ONE VERY BIG PLAYGROUND

天大地大的遊樂場

PENNY WATSON rounds up incredible family experiences in Australia

天大地大的遊樂場

Penny Watson前往澳洲各地體驗樂趣無窮的親子遊

FRASER ISLAND, QUEENSLAND (FAR LEFT)

Little glass bottles filled with stripes of coloured sand are some of Australia’s most iconic souvenirs – you’ll spot them on dust-covered shelves and mantlepieces across the country. They’re from Fraser Island, a bucket-list destination for young Aussie families wanting to get some sand between their toes. Fraser Island is Unesco World Heritage-listed and is also the world’s largest sand island, spanning 184 hectares and stretching 123 kilometres. Access is via 4WD on an adventure that includes freshwater swimming lakes, hill-high sand dunes, cliffs featuring 72 different shades of sand (that are cleverly filtered into different patterns in those bottles), and 75 Mile Beach where the rusted hulk of the Maheno shipwreck dominates the shoreline. visitfrasercoast.com

THREE CAPES TRACK, TASMANIA (BOTTOM LEFT)

Okay, so your youngest just turned seven and your oldest is still young enough to appreciate family holidays – it’s time to walk the Three Capes Track, one of Tasmania’s newest and most invigorating forays into this southern Australian state’s coastal wilderness. The four- day, three-night, easy-to-moderate walk crosses 46 kilometres of coastline: head any further south from here and you’ll end up in Antarctica. Walkers (a limit of 48 per day) are required to carry all their own equipment and food, but accommodation is in the form of new eco cabins kitted out with shared kitchendining areas, heating, running water

– and even a cold shower. For parents who think this sounds like hard work, specialists Three Capes Gear & Gourmet can provide posh food and all the equipment you need for the trip. 3capesgearandgourmet.com.au threecapestrack.com.au

MURRAY TO MOUNTAINS RAIL TRAIL, VICTORIA

In northeastern Victoria, the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail is a 100 kilometre walking and cycling path on terrain that’s mostly flat, making it ideal for cyclists and pillion passengers alike. Depending on which section you cover, the track traverses river flats, wine country and alpine terrain. The nine kilometre Rutherglen to Wahgunyah leg is an ideal starter section with flat trails and a river swim along the way. The 16 kilometre Beechworth to Everton station leg is downhill all the way and features old brick bridge crossings and cellar doors (including this writer’s aunt’s Pennyweight Winery). Foodie families will appreciate the 18 kilometre Wangaratta to Milawa via Oxley leg, which has pit stops for cheese, mustards, olives and apple juice. ridehighcountry.com.au/rail-trails/murrayto-mountains

HAVING DOLPHINS SWIM UP TO YOU ON A BEACH IS ‘AWESOME, MUM’在海灘上目睹海豚向著你游過來，必定會令孩子雀躍萬分

MONKEY MIA DOLPHINS, WESTERN AUSTRALIA (LEFT)

Seeing dolphins swim alongside your boat is pretty good, having them swim up to you on a beach is ‘awesome, Mum’. Monkey Mia, a remote town and marine reserve on Western Australia’s Coral Coast, 850 kilometres north of Perth, is known for its pod of wild bottlenose dolphins that have been playfully swimming to shore to interact with the locals for the past 20 to 30 years. Feeding times, between 7:30am and midday, invite tourists to line up ankle deep in the water (under instruction by local rangers) and feed the dolphins fresh fish. australiascoralcoast.com/attractions- events/ monkey-mia- dolphins 昆士蘭，費沙島（最左圖）裝滿多層不同顏色細砂的小玻璃瓶，是非常地道的澳洲手信，全國地各 家庭內佈滿灰塵的書架和壁爐台上，都可發現它們的蹤影。這些小沙瓶來自費沙，島是希望享受陽與光 海灘的澳洲年輕家庭必遊勝地。該島屬聯合國教科文組織世界遺產，是全球最大的砂，島 佔地184公頃，綿延123公里。旅客可駕駛四驅前車往該島，島上有可供暢泳的淡水湖泊、高如山峰的沙、砂丘 細 顏色達72種懸的崖（細砂被巧妙地裝進前文提及的玻璃瓶裡，形成不同的圖案） ，以及75英里海灘。擱淺於海灘上的Maheno號沉船殘骸是， 海岸線上最觸目的風景。visitfrasercoast.com 塔斯曼尼亞，三角海路線（左下圖）如你年果 最 幼的孩子才剛滿七歲，而最年長的孩子尚未大到討厭家庭旅行，就是參加三角海遠足之旅的理想時機，沿著塔斯曼尼亞一條極具新鮮感的遠足路線，深入探索這個南澳省份的沿海荒野風光。四日三夜的遠足旅程沿全長46公里的海岸線而行，難度由簡單至中等；若從該處繼續南行，你就會抵達南洲極 。遠足團每天只限48人參加，旅客需自己攜帶所有器具用品和所需的食物；途中有全新的環保木屋供晚上 住宿，內有共用的廚房和飯、廳 暖氣、自來水和冷水淋浴間，設備一應俱全。若忙碌的父母無暇準備，專業的Three Capes Gear & Gourmet可代為打點豐富的食物以及旅途所需的器具物品，讓一家大小可以享受一趟舒而滿適 充 野趣的旅程。3capesgearandgourmet.com.au threecapestrack.com.au 維多，利亞 Murray to Mountains Rail Trail遠徑足Murray to Mountains Rail Trail遠足徑於位維多利亞東北部，全長100公里，大部分路段均為平地，是遠足、踏單車以至乘電單車的勝地。根所路據選段，遠足時會穿越河灘、葡萄酒鄉和山高 地帶。由魯瑟格蘭至Wahgunyah的路段全長九公里，路徑平坦，非常適合由這裡展開旅程，途中更可於河裡暢泳。由比奇沃斯至艾弗頓車站的路線全長16公里，全程均為下坡路，途經磚砌的古橋多酒和 家莊 ， 括筆者的姨母經營的Pennyweight Winery酒莊。饕客家庭大可由旺加拉塔途經奧克斯雷前蜜往 拉瓦，條這 路線全長18公里，沿途設有多個中途休息站，可以稍停一會，吃點芝士、芥末醬、橄欖和蘋等果汁 小食。ridehighcountry.com.au/rail-trails/ murray-to-mountains 西澳，蒙基米亞海豚（左上圖）見到海豚在你乘坐的小船旁暢泳，確是愉快的體驗，但在海灘上親睹牠們向著你游過來，必定會令孩子們雀躍萬分。蒙基米亞於位 西澳珀斯以北850公里的珊瑚海岸，是位偏個置 遠的小鎮兼海洋保育，區 過去大約20多年30 來，一群佻皮的野生寬吻海豚經常游向岸邊與地， 當人打交道，令該區聲名大噪。每天上早 7時半至正午是餵海豚的時間，遊客可於水深及踝的岸邊隊按排， 照當地保育員的指示，以鮮魚餵飼海豚。australiascoralcoast.com/attractionsevents/monkey-mia-dolphins

VIVID, SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES

Seeing projections of snakes slithering all over the Sydney Opera House and paint dripping down the front of the Museum of Contemporary Art is the stuff kids’ dreams are made of – so, too, is walking around in the dark with a flashing light sabre and neon pink tiara. Vivid, a ‘Light, Music and Ideas’ festival and the world’s biggest light show, is a cultural highlight for grown-ups and a vision spectacular for teens, tweens and tots. Must-do exhibits include the magical Botanic Garden walk, where projections include vines writhing around the trunks of old heritage trees and a sensory exploration of the colour red. Or jump on a ferry to Taronga Zoo, where giant animal light sculptures line the pathways and a cable car shows off the strobe-lit Sydney Harbour Bridge.

25 May-16 June, vividsydney.com

CROCOSAURUS COVE, DARWIN, NORTHERN TERRITORY (RIGHT)

Welcome to a reptile fear fest in the centre of Darwin. The Cage of Death, featuring an immersion into the living quarters of a fivemetre-long saltwater croc called Chopper, is the star of Crocosaurus Cove for daring 15-plus teens and adults. The younger ones can swim in a glass-walled pool right next to the young croc cage or look into the jaws of death as you feed the crocs with a fishing rod. Families can also get up close and personal with snakes, baby crocs and the 70 other natives on display in the reptile house. crocosauruscove.com

DINOSAUR FOOTPRINTS, WESTERN AUSTRALIA ( TOP RIGHT)

Tell the kids you’re going on a hunt for dinosaur footprints and, depending on their age, they’ll only half believe you. But up on the beaches of Broome, in Western Australia’s most northern pocket, is the real deal. Local Yawuru man Bart Pigram’s personalised cultural tour, along the remote Roebuck Bay coastline, provides an insight into the region’s 130-millionyear old dinosaur footprints and the rich and fascinating stories surrounding them. Drawing on his indigenous heritage, Pigram also explores the sand dunes to identify goanna (a native lizard) trails, points out edible native fruits and nuts and shows the kids how to find natural bush soap and sunscreen. toursbroome.com.au 新南威爾斯，繽紛悉尼燈光音樂節悉尼歌劇院外牆上有蛇影蜿蜒而行，當代藝術博物館門前滴落點點顏料，還有頭戴螢光粉紅色冠冕，在黑暗中漫步和舞動發光的，劍 這些全都是孩子夢寐以求的東西。繽紛悉尼燈光音樂節是全球最大型的燈光匯，演 糅合「燈光、音樂和意念」，既是成年人的文化盛事，更是令以幼兒 至青少年目不暇給的壯觀體驗。不容錯過的展覽包括奇幻植的 物園漫步之旅，途中可見葡萄藤蔓的投影在古樹樹幹上交錯纏繞，還有對紅色進行各種感官上的。探索 旅客亦可乘搭渡輪前往塔隆加動物園，參觀林立大道兩旁的巨型發光動物雕塑，更可登上纜車，觀賞綴滿閃燈的尼悉 港灣大橋。

5月25日至6月， 16日 vividsydney.com 北領地，達爾文魚鱷 主題公園Crocosaurus Cove（右圖）歡迎來到達爾文市中心的「恐懼鬥室」Crocosaurus Cove。這是個鱷魚主題公園，裡面的重頭戲是「死亡之籠」，讓膽識過人的15歲以上旅客，潛進五米長、叫名Chopper的灣鱷的住處。紀年 較小的旅客可於毗鄰幼鱷籠玻泳的 璃 池內游泳，或是用魚竿飼餵 鱷魚，一睹牠們張開血盆大口的情景在。爬蟲館裡，一家大小可近距離接觸蛇、幼鱷，以及70種其他當地原生動物。crocosauruscove.com 西澳，恐龍腳印（右上圖）當較年長的孩子聽見你說要去尋「 覓恐龍腳印」時，大多會半半信 疑。，不過 在西澳最端北 的布魯姆的海灘，旅客可賞觀 貨真價實的恐龍腳印。土生Yawuru族人Bar t Pigram為旅客度身訂造文化之旅，領帶 他們沿著偏遠雄的 獐灣海岸，觀賞區內擁有1.3億年歷史的恐龍腳印，同時講述與之相關的精采故事。Pigram為原住民的後裔，他帶領旅客到砂丘去，運用祖傳的知識辨別澳洲土生巨的蜥 足跡，介紹可食用的本土水果和果仁，並向孩子展示如何尋找天然植物肥皂和防曬。霜toursbroome.com.au