OH! Magazine - Australian Version August 2015 | Page 29

( Where, Oh Where? )

Enjoying the Tornado Ride at the Gold Coast’s Movie World. Photo: Getty Images
In addition, the Gold Coast’s beach
suburbs are kid-centric too, with surf
lessons, jet-skiing, sea-kayaking, whalewatching. Alternatively, the much-hyped
Australia Zoo is just two hours north (and
actually lives up to the hype!).
7. Victoria’s High Country
Given the otherwise sunstroked state of
the nation, the classy skiing options in
Victoria’s High Country may come as
either a surprise or a relief. The big
resorts here – Mt Buller, Falls Creek and
Mt Hotham – are riddled with runs for
everyone from short-arse snow bunnies to
teen-scene snowboarders. It can be a
pricey exercise getting here from
Melbourne, hiring gear, staying in
mountaintop lodges… but the payoff is a
unique Australian family experience.
Come back in summer for mountain
biking, camping, bushwalking and
assessing the bakeries in fetching highcountry towns such as Beechworth,
Mansfield and Bright.
8. Kangaroo Island
A short hop south of Adelaide, roll onto a
car ferry and bob across Backstairs

Passage to Kangaroo Island (KI), South
Australia’s most underrated weekender.
Big-ticket enticements for kids here
include the stinky, grumpy residents at
Seal Bay Conservation Park and the
appropriately named Remarkable Rocks
in Flinders Chase National Park. In
between you’ll find sand dunes
(sandboarding!), surf beaches, pelicanfeeding sessions, honey farms, fishing
jetties, caves and wildlife parks – plenty
of kiddie distractions until it’s time for
some fish and chips (and a KI wine or
two) at the pub in Kingscote.
9. Brisbane
Is Brisbane Australia’