A school group feeding the alpacas from cups among the trees at Historic Rivermill, Gold Coast

The River Day · Gold Coast Hinterland

School Excursions

Enquire About a Visit See the Activities Choose Your Sessions

A guided day by the river

A Day Your Class Will Remember

A fully guided excursion beside the Coomera River, for children from age 2 in early learning through to Year 9, taken by schools, early-learning centres and home-school groups.

Easy to reach

30 minutes from the Gold Coast, an hour from Brisbane

Built around your class

Two base activities for all, then choose at least one session, or as many as you like

A guide for every group

One Rivermill guide with each group of 25

Included in every visit

The Base Activities

Every class does both of these two core activities. You then choose the rest from the menu below.

$15 a child · both activities included

A group of children hand-feeding the alpacas from cups among the trees at Historic Rivermill

The Feed Shed Every visit · all ages Children weigh and mix the animals' feed, then carry it out to the goats, sheep and alpacas and record who ate what.

A girl on the jetty pointing at a group of wild freshwater turtles in the Coomera River at Historic Rivermill

The River Ecosystem Walk Every visit · all ages A guided survey to the turtle jetty: measuring the giant figs, tallying bird calls and counting turtles from the rail.

Choose at booking

Choose Your Sessions

Pick the one that matches the unit you're teaching, or simply the ones your class will love.

Choose at least one · add as many as your day allows

A child in a riding helmet touching the face of a Peruvian Paso horse held by its handler

Prep–Year 9 · Science

Grooming the Peruvian Paso Horse

Every child grooms a horse from the herd.

The children meet the working herd of Peruvian Paso horses, a breed shaped over five centuries for its smooth gait. They learn to greet a horse safely, how to read its ears and feet and how to approach, then take turns grooming with our horse specialist beside your guide the whole time. A care station shows what a horse needs each day: feed, hooves and tack. Every child grooms, and no one rides.

$7.50 a child

School children sorting their catch in a white tray with a net, hand lens and identification chart beside the river with their guide at Historic Rivermill

Years 3–6 · Science

River Scientists

Net dipping and water tests along the river.

Working in small groups along the river's slow bend, children dip with nets, sort their catch in white trays against a key, and take a water reading at each station for temperature, clarity and pH. Everyone brings their finds together for a count-up, and the guide asks what the moving river carries that a still pond does not, and what that says about the water the whole property drains to. Everything goes back in the water before hands are washed.

$4.50 a child

Young children pond dipping with nets and sorting trays beside the pond with their guide at Historic Rivermill

Years 1–6 · Science

Pond Explorers

Pond dipping made for younger hands.

The gentler version of our river science session. In small teams at the pond edge, children dip with wide nets, tip the catch into shallow trays and match the waterbugs to a picture key that needs no reading, then score the pond's health. Everything goes back in the water. Built for little hands, with wide-mouth nets and shallow trays.

$4.50 a child

Young children sorting seeds and potting a seedling at a bench with their guide at Historic Rivermill

Prep–Year 2 · Science

Little Growers

Pot a seedling to take home and grow.

Seed to plant, for our youngest visitors. Children sort and examine real seeds, pot a seedling to take home with its own care card, and start a class growth diary with the first measurements, so the excursion carries on back on the classroom windowsill.

$4.50 a child

The arrowroot-mill museum display at Historic Rivermill

Years 2–6 · HASS

Arrowroot Days

Mill history you can touch, under cover.

History the children handle, in the museum and barn, under cover in any weather. They become artefact detectives, handling and sketching mill-era objects, try the old-time jobs at the washboard, hand grinder and rope-and-pulley, and mix the very arrowroot starch the mill once made. Each group ends by laying the story in order and reporting one thing they are sure of and one thing the evidence cannot settle.

$4.50 a child

Museum object tables at Historic Rivermill where children work as history detectives

Years 3–6 · HASS

Before the Road

History detectives in the museum, any weather.

Object tables in the museum, groups of four rotating with an evidence sheet, then a timeline argued outside with the river in view. Each group reports one thing it is certain of and one thing the evidence cannot settle. An indoor session that runs unchanged in any weather.

$4.50 a child

Children planting tubestock and potting seedlings at Historic Rivermill

Years 4–6 · Science

Weed and Seed

Clear the weeds, plant the ground, date a stake.

Children learn to tell a native seedling from two invaders before touching anything. Gloved pairs then work a staff-checked ten-metre strip: pull, bag and count the weeds, plant the cleared ground with tubestock, water it and date a stake with the school's name on it. Every child also pots a seedling for the classroom.

$4.50 a child

A rider in white putting a Peruvian Paso horse through its smooth four-beat gait beside the river at Historic Rivermill

Any year level · Whole school

Horse Show

The Paso gait demonstration for the whole school.

One rider, the whole school watching, and the four-beat gait this breed was made for. A short arena demonstration of the Peruvian Paso's smooth, even step, with our rider explaining what makes the gait so distinctive as the horse works the ring. Runs with a 25-child minimum on the day.

$6 a child

Order with your booking

Lunch Options

Ordered with your booking, or your families simply pack their own.

Children's Picnic Basket $15 / child

Café Group Platters Order ahead

Good to know

Paperwork You'll Receive

Everything your approval needs, sent with your booking confirmation.

Risk assessment
Insurance certificate
Curriculum links for your chosen sessions

Download the Risk Assessment (PDF)

The shape of the day

How the Day Runs

About 3 hours 30 minutes on site. We set the start and finish around your coach window, so the clock is yours, not ours.

Arrive

Welcome and safety brief, and the class splits into groups.

Activities

Your two base activities and the sessions you chose.

Lunch

A picnic by the river, or café platters, you choose.

Riverside time

Free time on the lawns with a discovery trail sheet and the turtle jetty.

Depart

Headcount and load the buses.

Whatever the weather, we have a wet and hot day plan, so a booked day always runs.

Spotting list

Who You Might Meet

Our farm animals, plus the wildlife that lives along this stretch of the Coomera River. How many can your group tick off?

Murray River turtle — **Turtles**river resident

A rider with a horse at Historic Rivermill — **Horses**farm resident

**Platypuses**river resident, rarely seen

Rainbow lorikeet — **Rainbow Lorikeets**regular visitor

Sulphur-crested cockatoo — **Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos**regular visitor

Wood duck — **Wood Ducks**regular visitor

Noisy miner — **Noisy Miners**regular visitor

Eastern water dragon — **Eastern Water Dragons**regular visitor

Azure kingfisher — **Azure Kingfishers**regular visitor

**Cormorants**river resident, often seen

Australian bass — **Australian Bass**regular visitor

Long-fin eel — **Long-Fin Eels**river resident

Australian magpie — **Australian Magpies**regular visitor

Australian white ibis — **Australian White Ibises**occasional visitor

Australian brush-turkey — **Australian Brush-Turkeys**occasional visitor

Wandering whistling duck — **Wandering Whistling Ducks**occasional visitor

Tawny frogmouth — **Tawny Frogmouths**occasional visitor

Carpet python — **Carpet Pythons**attic resident, rarely seen

Yellow-tailed black cockatoo — **Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos**occasional visitor

Flying fox — **Flying Foxes**seen at dusk

Sugar glider — **Sugar Gliders**seen at dusk

Plan your excursion

Enquire About a River Day

Tell us about your group and what you'd like the children to take away, and we'll send a plan and a quote within two business days.

Your name

School / centre

Type of group

Approx. children

Phone

Year level / age group

Preferred dates

What are you hoping for?

Excursion Terms and Conditions

These terms apply to The River Day school excursion. By booking, or by accepting our quote, the school or organiser agrees to these terms for its staff, accompanying adults and students. The version that applies is the one current when your booking is confirmed. Your quote and booking confirmation set out your dates, sessions, numbers and fees; these terms set out the rules that apply.

Booking and payment. Accepting the quote confirms the booking. The fees for your visit, and any deposit, are set out in your quote. Schools pay no deposit and are invoiced on seven-day terms, or pay on the day. You confirm your final numbers and chosen sessions at least 48 hours before the visit, and the invoice is based on those confirmed numbers, or on the number who attend if that is higher.

Changes and cancellation. You may change or cancel free of charge seven or more days before the visit. Within seven days, 50 per cent of the booking is payable. If you cancel on the day, or do not attend, the full booking is payable. If severe weather prevents the day going ahead safely, we offer a free reschedule.

Our right to vary the day. We may vary, substitute or omit an activity where weather, animal welfare, staff availability or safety requires it. A sensible substitution of this kind is not a cancellation and does not trigger a refund. If fire, flood, storm, disease control, a public-health direction or another event beyond our control forces the site to close, we offer a free reschedule.

Supervision and duty of care. The visiting school keeps supervision and the duty of care for its students at all times, at its own adult-to-child ratio. Our staff lead the activities; they do not replace the school's supervision. The school manages its students' first aid, medication and behaviour, and headcounts its group at every move.

Before you come. Tell us in advance of any medical, allergy or support needs, and the plan for each. Students bring closed shoes, a hat, sunscreen and a water bottle. Bring your school first-aid kit and student medications, such as EpiPens and inhalers.

Safety precautions everyone follows. Everyone follows our staff's safety instructions at all times. In particular: walk, do not run, especially near the river and behind the horses; stay with your group and teacher at all times; use gentle hands with the animals, and feed them only from the buckets we provide; wash hands straight after handling animals, and again before eating; horses are groomed, not ridden, run by our horse specialist one child at a time; stay behind the rail near the water, and no one enters the water or drinks the river water; keep to the maintained paths, and take care on slopes, steps and edges; in the mill museum and heritage buildings, look but do not touch, and stay with your staff-led group; keep to the paths around wildlife, give snakes space and tell our staff; tell a grown-up straight away if you feel unwell or get hurt; keep food covered, as birds and animals will scavenge it. We may ask anyone not following safety instructions to sit out an activity, and where behaviour puts people or animals at serious risk we may stop an activity or ask that person to leave the activity area.

Our safety provisions. First-aid-qualified staff, first-aid kits and a defibrillator (AED) are on site. Our staff carry radios, wear identification, and set a reunion point on arrival. Our staff can call 000, and there is clear ambulance access.

Food and allergies. Where you order catering, our café prepares food in a kitchen that handles common allergens, and cannot guarantee any item is free of them. Tell us of allergies in advance. Managing a student's severe allergy, including any adrenaline auto-injector, stays with the school.

Damage. The school is responsible for loss or damage to our property, buildings or animals caused by its group beyond fair wear.

Risk acknowledgement. The day involves farm animals, horses, uneven ground, water nearby and outdoor conditions. These carry risks that cannot be entirely removed, even when the day is run carefully and these precautions are followed. The school and accompanying adults acknowledge these risks and take part on that basis. Nothing in these terms removes any right or guarantee that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law, and nothing excludes our liability where the law does not allow it to be excluded.

Photography. We take photographs only with the school's consent, and the school manages parents' permissions. Please do not photograph children from other groups.

Insurance and law. We hold public liability insurance; a Certificate of Currency is available on request. These terms are governed by the laws of Queensland.