Friday, June 30, 2017

Gold Coast Trip - Gold Coast, Theme Park Destination

Gold Coast is located in Australia's east coast, one metropolitan city full of tourists in the state of Queensland. It is located south of Brisbane, about one to two hour drive away. It has beaches for surfing, precincts for partying and theme parks for family activities.

Spanning across 57 km long of coastline, Gold Coast hosts 12 million people annually, in addition to the half million residents.

I spent four days in Gold Coast and I was not that impressed. I have been looking forward to visiting Gold Coast before I came to Australia as it's one of the most popular tourist destinations. People often sing high pride to Gold Coast and tell how memorable their holiday in this place.

But for me, I am not into it.

Probably...
... I am not a party-goer
... I am not a theme park person
... I am not a surfer

When I go on a holiday, I always look for view and culture. And I could not find these two in Gold Coast.

The view is somehow mediocre: long stretch of beach that can be found almost everywhere.
The culture is not seen anywhere: it's just so diluted with the visitors outnumbering the residents, I guess.

I visited Gold Coast with my cousin and her family. Bringing two children here, we for sure need to visit the theme parks. So, the itinerary was altered to keep them happy.
Day 1 - Sea World
Day 2 - Movie World, Surfers Paradise Beach
Day 3 - Tangalooma Wreck
Day 4 - Byron Bay

There are loads of theme parks in Gold Coast; Sea World, Movie World, Wet n Wild and Paradise Country are under the same management while Dream World and Whitewater World are under another management. After reading tons of reviews, we decided to go to Sea World and Movie World and skipping Dream World because it was still recovering from the accident in 2016.

Sea World
Sea World showcase the creatures from the sea, for sure. It is a huge area separated into different sections: Penguin Encounters, Creatures of the Deep, Dolphin Nursery, Ray Reef, Polar Bear Shores, Shark Bay, Castaway Bay, Seal Harbour and Nickelodeon Land. There are a few scheduled shows that can be enjoyed throughout the day and some theme park attractions within Nickelodeon Land. At the back of Sea World, there lies a resort.

Foods and drinks can be easily purchased within the compound and there is regular monorail service throughout the day (~30 minute interval). We entered the place after lunch and spent the whole half day inside. We walked in and took the monorail out.

The kids had great time.

Sea World Gold Coast

The reservoir used for Jet Stunt Extreme (1:00 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. - we missed both)

The informative Penguin Encounters

The penguins

Inside the exhibits of Creatures of the Deep

There are explanations for kids to learn, and some come with a button for people to press and learn the movement/sound of those creatures

Leatherback turtle

Randomly found cranes

In front of Creatures of the Deep

Shark is the predator

I found my love

Finally visited Bikini Bottom!!!

And I decided to switch career - selling jellyfish jelly

I'm ready I'm ready I'm ready

Of course my favourite place in the whole Sea World :P

I never knew Dora is a sea creature

Manta Ray, we are allowed to pet them. They are squishy and soft.

Shark bay

Another type of sharks

Sea turtle

The predator of the sea

The aquarium of Shark Bay

Dolphin Show - that we did not miss

Movie World
Movie World showcases the rides inspired from productions of Warner Bros studio, such as DC Comics, Scooby Doo and Looney Tunes. It was divided into a few zones with kids zone at the end. As how theme parks shall be enjoyed, Movie World should be visited in a group of people with same interests, especially those into thrilling rides. I counted there're eight thrill rides in the park.

Movie World is located side by side to Wet n Wild and Paradise Country. I don't think it is possible to enjoy all three in one day. We just went to Movie World and it consumed one full day of our time. The parks are open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Movie World Gold Coast

The main alley

Looney Tunes 4D Show

My childhood memory

Kids Zone

Little coaster for little children

Carousel

Junior driving school - you can get a license for your kids after they complete the ride, with a price of course

That's a nursery, cute oh?

He almost can't fit into it 

Bug Stop

Tweety's Cage

Before the show at the main atrium

Hollywood Stunt Driver Show

One of the thrill rides

We chose less thrilling one 

DC Villains Zone

Another DC Villain

Batman's ride?

So tempted to ride, but I gave it a pass

Two theme parks in two days are achievable. But four in two days? Nah. You'll barely see anything.

Love is in the air,
Little Feet

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Last Autumn Weekend, Kings Cross Market

Autumn in Sydney is not visible until very very late. The only sign of autumn in Sydney is the temperature cooling down from March onwards.

That's the last weekend of autumn, when I decided to go for a little walk. By little walk, I mean, 2.7km walk to Kings Cross Organic Food Market.

Not that I wanted to shop groceries in a market 3km away from my house, I just wanted to see the hype, the people, the buy-sell activities, everything.

I am so much satisfied with the walk.

Somewhere along Kent Street, late May view

Supreme Court of New South Wales

Hyde Park Barracks

Golden and crispy looking trees

Little Feet amongst the leaves

St. Mary Cathedral, looking gorgeous in autumn!

Upon passing Hyde Park, I stepped into Wooloomooloo, an inner city eastern suburb of Sydney. Located 1.5km from Sydney centre, Wooloomooloo is the home of famous Kings Cross and Potts Point.

Probably derived from an aboriginal word "wallamullah" which means place of plenty, Wooloomooloo got its name. It was originally a working class area of Sydney and just recently went through redevelopment to attract more homebuyers.

What a cute way to derive the name

Looking at this, I am stupefied

And the sunshine

After walking about 40 minutes, I finally reached Kings Cross Organic Market. The market is held weekly in the vicinity of iconic Al Alamein Fountain. Al Alamein Fountain is the memorial of the soldiers who died in World War II during the battle in Al Alamein, Egypt. The dandelion-shaped structure was completed in 1961 and won many awards afterwards.

First sight of Kings Cross Organic Market

The fountain and a sign post showing distances to various cities in the world

What a pretty backdrop for a market

Food stalls
 
Fresh produces, homemade stuffs

A terrific french patisserie

After walking around, I decided to but the almond croissant and it was superb! A very nice friend asked me out for lunch and I quickly agreed to it. I walked another 2km or so to Surry Hills and catch a bus from there.

People say Sydney has terrible public transport. I agree with that but I love walking around this beautiful city. And I like to amuse myself with little things that I found.

Like this cute mailbox asking for pizza voucher

And this pretty little red door

Love is in the air,
Little Feet