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RTW Trip Day #72: Exploring Downtown Brisbane with the Kids at QAGOMA, the Queensland Museum and the Brisbane Wheel
- andrewsco3
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
9 December 2025
Steps: 10,830
Our first day in Brisbane didn’t start off too well as Susie still hasn’t managed to shake off whatever bug she’s caught, so we were a little slow getting moving today.
While the girls were stirring, I headed out to Woolworths to pick up some cereal for breakfast, and what a gorgeous morning it was! Lovely and warm, but without the crazy humidity that we’ve experienced in Asia.
QAGOMA (Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art)
Our first stop was to head to the Southbank area of Brisbane, as there is a ridiculous amount of things to do there! The Art Gallery and the GOMA are actually two separate buildings, but they are only a minute apart on foot and are often referred to together as QAGOMA.
The Art Gallery is beautiful, and I would have liked to spend more time exploring some of the exhibits, but the Gallery of Modern Art was a lot more exciting for the kids, and they even had a special Children’s Art Centre, where there was a string art craft that involved gluing string to a piece of paper and then gluing foil over the top to make a raised pattern.
The Queensland Museum
Just a 5 minute walk away is the Queensland Museum and the girls absolutely loved it here! Best of all, it is completely free to visit with the exception of special exhibits. Susie still wasn’t feeling great so we parked her at the museum cafe while me and the girls went inside.
On the main floor there was an incredible gallery dedicated to ancient creatures, including dinosaurs and megafauna native to Queensland. Some of the extinct animals were ones we didn’t even know existed and Evelyn in particular was fascinated to read about.
Upstairs there was a “Wild State” exhibition that focused on Queensland’s native animals. Australia has some really interesting species and half of them I’d never even heard of before, although of course we managed to find one that Evelyn knows quite well!
There was also an interactive section where a staff member showed us some turtle shells, we searched for stick insect eggs, and we were even shown the leaf insects, which really do look like leaves. The only way we could spot them was when he gently blew on them and they started to wiggle to mimic moving in the wind which was so clever.
We then proceeded to spend more than 30 minutes wandering around the museum gift shop, which is excellent, and we might even go back later in the trip to pick up a few gifts for friends back home.
The Wheel of Brisbane
The girls wanted to have a go on the Wheel of Brisbane, and I’ve always wanted to go on the London Eye but have always been put off by the large queues and the cost
There was no queue so we hopped straight on. Unlike the London Eye that goes around once at a slow pace, the Wheel of Brisbane completes four or five rotations and moves a bit faster, with the whole ride taking around fifteen minutes. As you go around there is commentary pointing out the sights.
You get sweeping views over the city with the skyscrapers and river spread out below, and I could even spot the Gabba cricket ground where England had just lost a few days ago!
For dinner we grabbed some takeout sushi which we had all been craving since we left Japan. We all got an early night as tomorrow is our visit to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and we wanted to make sure we could get there nice and early.
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