I'm looking for fabulous family hostels....

in Australia, NZ & SE Asia. We haven't figured out our itinery in all but think spending time in hostels would bea good way to mix with other people & keep the budget down.
Can anyone recommend specific hostles they've stayed in with the kids? OUr girls will be 3 & 6 so a nice quiet hostel is quite important.
In Oz, we're thinking of spending a couple of weeks in Sydney before flying north to Cairns, then driving (maybe a campervan?) north to Cape Trib. then heading all the way down the East coast, round the corner to Adelaide over a few months - so recommendations on the East coast would be great.
Then the NZ irtinery is a blank page, as is SE Asia - it depends on if there's any unrest etc which countries we'll visit.
Thanks

did you ever find any out of this world family hostels???? leaving soon

I can offer suggestions in SE Asia (travelled there with 8 kids in 2008/2009).
But where exactly?

As for NZ, you might find hiring a car and using cabins in campgrounds is cheaper and more family-friendly than hostels. But I'm not sure - I just live here! People don't tend to realise that campgrounds here are quite different to other parts of the world and most have a few self-contatined cabins. Or even try couchsurfing.

Which bits of S.E. Asia are you thinking about? And, why hostels in particular?

We tend to stay in cheapish guesthouses or hotels. We've paid anywhere from $4 to $12 (for which we got a pool) for rooms with an ensuite bathroom and, generally, two beds.

Let me know and I'll drop you some recommendations of places we've stayed...

Theodora
http://www.travelswithanineyearold.com

Hi, sorry I haven't been back on here for a while.
We leave next week, I think for Australia & New Zealand we will be camping a lot, we're still really undecided on what to do with S.E Asia - I think we're going to go to Kuala Lumpa and use my friends place as a bit of a base and do trips from there to Borneo/Penang/Thai islands/Bangkok etc but it wil depend how the kids are coping with life on the road as to how much or how little we do
. I did think at the start that hostels would be a cheaper option, with a good atmosphere, but I think for Oz & NZ the kids will get that from camp sites too, so it should be ok.
Thank-you for your replies, I do appreciate it.

Pretty sure this is going to be futile as I think your trip has passed, but it might be helpful for future reference. I'm currently a senior in high school, but my family and I backpacked through Oz for two months in the summer (winter in Oz) of 2009. There's really only one hostel that sticks out in my mind, and that is Urban Central Backpackers in Melbourne.
http://www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/australia/melbourne/6128/

I found it to be very family friendly. The kitchen was always bustling and it was a fun place to cook as we only ate out about once per city. The location is awesome, it was a short walk from the main tram route that circles the city. A little trick, riding the tram for a full circle around the city is a cheap way to get a feel for the city and do a little sightseeing.

Hope I've helped.