Riverlife Adventure Centre facts for kids

Riverlife is an exciting adventure center located in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It's found at Kangaroo Point, right by the river. This center is famous for its fun outdoor activities. You can go on guided kayaking tours, learn rock climbing, or try abseiling down cliffs. Riverlife also lets you rent cool gear like kayaks, mountain bikes, kick scooters, and rollerblades to explore the area. It is housed in the historic Naval Stores building.

Riverlife's Story

John Sharpe, the founder of Riverlife

The name "Riverlife" was first thought of in December 2003. After about 18 months of planning and talking with people, Riverlife officially opened on April 5, 2005. It started operating from the old Kangaroo Point Naval Stores building.

This building is very old and has a lot of history. It was built between 1886 and 1888. It was one of two buildings used as a base for Queensland's navy back then. Sadly, the other Naval Stores building burned down in 1987.

The unique pink and green stone you see in the Kangaroo Point Cliffs was dug out from these cliffs. This happened from the early days of the Moreton Bay penal colony until 1976. You can still see signs of this quarrying on the cliff face. This special stone is called Brisbane tuff, and it was used to build many buildings in Brisbane.

In January 2011, big floods hit Queensland. These floods caused over $100,000 worth of damage to Riverlife. Despite this, Riverlife has remained a popular spot. In 2012, it was even ranked among the top attractions in Brisbane. It is also known as one of Queensland's must-do experiences.

Aboriginal Culture and History

Aboriginal people lived in the Brisbane area for at least 22,000 years before Europeans arrived in 1823. The river was a vital source of food, providing fish and shellfish. The stringy bark trees growing along the river were used to make canoes.

There is a special Aboriginal story called 'The Rainbow Serpent'. This story explains how the cliff area along the river bank at Kangaroo Point was created. Different Aboriginal groups shared parts of this important Dreamtime story.

In 2005, a special partnership was formed called Riverlife Mirrabooka. This was a joint effort between Riverlife and the Nunukul Yuggera Dance Troupe. They started sharing the rich Australian Aborigines cultural heritage of Brisbane and Moreton Island. They perform 'Welcome to Country' ceremonies. They also play traditional musical instruments like didgeridoos. This group is a member of Aboriginal Tourism Australia. They are also working to complete a program called Respecting Our Culture (ROC).

Exploring with Tangatours

In 2008, Riverlife started another adventure called Tangatours. This operates in Moreton Bay on Moreton Island, which is also known as Tangalooma. Tangatours offers guided tours along the beautiful beaches of Moreton Island. For these tours, they use segways, which are fun, two-wheeled electric vehicles.

See also

• Tangalooma