Category: Nature

Sunrise with Roos in Cape Hillsborough

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Getting up in the very early hours of the morning is often difficult, especially when your kids have woken you up four times in the middle of the night. You want to hit snooze on your alarm clock, and you want to hit snooze on life. The best experiences make you bounce out of bed no matter what time it is, because you know it’s going to be special.   Such was the case at 5am one morning in Mackay, and despite her late night antics, I was relieved to see my daughter share my enthusiasm.   We hopped in the car and drive 40 minutes north on a winding pastoral road to Cape Hillsborough Nature Tourist Park for one of the most special sunrises in the country.

It all started over a decade ago, when kangaroos and wallabies showed up on a particularly beautiful beach just prior to the egg-yolk sun breaking on the horizon.   The park’s owners started feeding the roos, and about a dozen guests came to share the fun each morning in the glow of a quintessential Australian coastal sunrise. Then word got out.  Qantas featured the experience in an in-flight safety video, travel writers like myself showed up, and next thing you know, hundreds of people are gathering on the beach each morning. All well and good, but not everyone has the good sense to let a roo do its thing. As with all wildlife, it’s important to keep a safe distance, and refrain from feeding sugary crap to animals that can become increasingly aggressive because of human interaction.  Roos have been known to attack overzealous and idiotic tourists, as well as they should.   Shortly after our sunrise in Cape Hillsborough, authorities and the park owners have decided it best to regulate the experience, charging a fee for live commentary from a guide about the region’s history and wildlife conservation.


This morning however, my daughter and I walk along the gorgeous coastline towards a crowd of people gathered up ahead.   The animals are already on the beach, and the sun is just about to make its splash.  International tourists are obviously more taken with the sight of kangaroos and wallabies, but regardless of your experience with the marsupial, it makes for a very special wildlife encounter, in a very special place, and at a very special time of day.  Memory cards are put to work as cameras big and small do their best to capture it.   Clear orange light during sunrise makes for epic shots. It’s the so-called golden hour for photography that we rarely take advantage because it’s too damn early.   My daughter is captivated, if a little chilly from the ocean breeze. It’s all over in about five to ten minutes, the animals scatter into the bush and the people towards their cars or more conveniently breakfast in their cabin, hut or motorhome inside the Nature Park.   Nobody can deny that despite the time of the day, it’s a sunrise well worth getting up for.

Swim with Rays and Sharks

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Surrounded by rays and sharks

There’s some pretty slick experiences on The Great Australian Bucket List, and some quirky additions too. I researched activities and destinations online, in libraries, with the help of tourism organizations and local advice, and sometimes, I just followed my nose. We were driving up the Central Coast of New South Wales to Port Stephens when I saw a sign along the highway that read something like the title of this post: Swim with Rays and Sharks. Now I’ve dived with rays and sharks, and I love this big creatures, so when I Googled Irukandji Shark and Ray Encounters and discovered this was an activity I could do with my kids, without heading out to sea, my bucket list antennae started pinging.

The smooth ray hug!

Sharks and stingrays get a bad wrap.  Although horses and kangaroos kill far more people than sharks each year, the ocean’s apex predator gets ravaged in the press, and… then there’s the Steve Irwin thing.  The reality is that most animals are harmless if you leave them alone and don’t give them a reason to attack. Although that doesn’t stop rays and especially sharks being slaughtered, according to one report, around 100 million sharks are killed each year, which is having a devastating impact on the marine eco-system. Husband and wife team Ryan and Lia Pereira are working hard to change our perception of these creatures.   They took over a hands-on shark and ray aquarium in Port Stephens and have turned it into Irukandji Shark and Ray Encounters, devoted to busting harmful myths, and educating visitors about marine conservation.  With over 200 animals, we couldn’t wait to slip on a wetsuit and get into a series of pools with curious Southern Eagle Rays rays, friendly Port Jackson sharks, cuddly Blue Spotted Mask Rays, massive Smooth Rays and 3-metre long Tawny Nurse Sharks.  The kids were freaked out at first, some of these creatures were bigger than them after all, but after a while my daughter warmed up to the cuddles of a huge curious smooth ray, yes the same species that resulted in the tragic death of Steve Irwin.   The indoor facility itself is a little rough around the edges, with the feel of a two young kids doing their best to make a difference despite the operating costs. Given the challenges of operating a tourist attraction with the central draw being creatures that inspire fear and awe, it looks like it would make a great setting for a movie or TV show.

The kids are not convinced, yet.
Feeding a 3 metre-long nurse shark: Tick that one off the bucket list!

There are three main pools, including a little pool for the smaller kids to stand and also feed the rays, a larger pool where you can get a birds eye photo of yourself surrounded by swirling rays, and a large pool adjacent with the Nurse Sharks. There’s also touching pools and various displays to educate visitors about the different creatures. Wet suits are provided by the facility, and the utmost care is taken to ensure the animals are healthy and looked after.

Ryan and Lia’s devotion and passion for their animals is inspiring, and the lessons they impart on visitors of all ages is vital.    In the words of David Attenborough:  ““No one will protect what they don’t care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced.”

Learn more about Irukandji Shark and Ray Encounters

Directions to Irukandji Shark and Ray Encounters: When leaving from Newcastle follow the signs to Nelson Bay, at Salt Ash you will precede through 2 Roundabouts. About 5 minutes later you will find a Caltex on your left, directly after it turn left onto Marsh Rd. Follow Marsh Rd for about 4 minutes then at 686 turn right into Irukandji. All in it’s about a two and half hour drive from Sydney.

Melbourne Zoo’s Roar n Snore

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Several zoos offer an overnight experience. Parents and kids get to:

  • Learn all about animals
  • Experience a zoo at night when there’s no crowds and many animals are active
  • Camp in the city with access to flush toilets
  • Stay up late and do something fun at night when they really should be sleeping



    • Melbourne Zoo gets some 10,000 visitors a day, and all of them have gone home when my daughter and I pull into the parking lot at 6pm. The gates are still shut, and knowing the assortment of wild animals that reside within, it feels like we’re in the opening credits of a Hollywood movie, the kind where things go awry and lions escape their cages and start picking off overnight tourists one-by-one. To be fair, young kids will be less concerned with the animals and more freaked out about the dark, since they rarely spend much time in it, much less roaming around an empty zoo to a soundtrack of grunts, hisses and squeaks of animals. The service gates open, and our group of just over a dozen Roar n Snorers are greeted by Jacky and Katheryn, our two friendly hosts for the evening. They’re fun and enthusiastic and superb female role models for Raquel. We drive our vehicles into the service area – backstage at the zoo – and are shown to our safari style canvas tents on raised wooden platforms. Shaded by palm trees and within earshot of various animal calls, our tents – named after former and current zoo elephants – are surprisingly roomy, with sleeping bags, pillows and air mattresses. We’re advised to keep the tents zipped unless we want to cuddle a possum, which I have to remind my daughter, is not something we actually want. Having dropped off our bags, we’re led on a behind-the-scenes tour of the zoo, learning about the animal diets (did you know the animals are fed veggies provided by grocery stores?) and the old heritage-listed buildings that now function as storage facilities. All this entrances the older kids in the group, but my kid just wants to see the animals. Fortunately, the red panda is up and about and eager to say hello to us as we use the public bathrooms a short walk from our tents. With fruit bats flying overhead, we’re free to wander about as our hosts prepare BBQ’d burgers and chicken, served with salads and corn in a former elephant enclosure.

    I wonder if the smell of grilled meat drives the carnivores crazy. Satiated, any sign of my daughter getting tired quickly dissipates as we grab our headlamps and head out for a nocturnal walk in the zoo. Animals are always more lively at night, especially in summer. We hurl apples and pears to the elephants, greet the hyperactive Bolivian, squirrel monkeys, and learn that it’s best to keep your distance from the one-eyed tapir. We pet a tortoise and a python. Along the way, our hosts tell us great stories about the animals and reveal the inner workings of the zoo. Melbourne Zoo uses a category system where animals are rated between 1 and 5 to determine how dangerous they are. A tiger is a 1, but so is a peccary. At the lion enclosure, a juvenile male is particularly active and jumps up suddenly against the thick glass viewing area. As the smallest and therefore most vulnerable member of our group, my daughter clings to my neck for the remainder of the walk. It’s dark, it’s late, it’s a little spooky, and it’s time to go to bed.

    Milk and cookies are the reward back at our camp. Parents with kids who run on a tight schedule might struggle with the late bedtime, but since my daughter rarely sleeps anyway, we’re up at 11pm as she thrashes about in the sleeping bag we’re inevitably sharing. Older kids are having a much easier go of it, and personally I enjoy hearing the sounds of the animals at night, presuming they’re not the sounds of the young couple enjoying a romantic weekend adventure in their adjacent tent. We wake up, pack up, enjoy breakfast, and take a pre-opening excursion to hand feed the giraffe, and watch the zookeeper feed the penguins. Our ticket includes admission to the zoo the following day, and so we retrace our steps in the early morning sun, before the zoo opens for business.

    Click here to learn more about Melbourne Zoo’s Roar n Snore Overnight Camp.

    Q is for Quokka

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    Not long ago, the only animal most people could name with a “q” was the quail. Social media has since disrupted the animal alphabet, thanks to a small, friendly marsupial with a penchant for goofy faces, and an enthusiasm for selfies. Quokkas are hot, and #quokkaselfie is officially a thing, which is good news for the place you’re most likely to encounter them. Rottnest Island is a half hour fast ferry crossing off the coast of Fremantle WA, and even if the quokkas weren’t so dependently adorable, it’s a destination that surely belongs on the Australian Bucket List.

    Rottnest is not a resort island in the traditional sense. No mega hotel chains, no glitz or bean-shaped swimming pools. While buses and tours circle the 11-km long island, all visitors arrive on foot, and the primary means of transport is a bicycle. When Dutch sailors first explored the island in the early 1600’s, they named it Rotte nest, confusing the abundant quokkas for rats. Not much happened until European settlers arrived centuries later, failed in their attempts to plant crops, and subsequently turned Rottnest into a penal colony. Today, these same buildings house visitors in self-catered rustic accommodation, and I see families and couples relaxing on their patios, watching cyclists ride down the dusty streets of the main settlement, Thompson Bay.

    There are a handful of restaurants, and the local supermarket is well stocked with everything from fresh fruit and veggies to snorkelling gear.   I park my bike at the Settlement Railway Station and hop on board a train to the Oliver Hill Heritage Site.   During World War II, the Allies installed two massive 9.2 inch artillery guns on Rottnest that could fire a huge 178kg shell. History and war buffs will love the tunnels and gun tour, but Rottnest is really one for nature lovers. It boasts 63 beaches and nearly two-dozen bays, many secluded and quiet enough to own for the day.   To get there you’ll have to pedal out, or use the hop-on hop-off bus that circles the island.   Parker Point and Salmon Bay, protected by the adjacent marine reserve, have white-sandy beaches. Sand dunes provide a windbreak in stunning Parakeet Bay. Armstrong Bay has outstanding snorkelling, Fish Hook Bay its limestone cliffs. Strickland Bay offers wild waves for surfers, while Henrietta Rocks has a wreck to snorkel. There’s a beach and a bay for everyone, which is why you need a few days to find the one you love most. As for the quokkas, they love all.

    There are some ten thousand quokkas on the island, and they don’t have to worry about becoming road kill.   Visitors twist and contort themselves to get the perfect selfie, perhaps one with a quokka raising an eyebrow, or flashing a toothy grin. Roger Federer visited the island and his quokka selfie quickly generated over 500 million views. My wife took a photo of my attempted selfie, a meta-selfie as it were, as I tried to keep my kids from touching their new favourite living stuffy. Authorities strongly advise visitors not to pet, feed or make fun of the quokka, which is detrimental to conservation, and probably hurts its feelings.   As always, the quokkas themselves are more than accommodating. I’m convinced these guys are one Pixar movie short from becoming global superstars. Q, from now on, is definitely reserved for Quokka.

    Click here for more information about visiting the quokka on Rottnest Island.
    Pick up ferry and tour tickets from Rottnest Express.