Monday 16th October 2006

The view from the caravan on the Gold Coast

The first call for 'One of Us' Pacific Fair Shopping

The grey Gold Coast beach outside the caravan park

Time to move again, however it is only a short distance down to the Gold Coast and check in was not until 11:a.m. so we had to delay our departure until after 9:30a.m. Although we are really keen early risers (Oh Yeah.....) we didn't have any problems filling in the time before we eventually hitched up to the caravan and drove out of the park at about 9:30a.m.

Once out on the road Miss Bossy took over and told the 'Other One' where to go. Fortunately she was fairly polite about it and guided the Patrol through the Eastern Suburbs of Brisbane and out onto the Motorway down to the Gold Coast. On the way we past Dreamworld, Movieworld and Wet & Wild theme parks before turning off the motorway and making our way in to the Gold Coast and the Main Beach Caravan Park, arriving around 10:45a.m.

After setting up the caravan a telephone call was made to the Australian Outback Spectacular show and much to the disappointment of us both, the shows were booked out until 22nd October, which meant we would not be here by then and will have to miss out on that one on this trip... Maybe next time... We had been to Movieworld and Seaworld last time we past this way so as we were restricted to two nights on the Gold Coast due to the Indi 500 starting later this week, we chose to visit Dreamworld so we purchased tickets via the caravan park reception to give us entry to Dreamworld tomorrow.

'One of Us' was very disappointed on missing out on the visit to Australian Outback Spectacular so around 12:30p.m. the 'Other One' took her to Pacific Fair, the biggest shopping centre in Queensland (we were told) for a session of her favourite therapy. We wandered through a huge range of stores, including KMart, Myer and Coles, with each one building our FlyBuy points up quite well before returning to the caravan park around 4:10p.m.

Tomorrow will start with our visit to Dreamworld which we expect will take up most of the day and if there is any time left, maybe a visit to the beach may be in order, however the Gold Coast is rather grey and overcast at this stage.

Tuesday 17th October 2006

Dreamworld on the Gold Coast

At the Real Aussie Shearing Shed

The Reward Room in the Big Brother House

As Dreamworld did not open until 10:a.m. this morning, we had a leisurely morning and Pammy had a good long walk along the white sandy beach beside the rolling surf and down past the high rise apartment buildings. The 'Other One' completed a few tasks that had been waiting for attention and then we organised ourselves for our trip to Dreamworld.

We departed the caravan park by about 9:45a.m. and drove out to the Motorway and up toward Dreamworld. Along the way we took a couple of 'scenic' deviations to check out a bit more of the motorway and another side road, but after all that we found our way to the car park at Dreamworld.

Once inside the grounds of Dreamworld 'One of Us' made a run for the first souvenir store and had a good browse around to build up a list of 'will buy before we leave' items in her mind. With this information firmly stored away for later use, we wandered through the rides and thrill seekers area, watching the young ones having a great time, although from some of the screams they were emitting, that could be questioned. Next we strolled passed the continuous surf wave where it appeared it must have been more difficult that it looked as most of the board riders were not lasting long on the wave.

From here we went through Wiggles World and on through the Australian animals section where there were numerous people patting a large number of very quiet kangaroos. There were also koalas, reptiles, crocodiles, birds and turtles in this area and whilst we were there there was a show on in the outback shearing shed. We sat and watched that show for a while, then headed to Tiger Island.

There was a big crowd at Tiger Island and we had to wait about twenty minutes before the show started. Having called it a 'show' what the trainers stated was that they encourage the tigers to do things for a reward, however if the tigers don't want to do it, then they have their way, there is no enforced behaviour used at any time. The tigers seemed to like the crowd cheering them and did most of the things they were asked to do, although they were not shy about taking short cuts or cheating a bit to get what they wanted. This display lasted about fifteen to twenty minutes and was well worth the entry fee to Dreamworld on its own.

By this time 'One of Us' was feeling rather ravenous so we made our way to a snack bar where we purchased the store but only received a burger meal and a round of sandwiches. Food and drinks are not permitted to be brought into the Dreamworld complex so prices are fixed accordingly. If one decides they would like a can of XXX full strength beer it will cost $5 but we were happy with a burger meal, sandwich and chips for about $20.

With restored energy, we then found our way down to the Big Brother house, but on the way watched the extreme rides operating, these rides take the rider up about 100 metres before a very fast drop down almost to the ground before slowing to a gentle stop. This ride creates a 'G' Force' of around 4G and the participants should be in good health. Obviously the 'Other One' would have gone on it (Oh yeah..) but couldn't due to health reasons. Once we arrived at the Big Brother house we were surprised to find that we were able to wander right through the place. Now 'One of Us' is trying to tell everyone that she was once in the Channel 10 Big Brother house! Maybe someone will believe it... it is true but there were no house mates in there at the time.

It was then time to return to the original souvenir store that we visited and after some time in there 'the 'Other One' walked out with less in the credit card and more in our arms. He struggled his way through the exit gate and back to the Patrol, leaving Dreamworld by about 2:40p.m.

Once we were back in the caravan park the rest of the afternoon seemed to fly past without us being able to catch it. Just before Happy Hour we walked down to the beach and enjoyed the sand and surf for a short while before returning to the caravan and sampling a wine or two before dinner.

As we were not able to book in to the caravan park for more than two nights due to the Indi 300 later this week, we are off down the coast and out of Queensland in the morning.

Wednesday 18th October 2006

View from the caravan at night in Surfers Paradise

Feeling rather small in the morning - Time to go!

Heading south in New South Wales

The sun rose rather early this morning, with the light filtering into the caravan just after 5:a.m., however we didn't keep it company, waiting until just after 6:a.m. to make a move. It is a little strange to step our from the caravan and find yourself in the midst of around 15 high rise buildings that lift up between 15 and 25 stories high. The view of the lights at night is also something that is not often seen out of the window of any vehicle parked in a caravan park. We enjoyed the experience, and the beach, which is just over the road from the park, has pristine white sand with rolling waves hitting the shore.

It was time for us to move on though and we were hitched up, ready and moving out of the caravan park by about 8:15a.m. Although we could have chosen a quicker way to reach the Motorway, we decided to travel south on the Gold Coast Highway through Surfers Paradise and all the numerous centres that make up what we know as the Gold Coast to Coolangatta and Tweed Heads where we joined the Pacific Highway.

When we reached the Pacific Highway just past Coolangatta we left the state of Queensland after over two months of traveling through the vast dry outback and then down along the coast through the lush green rainforests, cane fields and along the Great Dividing Range. We enjoyed it all and have a mountain of memories (and maybe even more photographs) to carry with us back to Western Australia.

As we made our way south we decided not to call in to the coastal area around Byron Bay as we had covered that area on our previous trip up this way, so we stayed on the highway through a number of small communities until we reached Ballina, stopping there long enough to see and photograph the 'Big Prawn' once more. We then continued down through Broadwater where we stopped to refuel the Patrol and then took a photograph of the Sunshine Sugar Mill which is located in the centre of that town.

Back on the road again we made our way through Woodburn, New Italy, Harwood Island, Tyndale, Ulmarra, Grafton and Woolgoolga to Coffs Harbour where we had considered stopping for a while, however we decided we had heard some good reports about Nambucca Heads so we would stay there instead and drive back to Coffs Harbour for a good look around during the day. We were unable to stop to take a photograph of the 'Big Banana', and planned to see it tomorrow, so we continued on, passing through Sonville and Urunga Waters before turning off the highway and making our way in to Nambucca Heads.

As we had not booked in to a caravan park we drove around Nambucca Heads, visiting three parks before deciding of the 'White Albatross' caravan village which is situated right on the estuary where the Nambucca River runs into the ocean. The caravan park has a large lagoon within the bounds of the park and we were fortunate enough to get a powered site that backs onto this lagoon. We booked the site for two nights but do have the option of one more night if we wish to stay longer.

It was then time to set up and organise ourselves which took most of the afternoon. Tomorrow we will find out what there is to see around this area and maybe visit Coffs Harbour where 'One of Us' will be able to experience a little more shopping therapy to make up for what she missed out on today.