Gold Coast Day 5 - Infinity

TAMBORINE RAINFOREST SKYWALK

In my final (*bawls*) day in Gold Coast, I took some time off to visit Tamborine Rainforest Skywalk. This is a new lookout point for tourists to appreciate the flora and rain forests in Australia. About an hour's drive from Surfer's Paradise, this place turned out to be a bit of a disappointment after all the hype. As I drove past the quaint village and cafes and shops at Eagles Heights in anticipation of a marvelous view at the Skywalk, I was really very sorely disappointed. The place is located near the foot of the mountain so there was no view whatsoever, contrary to its name. Admission tickets were priced at $19.50 so you would kinda expect some bang for your buck. 

There was a small cafe with some displays of butterflies and other indigenous insects, and some natural history before we reached the metal bridge with grills on the floor. The walk was really uneventful and there weren't even animals or many birds in view. Our brisk walk took 45mins and we were done.

This is as scenic as it gets

My advice: Don't waste time on this 'attraction'.

GLOW WORMS CAVE

I would recommend a visit to the Glow Worms cave instead at Cedar Creek Estate. It is basically a scenic vineyard with wine tasting sessions, a beautiful garden with swans, fish and tortoises in their pond, but the highlight is the man-made cave full of glow worms. It seemed that there were about 10000 of them in the darkness, emanating gentle green and whitish lights. There is a very experienced guide who would give the rundown of how they maintain the troop inside. Educational and enjoyable at the same time. Plus, who would mind visiting such a pretty vineyard?

Iguanas like these made their discreet presence known occasionally

INFINITY

The evening was spent around Surfer's Paradise within the Chevron Towers itself at Infinity. Definitely something not to be missed, this unique attraction is a cross between an escape-room, a maze and a theme park. The challenge in each room was to find the hidden exit.

Innovative use of light, sound, mirrors, changing temperatures make this place intriguing. The first room stumped us as we struggled to find the exit into the next room. One of the rooms was terrifying as we were in absolute darkness and there were gusts of wind and sudden movements in the ground, coupled with slimy walls and fabrics in our faces. I liked the one where there were laser lights across the room. I felt like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible was I straddled, crawled and did some yoga moves to get to the other end. Each time you hit a laser beam, water shot out at you.

My ride to dinner.....if only!

If you are not exhausted after more than an hour inside Infinity, go for part 2 at the Dracula's House of Horrors. This has several levels of horror, each one themed differently. No grotesquely-dressed actor will charge out at you, but instead, all the scaring was mechanized. For brave souls only.

want a go on the electric chair anyone?

In conclusion, Gold Coast is really a great holiday destination with endless things to do. Perhaps a week would be good to cover all grounds. I would recommend renting a car as getting around by public transport may be a challenge. If you have an iPhone with iMaps, there is no need to rent a GPS as well. Just make sure you have plenty of backup power banks, or get one for the car itself. I wish I had more time this round. Would have loved to visit the beach and just watch the waves or visit the Surf Competition that was on at that time. So, goodbye Australia and see you soon.

Gold Coast Day 4 - Dream World

The Towers of Chevron Renaissance

I think accommodation can make or break a holiday so I definitely have to blog about the serviced apartment at Surfer's Paradise. The name is quite a mouthful, but I really enjoyed the stay there. The hotel is not new, but well-maintained. The pool is gorgeous but sadly, I had no time to use it. It is conveniently located right above a supermarket, plus there is another just minutes away, and is right where the retail action is. All I needed to do was shop a bit, pop up, deposit the bags, have a drink and get ready for round 2. There were also tour companies for me to book discounted entertainment like the Dracula show (which is worth every cent of its price), as well as food all around. The Dracula horror house and Infinity (which I will write about later) is also within minutes. (I congratulated myself on my unbelievable great choice of accommodation when I realized all these. Heh. )

The room rates are very reasonable for a 2 bedroom apartment equipped with a kitchenette and a 270 degrees view. The living room faces the ocean and the bedrooms provide views of the river behind.  My only grouses were that the TV was too small and the sofa was flaking.

Gorgeous view from my bedroom

Movie World

How's an Australian holiday complete without a visit to its famous theme parks, right? I would have loved to visit all the 3 major parks, namely, Movie World, Sea World and Dream World except that I was short on time. I decided on Dream World after quite a bit of research. From what I could gather, Sea World has been accused of mistreating their mammals and people complained of the lack of shelter from the sun. Movie World caters to families and fans of Warner Bros. The choice boiled down to Dream World because it had the most exciting rides, and also that it was possible to visit the adjoining  White Water Park in a same-day pass.

Channeling my inner biker teddy

My favorite gig will be laser quest Kevin Hill. It reminded me of zombie-themed movie Silent Hill. You will be greeted by a Sergeant, who treats you as his new recruit. Once in, you will be given an explanation of the scenario. We were all given vests to wear and lights will blink either red or blue indicating the team you belonged to. Once in, try to shoot members of the opposite team whose lights will blink yellow when hit. When you are hit, you will be unable to shoot for 10 seconds, so lie really low till you recover. There is a score tally at the end of the game to identify the sharpest shooters and the winning team.

My fave recruit Jason Chee

The Tower of Terror is also highly recommended. Basically the ride you sit in gains momentum going backwards, propelling you up the tower, where you will be facing the ground on the way back.

On the opposite side of this ride is where you rise to the highest point of the park, enjoy a breathtaking but suspenseful view (wondering when the machine will let you go) of the area, snort in some fresh air, squirm in your seat before experiencing a 6 seconds free fall.

If you are looking for something more comfortable, try The Claw. It is basically a huge swing cum merry-go-round. Fun but a little more tame.

White Water Park is about half the size of Dream World, so you don't have to spend so much time there. I did try the Wedgie, which lives up to its name. Standing in the capsule, I had no idea what to expect after the trap door opened and released me to a almost vertical drop down a tube. My eyes were shut all the way, and with water surging all over my face, there was no space to breathe. I thought I was gonna drown except that redemption came in 6 seconds when I landed. I got up in a blur and stepped off the slide before realizing the life guard had a full view of my exposed butt cheeks. Cheers to that.

So, was it value for money? Yup, I would definitely go again. One day is too short. And this time, I will make sure I cover the rest of the parks too!

Gold Coast Day 3 - Visit to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

I was undecided if this place would be worth my time as the reviews online were mixed. Some said it was old and rundown or small while others had a good time. So I think the only way to find out was to visit and judge for myself.

I checked out the story behind this Sanctuary and it has quite an impressive record of helping and caring for native animals in Australia. Even though the place is rather old, as long as you adjust your expectations, it can be a pleasant ramble-in-the-park kind of day.

Quoted off their website:

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary founder Alex Griffiths started caring for sick and injured wildlife 63 years ago. As the need for specialist care became obvious, the first veterinarian started work in 1989 and the Currumbin Sanctuary Wildlife Hospital was born. Since that day, the Wildlife Hospital has now grown to admitting over 7000 patients every year and is one of the busiest Wildlife Hospitals in the world.

To date, over 40,000 native animals have been release back into the wild!

Just as a tip: If you are intending to visit this zoo, do check out the various promotions online that may get you up to a whopping 40% off the entrance. Incidentally, there are also Segway tours available for the fun seekers / lazy walkers.

The nice oft-overlooked part of this park are the friendly staff, many of whom have worked for decades in the Sanctuary. Like this senior train operator...

He tirelessly drives the mini-train around the park, making a full round every 20 minutes. I was astounded to learn that he has been working here for 40 years already. He has a stern demeanor but warmed up when we went to speak with him.

And so, this little train took us to see these mammals who were absolutely at home with hoards of visitors treading amongst them. This one had no qualms lying in this obscene position, exposing his underside to amused tourists like me. I almost feel like I need to pixelate his man-parts for decency's sake.

The park wardens explained the differences between kangaroos and wallabies to bewildered noobs like us. Usually the wallabies are smaller in size. (But then again, so are baby kangaroos). This one below is an oversized joey wanting to get into his mommy's pouch.

And here we are, with the entire 'family'. The warden informs us that they respond by names. I really wonder how they can tell the 50(?) members apart.

It is also good to know that animal feed is available FOC or if you want more, a small donation can be made at the cost of $2 at a vending machine.

Jason looks visibly tickled as this wallaby nibbled off his hand.

There is also a trough where the animals get to feed all day so if you went over to the area where these were, you would probably get the cold shoulder from them.

These emu's eat the same stuff but they are really proud and didn't seem up for any physical interaction. Besides, I wouldn't want to be at the receiving end of that sharp beak.

Some other animals in this park:

Some animal related to the porcupine. Very shy, it preferred to stay hidden among the bushes in its enclosure.

Some wild random gecko.

The elusive Tasmanian Devil. Unfortunately, it moves rather fast so a clear shot isn't available.

The last time I posed with a snake was ages ago when I was eleven. Memories ah!

Fortunately, none were trying to eat me like this wooden one here.

And not to mention the koalas. This is a really bad picture of one, but trust me,
there is actually a whole koala behind my head. No marks for a lousy selfie.

Other fun activities you can do here:

Pretend to be crocodile dundee. Or....

Take a walk in the cool evening breeze and pose with huge buttress roots....Or...

Invade the kids' playground...Or...

Crawl into tiny kid-sized caves...Or...

Take silly pictures with even sillier hats. The staff are cool;
they generally leave you alone as you fiddle with their merchandise.

So, is it worth a visit to this park?

I would say, go for it! Schedule 3 or 4 hours in the morning and you will be done by lunch time. There are a few restaurants located in the park itself in the area where they have a wonderful bird-feeding session with pretty, techni-colored wild parakeets. The friendly wardens make it such an enjoyable experience and I felt right at home even though the park has seen better days (and so have the wardens).