TANGALOOMA ISLAND GOLD COAST

We made a day trip to Tangalooma Island during our recent holiday at the Gold Coast. We had to get up very early to drive to Brisbane to take the catamaran to the island which was another hour and the half.

The island has just one resort and they had a lot of activities there and the most famous was the feeding of wild dolphins who would come in at dusk everyday without fail.

The resort has a lot of conservation programme going on as well which was very educational to those interested.

The sand and sea at the island just beautiful. However, with the sun and heat, one could get sunburn very easily.

As my family loves the sea and beach, they had a whale of a time....minus the whale.

One other activity which is a must, is the desert safari. The island is almost made out sand entirely. The had a whole area which really looks like a desert. It really feels the way too. The ride there in a 4WD bus was most interesting.

For those that had the wind and strength to climb up the sand dune could have a go at the sleigh which looked fun but really tiring. My sons both went twice and had a lot of fun.

In the evening, the view was spectacular with the sun setting. The weather getting cooler was much more pleasant with the sligh sea breeze. Anticipation was getting stronger as the crowd waited for the dolphins who were late that day.

By the time the dolphins came, it was already dark. There were 5 dolphins that day. The staff there gave them all names.

We went into the waters to feed them but the water was really cold and waves were quite high. It was the highlight for the kids although it actually lasted onlt about 2 minutes.

The resort is a nice place but I would not make it a day trip as it was really tiring and waters in the night was really choppy with the strong wind. We had no choice as the place was full (we delayed in confirming). However, we also noted that the food there was not that good.

Until the next time, cheers.

A DAY AT STEVE IRWIN'S THE AUSTRALIA ZOO

During our trip to the Gold Coast in early december, we visited Steve Irwin (the late crocodile hunter)'s The Australia Zoo. I heard so much about this place and had to visit it.

It was about a 2 hours drive from Surfers Paradise. My GPS was not updated and we got lost on a new highway on the way there. Situated north of Brisbane near Sunshine Coast, the drive was quite pleasant.

Bringing the kids to a zoo in Australia is a must as they would love playing with the various animals such as Kangaroos, Wallabies and Koalas which are native here.

The way the zoo is set up is quite good. It is still growing in size. It is not a very large zoo and although the number of animals is limited, it was a good place to visit.

One will be amazed at how much work the late Steve Irwin out into this zoo and why he is so famous and loved all around the world. His tireless efforts is very much a enormous feat.

Some of the animals which we saw were :

A large area for Kangaroos and Wallabies.

A lazy wooly wombat. It was huge.

A Tasmanian tiger. There was only one and he kept hiding and took me so long to get a photo.

An Enchillada, something like a porcupine.

This was like a cross between a lizard and a bug, can't remember the name.

A bird, also can't remember the species.

Elephants, hand in hand, err.....trunk in tail.

A cheetah on a walk and it;s handler giving some more information. They have a lot of interactions so that we can understand the animals better.

A casawari, huge bird.

My children enjoyed feeding the kangaroos, especially my daughther. They also had free pony rides for those beow eight.



The zoo have their world famous crocodile show which was quite fun to watch.



Although the weather was really hot, it was worth a trip there.

Until the next time, cheers.

A SUNNY GOLD COAST FAMILY HOLIDAY

We recently took a family vacation to sunny Gold Coast in early December. I have been to Australia many many times but never to the Gold Coast. So I was actually quite excited. We rented a car for the week and planned to visit the various "must see" places there.

Firstly, the apartment we rented was right smack in Surfers Paradise and next door to Q1 which is the tallest building in Gold Coast. Azzura Surfers Paradise is new, only open for a few months and it has a beautiful view of the ocean and the breeze was fantastic.

Over the course of the week, we went to Steve Irwin's The Australia Zoo, Warner Brothers Movie World and Sea World. I will write about these these three places seperately.

One of our favorite activities was mini golf. My children can never seem to have enough of this. Playing at night was perfect as the weather was cooler especially with the cool sea breeze.

The beach was just a short 100 metres walk from the apartment and it was beautiful. The water was quite cold and with the sun shining, it was perfect. My children loved the beach and sea here.

We had some extra friends, these seagulls can smell food from a mile away.

View of Surfers Paradise from the beach.

Beautiful sun, sea and sand. Perfect combination.

We also took a drive up Mt Tamborine to have a look at some quaint towns. The drive was pleasant and view was fantastic. They also had a cheese factory serving some very nice cheese. The place also had vineyards and on the week ends, there seem to do very good business.

Beautiful colors.

Vineyards.

Beautiful mountain view.

A stud farm

With nice food, superb and fantastically fresh seafood, it was avery nice family holiday. The only setback was the seats on teh Air Asia X plane is not really comfortable. I heard they are going to replace them....not a little too soon.

Until next time, cheers.