The Lucky Country: Australia (Part 1- Gold Coast)

Could there be a better start to your 10 day Aussie vacation than Sun, Sand, Beaches and Fun?

Gold Coast. The most happening place on the East coast of Australia. With sunshine for 300 days a year, it is definitely the sunshine city!

There are however, many words like ‘touristy’, ‘typical’, ‘crowded’ that get attached to this East Coast magnet. True. There certainly is no other city that better captures the Australian spirit? Laid back culture. Surfs and Sands. And oodles of fun. Australia, truly.

Here’s the best of our 48 hours in Gold coast-

Day 1

Paradise Country

Our visit started with the Australian farm experience for the girls R&R. Paradise Country it was.

With a rustic feel to it, caught some old bicycles, trunks and fans displayed. Oh, yes, the milk can too! All this close to the Lamb feeding area.

R&R queued up patiently for their turn to feed the cute bouncing lambs! It was worth the wait, they concluded.

It was time for some sheep lessons next at the Sheep shearing show. Different horn sizes, colours and sizes distinguished these ‘dorsets’. A sheep was sheared right in front of us. (I couldn’t bear the stench, sights and dashed out). Sheep skin here now. Gone soon. The show seemed dull, monotonous and painfully long, to me. Thumbs down.

Show over, we moved to touch the Kangaroos and Koalas.

The Kangas were dime a dozen and we could touch them and pet, pose with them. These poor animals seemed too ‘zoned out’ to me. But the girls, especially the younger R loved the experience.

How adorable the Koalas looked. The ones that were awake that is! That was the end of the paradise country stopover.

Next on the itinerary was Warner Bros Movieworld. Woohoo.

Warner Bros Movie World

We reached just in time for the Character Parade @ ‘Main street’. (it seemed  already full. Luckily, we managed to find a vantage spot, and plonked ourselves there.

The character parade began with excitement running high among kids. Not only ours. Cartoon characters kicked off the frenzy. Batman with his snazzy machine had the adults full attention too.

The kids excitement meter touched its peak as soon these characters got down to touch them!

Show over, it was time to experience the thrilling rides. This vacation (as others) was R&R centric. So, we didn’t look around too much for adults rides. The WB Kids Funzone is right behind Main Street. We dashed off to make the most of it with about 2 hours left for park closure.

There are 7-8 rides here and we just about managed to ride them all. Starting off with the roller coaster, we called it a day with the ‘Junior Driving School’. This was voted as their favourite ride of the day. Great end to the day.

We hailed a GC cab and headed back to our Airbnb acco. Stopped briefly for some lip smacking North Indian Tandoori dinner.

Our ‘light’ day ended.

Looking forward to the action packed 2nd day.

Day 2

Sea World

Our Day 2 was reserved for Sea World and Surfers Paradise. You want a full day for the best theme park of Gold Coast, isn’t it?

With a waiting time of close to 20 minutes, we finally set foot inside the marvel world. What a friendly bunch of penguins there are at Sea World. And boy, how they love people. You can see how this cute lot actually posed for cameras. Aww. After a quick walk through, we strolled towards Nickelodeon Land. The venue for the Dora and Boots show. R&R were in glee to see their favourite Dora on stage. A riot of colours, the Nickelodeon Zone is filled with rides, character walks and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Show, as well.

Done and dusted, we headed back to the entrance. Not exiting yet. For it was the venue for the popular Jetski stunt show. In true Oz spirit, crowds spread out on lawns. There is just so much rest in the mood. Picked our spot and stretched our legs to catch this high adrenaline show.

Hovering over were a bunch of rowdy sea gulls and birds. Picking on people with food. And with so much elan. Looked like Regulars :) Some water splashing by the champions. One was an American Current Champion and another one an Australian. No marks for guessing who was the favourite.

Lunch polished, it was time for the Sea Lion show. The seating area was choc-a-bloc with viewers. That perhaps built up our expectations.

Show commenced with sea lions sliding down, walking around. However, there were too many dialogues and people talk than sea lion watch. Drama and drag. Reminded us of the Splash safari Show at Singapore Zoo. On the positive note.

Two shows down, time for the best show the Affinity Dolphin show at the other end of the park. The Affinity Dolphin show commenced in style and the dazzling dolphins kept the audience enthralled with their superb stunts. Through out.

What a splendid show. Our votes for this as the Numero Uno show @ Sea World, Gold Coast.

Time quite ticks away faster on vacations. Sigh.Don’t you agree? :(

We scampered to catch the Spongebob 3D movie for only few minutes were left for Sea World to call it a day.

Next destination on our list was the iconic Surfers Beach. Sundowners at Surfers, was our theme :)

Surfers Paradise

The Surfers Paradise night skyline dazzled brightly, with the lull of waves and some ice cold water in the backdrop. Discovered by the kids and husband.

Beachfront market @ Surfers is on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It has an eclectic mix of shops ranging from live glass blowers, masseurs to wildlife. And how can you forget the street performers dressed in various hues. Some like a statue to musicians striking a chord.

Post a scrumptious dinner at Govindas, a fusion vegetarian restaurant, we wanted to walk back to our place.

Also wanted a ride on these trams, but saved it for later. Melbourne may be.

Day 3

Departure to Cairns scheduled for 6.00 a.m., we stopped over briefly at around 5 @ the Burleigh Heads Beach. Perched on a cliff overlooking the sea, we could see why it was a favourite wedding destination.

Oh, btw, that’s Surfers Paradise skyline from Burleigh Heads.

Australians sure know how to take it easy in life. That and our slice of fun @ Gold Coast had to come to an end. Cairns calling.