Our son Brooks loves animals, in particular, birds. We are often found in our backyard feeding them or whistling to them to get their attention.
So, for Brooks' first birthday, we planned a day at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, located on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia!
For those who aren't familiar with one of Australia's best animal sanctuaries, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary has been conserving native wildlife and nurturing the local indigenous heritage for over 70 years. They have also educated and entertained families and tourists from all across the globe!
Adult tickets: $39.95 per person
Children tickets (aged between 4-14): $39.95 per person
Infant tickets (0-4): Free
Parking: It costs $10 to park in the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary official carpark (convenient when you have small children) so ensure you bring cash. Otherwise, there is free street parking available nearby if you don't mind the walk.
To book your day pass tickets: https://currumbinsanctuary.com.au/tickets-and-encounters/day-pass
The park itself opens at 9am, but we decided to arrive early to ensure we made it in time for the famous Lorikeet feeding at 8am! The great news is, this great bird attraction is free to observe or a gold coin donation to participate, and you do not require a ticket to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary to do this!
Parenting essentials for a stress- free day trip at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary
Before You Leave
• Ensure you and your family are wearing season appropriate and comfortable clothing including walking shoes and long sleeve upper body clothing (important for sun blocking and if you participate in Lorikeet bird feeding, as they land on your head and shoulders!)
• Print off a colour copy of the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary map so you can maximise your day and avoid the wrong areas (it's no fun walking long distances with tired small children!)
• Print off a copy of your tickets or ensure you've downloaded your electronic copy on to your phone (incase the internet fails when you arrive) and ensure you remember to bring the tickets!
What To Bring
• A backpack to carry the below essential items
• Pram or stroller
• Baby carrier (in addition to your pram/stroller, this is to save your arms in case your baby doesn't want to sit in their pram, or walk)
• A baby blanket (we visited the park in the middle of winter)
• Plenty of baby food, snacks and lunch (the park doesn't allow commercially prepared food to be brought in as you can buy lunch at the park, however small homemade picnic lunches are OK)
• Water bottles (for kids and parents)
• A hat (for kids and parents)
• Sunglasses (for kids and parents)
• Sunscreen
• Hand sanitiser
• Insect Repellent
• Bandaids
• Paracetamol (e.g. children's Panadol)
• Umbrella/rain coats
• Nappy bag (plenty of nappies, wet wipes, change table cover, disposable nappy bags and a spare set of warm baby clothes)
• Spare gold coins (for Lorikeet feeding at 8am) and a $10 note (for parking)
• Your camera
• Your phone charger
• Any necessary medications required (for kids and parents)
Car Trip
• Entertainment for kids during the car trip (it's an hour drive from Brisbane to Currumbin so ensure you've got plenty of car snacks, water, toys, music playlists, colouring in books with crayons etc.)
The Park
It's a lot of walking, however there is a train within the park that usually runs to help guests get around (but it wasn't working at the time due to COVID-19) so we became exhausted quite quickly carrying Brooks around! So I definitely recommend wearing comfy, walking shoes. There was so much to see, including a water park for kids (perfect for summer) and lots of interactive kid-friendly shows at different times throughout the day!
Animals you can feed
Lorikeet birds and kangaroos
Animals you can see
Lorikeet birds, kangaroos, koalas, lemurs, other wild/rare birds, snakes, frogs, flying foxes, turtles, alligators, crocodiles, dingos, wombats, Tasmanian devils, echidnas, pelicans, emus, red pandas and much, much more!
Animals you can hold
Koalas and rainbow lorikeets (if they land on your hand!)
So that's it! We hope you enjoyed our little review on Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary! ♡ Any questions or comments? We'd love to hear from you! Tag us at @thejohannessenfamily or email thejohannessenfam@gmail.com