Sunshine coast or gold coast in February

Old Nov 20th, 2016, 01:51 PM
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Sunshine coast or gold coast in February

so it is now 2016 and my husband and I(active 60 year olds) will be arriving in Brisbane (from Canada)on Feb 6th, 2017 departing on Feb 19th ,2017. So far all I have come up with is upon arrival in Brisbane same day fly to Cairns sleep. One day tour the Daintree forest(skyrail /train thing ) do a tour to GBR to snorkel or if too scared of dying from jellyfish bites(french tourists die of apparent heart attack snorkeling) do some sort of an underwater viewing. Maybe try to do a tour so we can see some crocodiles. We will not be driving so will be using planes/trains/buses. The idea after Cairns was to take the train Feb 10th to Arlie Beach. Train sounded better as it is a long trip and it would allow us to get up and stretch our legs. mabe a two day stay Feb 11, 12, to do a cruise and kayak weather permitting. Then travel to Hervey Beach Feb 13 by bus and there a day Feb 14 tour of Fraser island.
Travel to Byron Bay Feb 14 (don't know how ). Spend Feb 15, 16 in Byron Bay, travel back to Brisbane on Feb 17th. We want to visit the Steve Irwin zoo on the 18th and go home on Feb 19th.
We like nature , we are not interested in shopping , sightseeing large cities . We want to experience the rainforest, fish and corral, see kangaroos and hug a koala (preferably in nature not a zoo).
Are we going to be able to do any of this in February during the rainy season?
Are we better off to just fly up to Cairns and back for three days and then visit a dryer (yes hot) part of Australia e.g. travel down the gold coast OR ????
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Old Nov 20th, 2016, 04:20 PM
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What's the attraction of Byron Bay? You need to travel south into NSW for this and then back to Queensland. I'd suggest skipping this and spend your time in the Sunshine Coast. Then your travel is in a logical way down the coast.
February will not be rainy in southern Queensland but it will be hot. Noosa is a beautiful beach and there is lots of nature activities in the surrounding area. Australia Zoo is worth a visit. We like the Sunshine Coast much better than the Gold Coast but that's an age thing! However the Lamington National Park behind the GC beaches is lovely.
Cuddling a koala has to be done in a wildlife park. It is illegal in other states to touch them but Queensland permits 'encounters' in zoos and parks. As for kangaroos - we have been to Australia very often and I have not seen one in the wild yet. They like the bush so you would have to drive out of the city to see them.
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Old Nov 20th, 2016, 04:53 PM
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Erm, if you think Cairns to Airlie beach is a long way, Airlie Beach to Hervey Bay is even further, at least 10 hours by road. Rome2rio is a great website to explore ways to travel between two places. Flying might be a better option.

Agree with Tasmangirl that Byron Bay is problematic from a transport perspective, and it might be best to skip the Gold Coast if you don't like cities.

Fraser Island could deserve an overnight stay, it's the worlds largest sand island with pristine perched lakes.

The weather in February is probably the least pleasant nearly everywhere here.
It might be okay in Tasmania, or Victoria, or not. It's the peak of summer and can be stifling anywhere. An ocean breeze helps, plenty of them on the Sunshine Coast.

Koalas in the wild are not at all cuddly. You might spot kangaroos hanging around golf courses that back onto bushland. Don't get too close, they can attack.
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Old Nov 20th, 2016, 07:02 PM
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thanks for the feedback, greatly appreciated; I live in Alberta so rest assured I will not be feeding, petting or trying to get a real close up photo of any wildlife-one of my biggest pet peeve with tourists that visit my province; we hope this is the first of many visits to Australia, just like Canada huge and so beautiful
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Old Nov 20th, 2016, 11:38 PM
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You can do a day trip to Fraser Island from Sunshine Coast - it's a great tour.
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