Summer in December: Our Brisbane Family Adventure

Christmas in 85-degree heat while friends back home are wearing raincoats and gloves. That’s what we did—my wife Megan, our 13-year-old daughter Keegan, and I spent 12 days in Brisbane, trading the Pacific Northwest’s gray December for Southern Hemisphere summer.

Planning with AI

Our travel agent Paula Anderson from Expedia Cruises was invaluable. She found our accommodation, organized the flights and car rental, and suggested an initial itinerary—critical expertise for an international trip with a family. I also used Claude to help plan alongside Paula’s efforts. Not to replace the human elements—we still consulted her, our friends, read reviews, made our own decisions—but as a tool for organizing logistics. When you’re coordinating flights across the International Date Line, rental cars, accommodations, and daily activities for a family of three, having an AI that can structure an itinerary, flag potential conflicts, and keep track of confirmation numbers is genuinely useful.

After the trip, I used Claude again to export and organize our photo metadata—extracting location data, timestamps, generating a structured dataset of our 217 photos. The intersection of travel memories and data organization might be niche, but it’s the kind of practical AI application I find compelling.

The Journey

We departed Seattle on December 21st, flying overnight through Los Angeles and across the Pacific. The International Date Line swallowed December 22nd entirely—left Sunday evening, arrived Tuesday morning. Brisbane welcomed us at 6:00 AM with warm air and the particular exhaustion that only a 15-hour flight delivers.

Our base was an apartment in Kangaroo Point, perched on the Brisbane River with views of the city skyline. It became our anchor for exploring everything from beaches to mountains to wildlife sanctuaries.

Highlights

Wildlife Encounters

Australia delivered on its promise. At Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, we touched koalas (surprisingly coarse fur), hand-fed kangaroos, and watched platypuses swim in their twilight habitat. Our most photographed day—28 images capturing Keegan’s expressions as kangaroos ate from her palms.

On our final day, we witnessed something unexpected at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens: a python consuming its prey. The kind of raw nature moment you don’t plan for. Keegan was simultaneously horrified and fascinated.

Moreton Island

The day trip to Moreton Island tested us. December is early wet season, and the conditions were choppy—not the calm, crystal-clear snorkeling you see in brochures. But we persisted, snorkeling through the Tangalooma Wrecks (15 deliberately sunken ships now hosting thriving marine ecosystems), and I spotted a sea turtle gliding past. That moment alone justified the adventure.

Glass House Mountains

The Glass House Mountains are ancient volcanic plugs rising from the coastal plain. We hiked the moderate trails, surrounded by eucalyptus forest and kookaburras.

New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve in Brisbane is family-friendly. The city hosts an 8:30 PM “family fireworks” before the midnight display—perfect for traveling with a teenager. We watched from Kangaroo Point Cliffs, across the river from the main show. As the fireworks exploded, flying foxes—massive fruit bats—filled the sky around us, startled from their roosts. One of those “only in Australia” moments that no itinerary could have predicted.

The Discovery: Bribie Island

Sometimes the unplanned stops become favorites. Woorim Beach on Bribie Island wasn’t on our original itinerary—we discovered it driving to a different destination on New Year’s Eve. The beach was uncrowded, the water warm, and we liked it so much we returned on New Year’s Day. At nearby Sandstone Point, we spotted stingrays cruising through knee-deep water.

Locations Visited

Over 12 days, we covered significant ground:

• Kangaroo Point — Our home base, with morning walks along the river cliffs
• South Bank Parklands — The cultural heart of Brisbane, artificial beach and riverside dining
• Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary — The world’s first and largest koala sanctuary
• Moreton Island — Tangalooma Wrecks snorkeling and marine wildlife
• Glass House Mountains — Ancient volcanic peaks and bushland trails
• Mt. Coot-tha — Panoramic Brisbane views and botanical gardens
• Bribie Island — Quiet beaches and unexpected wildlife
• Fortitude Valley — Brisbane’s entertainment district

Reflections

Traveling with a teenager is its own adventure. Keegan navigated the trip with the particular mix of enthusiasm and skepticism that 13-year-olds specialize in—genuinely excited to pet a koala, genuinely unimpressed by yet another scenic lookout. Finding activities that work for both adults and adolescents requires calibration, but the wildlife experiences were universal hits.

The AI assistance—both in planning and post-trip organization—was a small but meaningful experiment. Trip planning has always been something I enjoy, but having a tool that can structure complex logistics, remember details across multiple conversations, and later organize photo metadata adds a layer of capability I’ll continue to explore.

Brisbane exceeded expectations. Modern and walkable, genuinely friendly people, impressive access to both urban experiences and natural wonders. Celebrating summer while Seattle shivered through winter was exactly the reset our family needed.

We arrived home on January 2nd, tired but carrying 217 photos, a newfound appreciation for Australian wildlife, and the memory of watching fireworks with fruit bats wheeling overhead.

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Trip dates: December 21, 2025 – January 2, 2026