Gold Coast- Tweeny’s Highlights

For me these are the to-do’s of the Gold Coast, theme park capital of Australia. 

Gold Coast - Perfect for lazy days!

Some highlights:                                                                       

1.      SeaWorld- Far less queues than Warner Brothers Movie World and much shorter ones too! The longest I waited was 35 minutes. My favourite ride was definitely the jet-ski ride! That is definitely one to look out for if you like going really fast! Here I was tall enough for all the major rides.

WARNING: if you are going to SeaWorld don’t forget to have swimmers with you. You will get very wet! I also suggest checking out the SeaWorld Resort pool. It has a big waterslide called The Mammoth and a kiddie pool.

2.      Tallebudgera Beach- your local beach is all well and fine if you want to wave-jump or boogie-board, but if you want a relaxing beach this is this is the go-to alternative.  It doesn’t have any waves and you can swim across to the opposite beach easily! It’s got far nicer sand to lie down on and not as many people.

3.       The Surfers Paradise Markets – They are on a few times a week in the evening.  There are lots of cool stalls such as my favourites, the custom made Hat Graffiti stall and Your Hand in Wax stall. If you want a graffitied hat I suggest you get in early, as lots of people will have the same idea as you. If you are desperate for those hats they also have a store at Movie World. It is super cute and I’m sure you’ll find something that floats your boat.                               

4.       Firework Wars at Surfers Paradise - we were lucky enough to see the firework wars between 3 companies. They all produce a firework show and the audience decided on a favourite. You will get the best view from the beach.                                                                                     

5.       Hurricanes Bar and Grill in Surfers Paradise- They do the best ribs ever! If you are in a meaty mood, your food destination is sorted.                                     

Gold Coast- Tweeny's Overview

My family and I recently went on a holiday to the Gold Coast in Australia.  It was fun and action packed (with some relaxation).

The best bit of the holiday for me was running into one of my Canberra school friends at Warner Brothers Movie World. It felt like a really busy day and we were walking around the theme park and hey presto there she was! Talk about a coinky-dink! This huge coincidence lead to an amazing visit to SeaWorld! The parents all agreed that we could go to SeaWorld in a few days together. So, a day later we went to SeaWorld together. What’s even weirder is that another Canberra friend called my mum to say they were in the Gold Coast too and they were also going to SeaWorld that day. So the three of us set off on our Seaworld adventure together. We did all the fun-looking rides and had a great time!

We went up Mt Tamborine, to the calmest beach I’ve ever been to, the tastiest rib restaurant, a scary surprise house and much, much more.

The Storm Attraction at SeaWorld

Back to the Gold Coast, Australia

Our very first family vacation (involving a plane trip) was to the Gold Coast, Australia to enjoy sun, sea and some serious beach time when Tweeny was two years old. Everything was scheduled around nap times with the highlight of the trip being the Big Red Car ride at the Wiggle World Attraction at Dream World Theme Park.

This time round Tweeny is ten and tall enough for all (well most) of the rides at the theme parks!! She has made it clear pre-journey she thinks the seven day vacation would be well spent visiting each of the major four theme parks located around the Gold Coast – Dream World, Wet ‘n’ Wild, Sea World and Warner Bros Movie World. Theme Parks are not my idea of a relaxing vacation! I was hoping to spend the vacation exploring the natural beauty around the Gold Coast with scenic drives and walks around beaches and rainforests. The husband is keen for some R&R, reading a book or two in relative peace and quiet (hard to achieve with Tweeny and I around!).

If you are after a crowd pleaser, the Gold Coast certainly gets my vote for a good broad ranging family vacation (Gold Coast is such a crowd pleaser that we ran into two other Canberra families during our week there). It offered everything all three of us wanted in a vacation. There seems to be something to suit all tastes at the Gold Coast, from the crowds and attractions of the theme parks and Surfers Paradise to the quiet isolation of the rainforest.

Leaving our mark on the Gold Coast

For me the key to a successful vacation at the Gold Coast is location of accommodation. Decide as a family if you want to be right in the thick of things at Surfers Paradise or if you prefer a quieter location. I find the crowds at Surfers Paradise a little overwhelming, so we stayed a few beaches down at Mermaid Beach.

So what did we manage to fit into our seven days? Two theme parks, quite a few beach days and a day up in the rainforest and mountains.

A little bit of all of our vacation wish lists were ticked off. All in all, it was a lovely family vacation; I for one could have happily stayed for longer and will not hesitate in instigating another Gold Coast vacation in the future.

Planning Family Vacations

When it comes to plotting, preparing, arranging, and scheduling a family vacation, I am the main instigator. My feet are the itchiest in the family, after living in six different countries and changing school seven times, I still want to see more! I want to share the world a little at a time with my Tweeny Traveler, so I am happy to be the family travel ringleader to make it all happen.

My family travel leadership doesn’t go to the point of being a total control freak with hourly spreadsheets of how we will spend our vacation time (well maybe sometimes but I am working on it). My scheduling stops at researching, booking accommodation and flights (if applicable). With the basics covered of where to stay, how to get there and a general overview of available attractions, natural wonders and activities, I start discussing possibilities with Tweeny Traveler and the husband, so they can also think and marinate about the type of vacation experience they want. Although they don’t add much input!

Our traveling party of three doesn’t always agree, in fact our three visions of the perfect vacation are vastly different. The husband’s ideal vacation day would be spent in Singapore, eating six – seven street meals a day. Tweeny Traveler’s ideal vacation day involves a resort pool, a swim up bar and pool side room service (she knew how to say charge it to my room by age four – I know bad parenting!). My ideal vacation would be in New York, walking, shopping and having cocktails throughout the city but Tweeny wouldn’t mind that so much.

 

Singapore 2013 - The husband ate while Tweeny and I shopped but we all took time out to enjoy the view
 

What works for us, is taking turns to make decisions on how to spend the day. If there is something particularly objectionable to one of us, we also divide up. In Singapore, the husband was not interested in shopping along Orchard Street, so he ditched Tweeny and me to eat some local delicacies (that we were not particularly interested in) while we shopped. Win – Win situation if you ask me.  So far together, we have been to 14 countries and counting. We love travelling, and if we are going on a holiday assume I booked it!

Camp Cooba

This is a holiday away from my parents and with my friends. This was Year 5 camp at Camp Cooba in Cooma. It was super fun! We learnt how to drive, we climbed the highest peak in Australia, we swung from 12 metres in the air, we BMXed through mountains, we careered up and down hills in shiny, metal chariots, we manoeuvred our way through the bush with only a map and a walkie-talkie, we plummeted down a tunnel of water that plunged us into an aquatic wonderland with underwater geysers and we were suspended high above the ground on rickety, old chairs attached to strings! Not really!

Well we sort of did some of those things. Learning to drive was driving Dirt Buggies. They were a two- seater. We we're put into groups of 3. There were three jobs:
~ Job 1- driving! We had to follow marked out tracks, the aim was not to crash!
~ Job 2 - passenger! We had to help the driver out if they need help and scream our heads off!
~ Job 3- pit crew! We had to check that the driver could reach the pedals, that the drivers and passengers helmets and seat belts were fastened securely, hold up a yellow to say ready, yell out START YOUR ENGINES, hold up a green flag to say go, a red flag to say stop and yell out TURN OFF YOUR ENGINES!

Climbing the highest peak in Australia was trekking up Mount Kosciuszko 4km to the lookout. We ate chips at the lookout then continued back down the mountain.

Swinging from 12 metres in the air was the Big Swing at Camp Cooba. There were 2 thick wooden poles with 2 V shaped cables connecting in the middle with a clip. We were placed in a harness and a ladder was carried out, we would stand on it and be clipped in then sit in an uncomfortable wedgie. Then the rest of the team would haul you up in the air by pulling a rope, you could say stop or go to the top, then they would count down from five. 5,4,3,2,1 you pull an orange string and drop and swing backwards and forwards. The ladder would then come out and you would be unclipped, harness taken off and walk back to line with shaky legs.

BMXing through mountains was mountain biking (although it was more like hill biking if you ask me). We just rode around tracks, went on a see-saw where we rode up and then it went down as we went down and we went on balance beams where the aim was to stay on it and not slide off, to teach you to ride straight.

Careering up and down hills in shiny metal chariots was bobsledding. They were metal but not that shiny. We were placed in the bobsleds and we went up a hill then down a few with many swerving corners. We pulled the metal stick towards us to stop, kept it in the middle for slow and pushed away from us for fast. There were a lot of slow down signs but I don't think many slowed down!

Manoeuvring our way through the bush was Team Manoeuvres. There were 3 teams and 2 captains. Team 1- red- long distance team. Team 2- green- short distance team and Team 3- yellow- middle. The 2 captains got to stay at Homebase, help the teams on their way and keep a record of the boxes each team found. They also got to choose who went in what team and which boxes they would head for. There were many boxes and every box had a different item in it. Some had clues for other boxes and some had keys. If any team found a box with a key in it they would keep it with them for when they were called back to Homebase they could try to see if it would open a big box at Homebase. The maps each had a map that showed where each box is and the rules. Lucky me I was a captain. Poor yellow team started heading in the wrong direction! When the teams came back they were moaning " My legs hurt", " I'm itchy" and " I'm covered in prickles!"

 

Hard at work at Home Base leading yellow team in the right direction...literally

Plummeting down a tunnel of water that plunged us into and aquatic wonderland with underwater geysers was the pool. We went there the same day we went to Mount Koziuscko. The tunnel of water was a waterslide, the aquatic wonderland was the pool and the underwater geysers were the jets in the spa.

And finally, being suspended high above ground on rickety old chairs was the chairlift that took us to Mount Koziuscko.

 

Whoa! We are up high.

All in all it was a great holiday.

Bali - an overview

My favourite holiday was in Bali, Indonesia. It was sunny and warm, and I was escaping a long Canberra winter. It is my favourite holiday because it was relaxing and fun. I loved all the fun activities and the weather was amazing.

When in Bali we traveled to three places: Nusa Dua, Candidasa and Kuta, in that order. We stayed in  Nusa Dua for 2 nights, Candidasa for a week and just 1 night in Kuta. My favourite hotel was the Hard Rock Hotel in Kuta, it was so inviting with a super large pool! Pity we only stayed for a night.

We took cooking classes, bought some(36) pirated DVDS (naughty us), swam in pools, walked and swam on beaches, rode in a banana boat, visited a temple and much, much more.

  

Me playing cards by the pool in Candidasa  

Sharing the world a little at a time with my Tweeny Traveler

I am just your average Australian girl repatriating into life back home in Canberra, Australia after three years living in Washington DC in the USA.

I love sharing the world a little at a time with my Tweeny Traveler and watching her experience things for the first time. Not always do the experiences go to plan! Our very first family vacation (involving a plane trip) was to the Gold Coast, Australia to enjoy sun, sea and some serious beach time. Tweeny was two years old and I was a bit nervous about how she would handle her first plane trip. Plane trip turned out great, the excitement of take off, landing and the seatbelts was all the entertainment she needed for the short flight from Sydney, Australia.

On day one of our long awaited beach holiday, we discovered that two year old Tweeny Traveler despised the sand on the beach. The first touch of sand on her chubby little toes sent her into a high pitched toddler squeal and she demanded to be picked up. Going into the water was out of the question as it involved her feet touching the sand. No reasoning (or bribery) was going to change her mind. So we packed up our carefully selected buckets and spades and our beach holiday became our resort pool holiday.

 

Tweeny Traveler doesn't so much mind a beach holiday these days