Day Tripping to Brisbane - Koala and River Cruise with Mirimar Cruises

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When we have first-time Australian visitors, there's usually a burning desire to do the whirlwind tour of the whole of Australia, but of course, being local, we know this is really not possible … Australia is just too vast.

Recently when my niece was visiting, a day trip to Brisbane was on our radar. We wanted to share with her our local animal life, do a boat trip on the Brisbane River as well as getting a feel for one of Australia's prettiest and still reasonably uncrowded cities - my opinion. We have a standing family joke: 'we don't have time for the 15 minutes Travel Tour - names omitted on purpose - but rather have our hearts set on the all-inclusive ten-minute destination Travel Tour' ensuring we cover as much territory as we can, in the shortest possible time frame.



We chose a Sunday to do our day trip to Brisbane. If you live on the Sunshine Coast, you will know that Sundays are one of the busiest days on the Bruce Highway with travellers coming North to enjoy our pristine beaches. By choosing the Sunday, theoretically, we would be against the traffic … going and returning. And it worked like a charm!



Realising that time is of the essence, I did a bit of detective sleuthing in advance and discovered that there is actually a daily cruise to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, which can be booked online. Would you believe it … this river cruise, from Mirimar Cruises , has been taking locals and visitors to Lone Pine for more than seventy years and is regarded as a 'must do' experience when visiting Brisbane. I'm literally gob-smacked as we lived in Brisbane for close on twenty years and in all that time, never once did I think about trying it out!

There are two Koala and River Cruise Options offered by Mirimar Cruises:

1. Koala and Brisbane River Cruise on Mirimar II

What can we expect on the Koala and Brisbane River Cruise ?







PRICES CORRECT AS AT DECEMBER 2024



PLEASE NOTE AS AT NOVEMBER 2023: THE AUTHOR HAS BEEN UNABLE TO ASCERTAIN WHETHER THE KOALA EXPRESS IS STILL AVAILABLE. PLEASE CONTACT MIRIMAR CRUISES HERE FOR MORE INFO.

2. Cruise the Brisbane River on the Koala Express

What can we expect on the Koala Express?




The Koala Express times are subject to change, so please be sure to double check when booking.
One way cruise on the Koala Express, with NO entry to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary starts at $20 for children aged between 3 and 13; concession/student $32 and adults $35.
Pre-purchase your Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary tickets online here.

We decided on the Koala and River Cruise on the Mirimar II. I was keen to enjoy an unrushed morning taking in the delightful sights and sounds of the 'river city' or aptly named 'city of bridges' from the water.



Some pointers on 'where to park'; 'when to leave home' and what fabulous sights to look out for on the Koala and River Cruise:

















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Here's another fun fact: the 344km Brisbane River's indigenous name is Maiwar and it is the longest river in South-East Queensland, flowing through the city, before spilling into Moreton Bay.

We had no sooner boarded our laid back cruise - or at least it seemed like it - before arriving at our destination, the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary . Our 75 minute cruise was over! The classic old saying is quite true: 'time sure does fly, when you're having fun!'



Writer's Verdict:
A definite 10/10! We absolutely loved our lazy cruise on the Koala and River Cruise meandering upriver to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and would quite happily do it again! For a full day of family fun or when entertaining visitors from afar, I would highly recommend this jam-packed, value-for-money Brisbane trip.

All images courtesy of author, Elaine de Wet

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