‘Wippa’, The Wiggles and more are streaming the best of Aussie travel straight into your living room this weekend!
For the entire weekend of May 16 and 17, Tourism Australia will be going live with exclusive travel experiences, broadcasting on the hour, every hour!
If you’ve been going a little bonkers from staring at your own walls during isolation, you can get ready for some adventure because Tourism Australia is about to whet your appetite for travel with Live from Aus – a curated live streamed program bringing the best of Aussie travel straight into our living rooms.
Launching Friday 15 May and followed by a back-to-back weekend program (16 – 17 May), Live from Aus will feature household names such as Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli’ and The Wiggles who’ll be taking us from the coast to outback and introducing us to some of the countries most adorable wildlife characters along the way.
Wippa, who’ll letting us in on the magic of the little penguins sunset return to their home in the world’s largest penguin colony on Phillip Island says we’re all in for a real treat thanks to one penguin in particular, Pete.
“Pete’s got a surprising amount of penguin facts to share,” Wippa tells Bounty Parents. “He’s even got an incredible story about a seagull who challenged a penguin to a race. Kids are going to love it.”
Tune in on Sunday night as Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli takes us all on an adorable penguin adventure in Phillip Island.
As the hope that travel restrictions within Australia will be more relaxed in the not too distant future looms, Wippa assures us that the imagery in these streams is the next best thing to being there in person.
“There’s incredible long shots of all of these tiny little penguins coming home at sunset which will take your breath away,” says the Fitzy and Wippa breakfast ration co-host. “But we’ve also got fixed cameras at various points, and the penguins come right up and check them out, so you have these cute little guys right up close in front of your eyes.”
As for his own travel plans there’s plenty of Australia that Wippa is keen to get back to with his growing fam. He and wife Lisa welcomed their baby girl Francesca into the world last month, making them a family of four.
“Even though her brothers are keen for her to have her own bike and get riding with them, we’re a little way from adventure just yet,” he laughs.
But when clan Wipfli get back on the road, Australia’s Top End is high on the list of dream destinations.
“We’ve been doing some fishing on the rocks near home, but the only thing we’ve caught is a cold,” jokes Wippa. “So I’m excited to take the boys to the Northern Territory and see if we can catch ourselves a barramundi!”
You can see more about Wippa and the penguins in the gallery below.
From penguins to crocs, and Dreamtime stories to discos we’re in for jam-packed Aussie family adventure this weekend
Wippa joins other Aussie legends like The Wiggles, chefs Jock Zonfrillo, Jo Barrett, Matt Moran and Hayden Quinn, fashion icon Laura Brown and the Outback Wrangler Matt Wright who are all bringing a tempting taste of Aussie travel ready to inspire your next adventure.
Live From Aus kicks off at 7:30pm AEST, Friday 15 May with a special one-off national broadcast on Channel Ten’s The Project and will be live streamed thereafter on Tourism Australia’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Check out our favourite picks for family-friendly streaming in the gallery below, but there’s plenty more on offer, you can check out the full weekend schedule on the Tourism Australia’s Facebook Live From Aus Event page.
Kids Club: Sing and Dance with The Wiggles, live from Sydney | Sat 16 May, 10 AM
Kids, grab your dancing shoes and get a front row seat to an exclusive LIVE performance by the Wiggles, featuring your favourite Aussie songs. Join Emma, Lachy, Simon and Anthony, and dance your heart out from the comfort of your living room.
Koala-ty Time with Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary & Candice Dixon, live from the Gold Coast | Sat 16 May, 12 PM
Join Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Wildlife Hospital as they go LIVE for the first time in their 73-year history, hosted by Candice Dixon. Though their doors may be temporarily closed, life beyond the sanctuary gates is as busy as ever. Explore this beautiful sanctuary and meet Humphrey, the Gold Coast’s most popular male koala, as he heads to the wildlife hospital for his regular check-up.
Questacon: Behind the Scenes live from Canberra | Sat 16 May, 3 PM
Join Australia’s National Science and Technology Centre LIVE from its flagship building in Canberra for an exclusive tour behind the scenes and discover what Questacon staff have been up to in isolation. But be warned… things have been getting a bit weird and whacky with no visitors around for the team to talk to. From lost astronauts to fiery explosions, misbehaving puppets, and liquid nitrogen eruptions, prepare yourself and the family to discover a side of Questacon you haven’t seen before.
Underwater Reef Tour with Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef | Sat 16 May, 4 PM
Grab your snorkel and dive deep underwater in this virtual tour of Australia’s spectacular Great Barrier Reef, home to over 1,500 species of fish, 600 species of coral and 30 different species of whales and dolphins. Join Andy Ridley from Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef learn about the importance of protecting one of the greatest wonders of the world, in this engaging journey of tourism and conservation working closely together.
Uluru Sunset Session with First Nations music curated by Sounds Australia | Sat 16 May, 6 PM
Take a moment to connect with nature as we transport you to the Northern Territory to witness a spectacular sunset LIVE at Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. Sit back, soak up the scenery of the outback and the Field of Light art installation, and enjoy a First Nations Soundtrack curated by Sounds Australia, featuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists with ties to the Central Desert region.
Australian wildlife with Zookeeper Chad & Laura Brown, live from Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park & New York City | Sun 17 May, 8 AM
Ever wondered how far a kangaroo can hop or how long a koala sleeps? Fall in love with our native Australian wildlife all over again in this interactive Q&A LIVE from Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park, home to the largest collection of Australian animals in the world. Join Zookeeper Chad Staples, who was instrumental in saving the lives of many animals during the devastating Australian Bushfires on the South Coast of NSW earlier this year, along with Australian fashion icon and animal lover Laura Brown live from her lockdown in New York City, and get ready to brush up on your knowledge of Aussie animals.
Crocodile Encounter with Matt Wright, live from the Top End NT | Sun 17 May, 12 PM
Who’s up for a spot of croc wrangling? Join Aussie legend and the modern day Crocodile Dundee, Matt Wright – AKA the ‘Outback Wrangler’ from the hit National Geographic TV show – LIVE from his wild backyard in the Northern Territory. We might see some crocs, take the heli out.. whatever you feel like. Guaranteed adventure and good times ahead.
Kangaroo Feeding with Chris “Brolga” Barnes, live from Alice Springs | Sun 17 May, 4 PM
It’s time for kangaroo kisses, as we hop over to the Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs to meet Chris ‘Brolga’ Barns and his family of joeys. Brolga, aka ‘Kangaroo Dundee’, will guide you on a private tour of the sanctuary’s 36-hectare property and get up close with beautiful red kangaroos of the Red Centre. Then, as the baby joeys wake from their daytime snuggles, get ready to bottle feed them as they get stuck into their beloved milk for dinner.
Kangaroo Island Tour with Craig Wickham from Exceptional Kangaroo Island | Sun 17 May, 5 PM
Experience Kangaroo Island in style as Craig Wickham from Exceptional Kangaroo Island takes you on a LIVE journey at Stokes Bay on Kangaroo Island’s north coast. Craig, his family and their team of local experts have been operating luxury small group and private tours on the island since 1986 with an underlying promise of good food, good wine and wildlife in the wild. Tune in for a taste of what makes Kangaroo Island such a special holiday destination.
Penguin Parade Bedtime Stories with Wippa, from Phillip Island | Sun 17 May, 6 PM
Take in the magic of little penguins returning home to the world’s largest little penguin colony in this playful bedtime story narrated by one of Australia’s funniest dads, Michael “Wippa” Wipfli. Join us at Phillip Island as we watch the world’s smallest and most adorable penguins waddle up the beach at sunset, heading home to their warm burrows after a long day fishing out at sea. Cuteness guaranteed.
Dreamtime Stories with Darren ‘Capes’ Capewell, live from Shark Bay | Sun 17 May, 7 PM
Watch and learn as Darren “Capes” Capewell, a descendant of the Nhanda and Malgana people, shares the secrets of this beautiful land and the deep spiritual connection between the people and this amazing saltwater country. Set in the Gutharraguda (Shark Bay) region of Western Australia, Capes alongside his daughter Helena, will be LIVE to share stories of the land and the oldest living culture, while preparing a locally caught fish over a campfire.
