland. The first is free to the public…
Our family enjoys the beautiful beaches of North Queensland however we know that the waters of northern Australia are home to dangerous jellyfish. Contact with some of these jellyfish will cause devastating pain, may cause severe illness and have the potential to be deadly. I am often surprised at the risks tourists take as…
With its year round balmy days Cairns Queensland is a town that deserves a water park. The recently renovated Sugarworld Waterpark, in the the southern suburb of Edmonton fits the bill providing space, and slides for big and little kids to cool off. I am going to be honest here and say that I did…
When I became a mum it didn’t occur to me to stop traveling. We took our eldest son on his first plane journey when he was aged 7 weeks to meet my beloved grandmother. We journeyed off on a round the world trip when he was aged 3 months. Trial and error during our…
As a child, long before I ever met an Indigenous Australian I would ask my parents if they could take us to the William Ricketts Sanctuary. The sanctuary consists of a serene, ferny nature reserve 45 minutes drive from Melbourne in the Dandenong Ranges. Among the eucalypts and ferns are displayed over 90 clay sculptures…
As far as road trips go there are few as spectacular as the journey from Cairns Queensland to Cooktown on the Cape York Peninsula. We chose to journey past the white sandy, palm lined beaches of the Cook Highway before diverting through rainforest to Mount Molloy and joining the Mulligan Highway until our destination. The…
I want to talk the good, the bad and the ugly about the three major Australian Airlines when it comes to flying with a toddler. In my professional life I advocate a scientific evidence-based approach to decision making. No scientific evidence to be found here though folks, just the opinion of a mum that has…
Although I am not officially recognised as a local (popular opinion suggests that it takes 20 years of residency) I love flying the Cairns Queensland banner. One of the many reasons I would hate to move from Cairns are the great opportunities for families with small children. As an added bonus many of the amazing…
I love time with my kids however they can be exhausting, and without time to re-charge we all suffer. Many resorts and hotels offer kids club programs that, depending on the child’s age may provide fantastic activities or a nurturing safe place for smaller children (and sometimes babies) to be cared for. We have…
Note to self: Next time I take my young son to see a flower that only blooms for three days every seven years, don’t tell him that it is “sort of like a magic flower”. I did this while waiting in line to see the Titan Arum at Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens. When it was our…