Monday 8 September – Surf Lessons.

We had to get up soooo early, well, early for us on holiday. We had to meet the boys from Get Wet Surf School out at the front entrance to Whitewater World at 7:45am!!!

For wimps like us they do the surf lessons in the wave pool at Whitewater World, with warm water (liars!!!) and no big fish.

Our teachers for the day were Scotty and Andrew, very laid-back and obviously love their business. Our lessons started off on the grass, where we learnt the four steps to being able to stand on a surfboard.

Step #3 is really simple and easy, so much so that it is very easy to forget to do. Simple as it may be, without Step #3 you will not be standing up on a surfboard, instead you'll be doing what the boys refer to as The Pelican. Oh look... here's a Pelican... what is it with Kerrie and birds? ;-p

Here are some random shots from the lessons. They are in no particular order, but gee it was fun.

That was a great couple of hours, and we all learnt heaps... Thanks Scotty and Andrew.

Sunday 7 September, Australia Zoo – Final Thoughts

For a family of five entry to the Zoo is hellishly expensive, and there is no way of knowing if the Irwins are likely to be there on any given day. Those two negative points out the way, any other thoughts are all good.

Zahlee: “I was very disappointed I didn’t get to see Bindi, Terri, or Bob.”

Kira: “It was really fun.”

Kerrie: “Very impressed with the cleanliness of the animal eclosures.”
“The gardens and grounds were beautifully maintained.”
“The staff were working like they were one big happy family, and they were very helpful and courteous.”

Nick: “Once I forced myself to accept the entry fee with a smile, I never looked back. I have never before been to such a well-kept zoo, where all of the staff (animal keepers, service staff, and security) were so passionate about their jobs, and only too willing to share that passion. An absolutely A1 zoo.”

Sunday 7 September, Australia Zoo – Ocker the Cockatoo

At the end of the day Nick, Jacinta, and Zahlee caught the little train from the tigers back to the entrance of the Zoo. We were lucky enough to get onto the same carriage as Ocker the Cockatoo and his keeper. Ocker started off a bit shy, but soon got into full swing... a regular little entertainer. The funniest thing was watching him talking himself into performing little jumps... "Ockerrrrrrrrrr JUMP!!!"












Full Video Link (53Mb): Ockeeerrrrrr JUMP!!!


.

Sunday 7 September, Australia Zoo – Tigers

There are three beautiful adolescent tigers. Lucky they are behind glass because they seem so friendly and playful that it would be tempting to hop in and play with them if you could. They look like big kittens at play, except maybe smarter.

Jacinta: "We loved the tigers, just like Fatty and Peppy. Absolutely georgeous - I want one."

Sunday 7 September, Australia Zoo – Kangaroos and Petting Zoos

There's a kangaroo enclosure, koala enclosure, and a kids' zoo (with baby animals to pet), all where you can get in and touch and feed the animals. In the kangaroo enclosure there was one roo that liked to gently hold onto your wrists while it fed from your hand. In the koala enclosure there was one particular koala that looked like it was trying every possibly lazy pose it could do up a tree.

Jacinta: "I don't like walking through the kangaroo and bird enclosures,"
"Gotta love the posing koala."

Zahlee: "I loved the kangaroo that was holding my hand, he reminded me of Tank."

Sunday 7 September, Australia Zoo – Birds of Prey

The keepers certainly re-defined my definition of a bird of prey. It basically means any bird that has to hunt for live food, so not seed or carrion eaters... so a Kookaburra is a bird of prey too. They had a kookaburra, peregrin falcon, and a wedge-tailed eagle. The keepers gave a bit of a talk about each of the species, and the background of each of the Zoo's birds. There was also an amazing demonstration of the birds in free flight.

Sunday 7 September, Australia Zoo – Elephants

Every day there is a time to feed elephants. Three elephants are lead up to the fence, and the people form a queue to feed them. All three have different personalities that show through when they take the food from your hand. One of them, Bimbo, has to hold your wrist with her trunk for every piece of food, and she does it so gently.



Jacinta: "I got elephant snot all over my hand."
Kira: "Eeewww!!!! Elephant snot!!!! I had it dripping through my fingers. The elephants were still very cute though."

Kerrie: "Lots of public interaction with the animals. I loved feeding the elephants, especially Bimbo."

Sunday 7 September, Australia Zoo – Steve's 4x4

I thought this deserved its own space. Leaving the Crocoseum on the way to the elephants, we pass by Steve Irwin's old 4x4; the one that he always used, and the very one that took him on his final journey. It's just sitting outside the Crocoseum, no signage or anything, just there for kids to clamber over... it's both sad and yet somehow fitting, and for us it was very moving.

Sunday 7 September, Australia Zoo – Crocoseum

The Crocoseum

What a great design the Crocoseum is, it seats 5000, and although some seats are better, none could be described as ‘bad’.

It is not just a show, it is both educational and fun. There are two giant screens, one at each end, and although you can see everything from your seat, the screens show close-ups of what’s happening, and display facts that are worth remembering.

The show starts off with snakes, including a great big python that swims around in the pool.

The snakes are put away, and out come the birds. This is truly an amazing display, parrots of all colours and sizes flying freely around the crocoseum and returning to their keepers. I’ve got a lot of it on our movie camera, so unfortunately we can’t share this display on the blog.

After the parrots they brought out trained pigeons, and asked for audience participation to call the birds over to have them land on you like the parrots did with their keepers. The parrots were so spectacular that Kerrie readily volunteered for this:





Link for full screen size (24Mb): Kerrie at the Crocoseum

“SUCKED IN BIG TIME!!!! They are homing pigeons, never ever meant to go to the audience volunteers.

After the birds comes the highlight… the Croc Show. Today’s croc is a big fella named George. The aim of the show is to dispel a lot of the myths about saltwater crocs, and to teach an appreciation of them. It was a spectacular show, showing the different ways crocs can strike, and how people can be safe in the crocs’ environment. It certainly taught us a few things, and gave us a bit of confidence in how behave if we were to go into Croc Country. Unfortunately for the blog, we videoed this on the other camera, so you’ll have to wait for the DVD ;-)

Kerrie: "Very Informative - I now wouldn't be too afraid of a saltwater crocodile if it was on land, because I've been show that they are not fast."
"The birds were amazing."

Zahlee: "I loved the part where the lady let the pigeons out and they flew away, and later we saw her chasing them too."

Kira: "The show in the Crocoseum was amazing."

Sunday 7 September, Australia Zoo.

Today we traveled to Australia Zoo in Beerwah. It was supposedly a 2-hour drive, but Brisbane’s traffic jams make the South Eastern Carpark look like an expressway… and this is on a Sunday!!!

We chose to go to the Zoo today as it is Fathers’ Day, and we thought that this would be the day most likely to be able to get to see or meet Terri, Bindi, and Bob. Unfortunately they didn’t make an appearance, and Bindi doesn’t do Croc Shows until the school holidays.

We really noticed that all the staff were happy and passionate about their various jobs, and speaking with them they all love the Irwins. The staff create an incredibly wonderful atmosphere.

There are so many animals to see; American alligators, Aussie fresh and saltwater crocodiles, Tassie Devils, tortoises and turtles, cassowaries, dingoes, wombats, roos, koalas, elephants, tigers, birds, pythons, camels, and a kids’ petting zoo.

Many of the animals are walked around the zoo by their keepers, including the elephants, leopards, a cocky named Ocker, and a 2-year old American Alligator named Max. Yep, that little lizard with Kerrie is 2yo Max, one day he’ll be 2-3 metres long.

Jacinta: "Max the baby American Alligator was so cute."

Zahlee: "The Tassie Devils were so cute."

Kerrie: "I loved holding the baby American Alligator, where else could you go for this experience?"

Saturday 6 September, Apres-Dreamworld

The original idea was to cook as many evening meals as possible, but after two solid days of theme parks, pizza is just what the doctor ordered.

Very yummy pizza's, but then they would want to be for the price!!!

Saturday 6 September, Dreamworld - Wipeout

Wipeout:

The Wipeout spins, twists and tumbles you through a body-wrenching range of dumping breaker waves leaving you helpless - strapped in the middle with no lifeline.

Kerrie, Jacinta, and Kira rode the Wipeout.

Kira: "Crazy, but awsome."

Jacinta: "That's one to get your stomach turning."

Kerrie: "Bit of a head-rush, lots of fun."

Saturday 6 September, Dreamworld - The Claw

The Claw:

Travelling 9 storeys into the air, swinging at up to 75 km/hr! It also spins 360 degrees. The first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, The Claw is the most powerful pendulum on the planet.

Nick, Kerrie, and Kira rode this one.

Kira: "I loved the feeling of the wind, and looking at everything upsidedown. It was amazing."

Kerrie: "Relaxing"

Nick: "After the first couple of swings it became quite boring."

Saturday 6 September, Dreamworld - Moto Coaster

Moto Coaster:

Mick Doohan’s Motocoaster features a fluid track with changes in elevation and high speed corners, reaching just over 72 km per hour. The riders are held in by a unique restraint system in life-size replicas of 500cc racing bikes.

Nick, Jacinta, and Kira rode it first, with Zahlee taking a video of the ride. Then after going on the Rug Rats roller coaster Zahlee got the courage to try this one... as a 'sidecar' passenger. She loved it that much that she went on again, this time on a bike.

Nick held the ride up from starting on the first go, they couldn't get the safety restraint system closed. Nick's legs were too long from the foot to the knee to permit the restraint system to close. Nick had to; get off the ride, take off his runners, put the runners in the property cage, hope back on the ride, then have two of the operators put all their weight on the restraint to get it closed, only then could the ride get going.

Kira: "Leaning into the corners was great."

Jacinta: "The ride was all right, but it wasn't worth the 45-minute queue."

Nick: "It did remind me of riding a bike a bit, but it was more mild than some of the silly things I used to do..... umm, errr, I mean the silly things a 'friend' of mine used to do on bikes."

Saturday 6 September, Dreamworld - Runaway Reptar Rollercoaster

Runaway Reptar Rollercoaster:

This is a suspended "family coaster" with a Rug Rats theme (that's not a picture of us). Zahlee loved this ride and went on it a couple of times, once with Jacinta and once with Nick.

Zahlee: "The best roller coaster ever."

Jacinta: "Nice and tame for little kids."

Nick: "The best part about this ride was that it gave Zahlee the courage to go on the Moto Coaster."

Saturday 6 September, Dreamworld - Giant Drop

Giant Drop:

This is the tallest, free-falling ride in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World records.The closest thing you will get to actual skydiving - don’t be fooled by the amazing scenery as you are winched slowly to the top. The top floor is the sky and the only way down is a jaw dropping 120 metre plummet at free-fall speed.

Kerrie went on this by herself the first time, but came back later and rode it again with Jacinta.

Kerrie: "Oh, what can I say... ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!!! I'd definitely ride it again."

Saturday 6 September, Dreamworld - Big Brother House

Big Brother House:

Kerrie and Zahlee visited the Big Brother House, walked around it, sat in the "diary room", and so on.

Zahlee: "It's tiny compared to how it looks on the TV, but I liked getting a picture in the Diary Room."

Kerrie: "A lot smaller than it appears on TV, but definitely an experience."

Location Tip: It appears that the Big Brother Cafe is the best value eatery at Dreamworld.

Saturday 6 September, Dreamworld - Tower of Terror

Tower of Terror

The Tower of Terror is one of the fastest rides in the world.The Tower's electro-magnetically powered 'Escape Pod' accelerates its passengers to a massive 160 kph in seven seconds before it climbs to almost 38 storeys high. Fear not, after a tummy losing free fall back to earth you will hurtle safely back to the station.

Kerrie and Kira went on this ride first, but later Kerrie, Kira, and Jacinta went back to it.

Kira: "That was AWSOME."

Kerrie: "AWSOME!!!"

Saturday 6 September, Dreamworld - Rocky Hollow Log Ride

Rocky Hollow Log Ride:

Splash down at the Rocky Hollow aboard hollowed-out logs as they traverse the watercourse. Climb the aqueduct and plunge down the ramp at 50 km/h.

Nick, Jacinta, and Kira rode this one.





Last Decent of the Ride (10Mb)

Cinta: "Wet, wet, and wet."

Kira: "I absolutely hated the climbing up bit, it felt as though we were going to fall down... but I loved the going down bit."

Nick: "Heaps wetter than the Movie World log ride."

Saturday 6 September, Dreamworld - Thunder River Rapids

Thunder River Rapids

A foamy water track past the Gold Rush Country, speeding up to 45 km/h through the turbulent rapids.

We all went on this ride:

Kira: "Pretty Lame"

Jacinta: "Pretty lame, could have been better."

Zahlee: "I didn't like it."

Kerrie: "Rough."

Nick: "Bit of a slow start to the day."

Saturday 6 September, Dreamworld

Dreamworld:

Today we went to Dreamworld, then again during the afternoon of Monday 9 Sept. When we started off we were sticking together in a group, waiting for eachother at the various rides, but if you are not interested in a particular ride there is a lot of wasted time waiting around. It took us a while to work it out, but we split into two groups, dependent on which rides were to be ridden, and we just had a meeting place with regular times set aside... that worked much better, we'll know for next time won't we.

Just like with Movie World, some of the rides are so big that they deserve their own blog entries.

Friday 5 September, Movie World - Grand Parade

Towards the end of the day there is a Grand Parade, where all the characters parade a couple of times up and down Main St. The Parade is hosted by Austin Powers, and includes; all the Warner Bros cartoon favourites, Shrek, Scooby Doo and crew, Batman, etc etc.

Zahlee: "I loved the part when Austin Powers came in and asked questions."

Kira: "Pretty boring. Should have gone on the rides while the parade was on, because the queues would have been shorter."

Jacinta: "I didn't want to sit and watch the parade, I didn't like it."

Nick: "I'm in love with Catwoman."

Friday 5 September, Movie World - Wild West Falls Adventure Ride

Wild West Falls Adventure Ride:

Wild West Falls Adventure Ride combines all the action of the wild west with state-of-the-art ride technology to create a six-minute adventure with surprises and thrills aplenty!
You'll travel past Indian reservations, ghost towns, geysers and wagon trains to put you right in the middle of a western movie set.
Then you'll venture deep into the heart of a massive mountain - home to a gold mine that's ready to blow!The only way out is straight down - a 70 km per hour, no brakes, 20 metre heart-stopping drop to the final splashdown!

We all went on this ride. Zahlee was a bit dubious about going on, as it looks a bit scary. Between all of us and one of the ride operators, we convinced Zahlee to have a go. The ride operator promised that if Zahlee didn't like the ride, that Zahlee could tip a bottle of water over her....

Well, the screams and tears were enough for the operator to start filling the bottle even before we got back... and yes... true to her word, she let Zahlee soak here. It calmed Zahlee down, and in fact got her happy and laughing again. I can't speak highly enough about this young ride operator.

Kerrie: "Sensational."

Cinta: "Great if you want your pants wet."

Kira: "The Ghost Town was really smart."

Zahlee: "I hated it, but I loved spilling water on the girl."

Friday 5 September, Movie World - Looney Tunes River Ride

Looney Tunes River Ride

This is a boat ride, bit like the old "Tunnel of Love", where we get to travel through all sorts of movie sets in order to find Bugs Bunny. We all went on this one together.

Zahlee: "I loved it, especially when it looked like the tree and rocks were falling."

The rest of us thought it was pretty lame.

Movie World - Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster

Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster:

The ScoobyDoo Spooky Coaster is supposed to be a $13 million indoor rollercoaster ride inspired by the feature film shot at Warner Roadshow Movie World Studios on the Gold Coast.
Prepare for the supernatural as you enter the creepy dimly lit courtyard and move into the heart of Spooky Castle but watch out for ghouls, gargoyles and the odd talking suit of armour!
Coaster cars carefully replicated from Scooby-Doo the film, launch guests on a hair-raising journey complete with laser lighting and sound effects, animatronics and a kaleidoscope of colour, depth, height and trickery of dimension. Be afraid...be kind of afraid!

Nick, Jacinta, and Kira rode this one.

Nick: "I was very dissappointed, it is basically the Mad Mouse in the half-dark. The turns were so sharp that you get thrown around into the sides of the metal car, not thrilling, just painfully bruising. The best part of the entire ride was the Spooky Castle in which you queue for half hour or so."

Jacinta: "Not the best, not worth the wait."

Kira: "Very rough, but the backwards bit was fun."

Movie World - Shrek 4D

Shrek 4d

Shrek 4D starts of with a bit of an animated show where all the audience stand in the foyer to theatre. Using a combination of animated models and plasma screens we get a re-cap of the first Shrek movie and an update of what's been happening since Lord Farquod has been up to since he's been dead. The three little pigs and Pinnochio are suspended in crates from the ceiling.

Then we are shown into the theatre where we are seated and put on our 3D glasses. Taking up from where the foyer comentary ended, there is a 3D movie, with co-oridinated special effects in our seats.

We all went to watch this show.

Kerrie: "My first thought when the spiders came out was "I wish Ann was here - watching her run out of the theatre would have been funnier than any of the other rides and shows."

Zahlee: "I hated the spiders and the sneeze... eewww!!!"

Nick: "I'm sorry Ann, but I'm with Kerrie on that... the spidies were pretty realistic.
I think the preamble in the foyer could have been cut by half or more."

Movie World - Batwing Space Shot

Batwing Space Shot

The awesome new BATWING Spaceshot is a rapid 4.5G vertical launch up a 60 meter tower, followed by a drop into a breathtaking negative descent - beyond freefall!

Kerrie, Jacinta, Kira, and Zahlee rode this one.

Kerrie: "I thought it was going to launch us into space."

Zahlee: "It felt like I lost my stomach."

Cinta: "Where's my stomach??? I've got the shakiest legs ever"

Movie World - Superman Escape

Superman Escape

SUPERMAN Escape is an unprecedented rollercoaster ride experience which travels 0 - 100 kilometres in just 2 seconds! That's not fast that's SUPERMAN fast! With 760 metres of vertical climbs, weightless drops, head spinning twists and giant G-force turns, SUPERMAN Escape completely redefines the coaster experience.
The exciting pre-show adventure is an attraction in itself, themed around the popular DC Super Hero. Guests commence their adventure in a METROPOLIS subway loading dock. As they travel through the subway, a terrifying earthquake takes hold and threatens their safe passage.
To escape the catastrophe, SUPERMAN rescues guests by propelling their carriage out then vertically upwards at 100km per hour!

Nick, Kerrie, Jacinta, and Kira rode this ride.

Kerrie: "I thought I was going to die after the first hump, It felt like it was going to crash into the ground. The only reason that I went on it was because I could hear Kacie's voice saying; "You go all right Mum, you're a good kid""

Kira: "It was AWSOME."

Jacinta: "Best ride ever."

Nick: "Loved it. Very clever how the story-line was worked into the ride."

Warner Bros. Movie World

Friday 5 September

Now that the weather has cleared and we are back to sunshine and low 20's we can venture outside again. Haven't heard anymore about the 3.5m waves, but we won't have time to go to the beach until after the weekend anyway.

First theme park to visit, Warner Bros Movie World.

We had a fantastic day, but it was closing time before we knew it. We didn't get to do everything, and some things we would have liked to do again.

We'll do separate posts for some of the attractions, because they deserve their own space.

Freak Storm Cell

Thursday 4 September

Well well well... what else would you expect from a Queensland holiday?

The local weather forecasters are calling it a freak storm cell, not normally expected until the end of summer.

Top temp of 16*, howling winds, and torrential non-stop rain. There is flash flooding from Brisbane to the NSW border.

On Wednesday the surf beach had a 1 1/2 foot (45cm) swell, but now due to some climatic condition off the coast of New Zealand means that we are expecting 3.5m waves right across the weekend. There have been radio warnings to not even walk along the beaches at the moment.

Well what are we to do during weather like that... oh yeah... let's go shopping... four females, my credit card, Pacific Fair and a few other places... OUCH!!! (got lots of good stuff though).

Is Intentionally Doing Nothing Actually Doing Something?

Wed 03 September

Everybody was still tired and a little bit "testy" after all the driving of the previous few days, so we decided to have a 'nothing day' at Turtle Beach. It was a pleasant 21*, warm enough for the kids going into the pools, but nowhere near where hot enough to entice the adults.

The Girls had also played tennis, and 18 holes of mini golf. It's a great little set up; the front nine in one half of the resort. Needless to say, Jacinta one the mini golf.

Travel Journal

Sun 31 Aug:

1:50pm:
We were aiming to leave between 9 and 10am, but it could have gotten to 11am and we would stll be close to plans..... anyway, leaving home about 1:50pm put us a fair bit behind in our plans of where we were going to eat and stay, so that we could arrive arrive at Turtle Beach on Tuesday.

5:45pm:
Arrived in Albury and visited some old friends Keith and Barbara. They may be retired now, but they still have that wonderful "Country Hospitality" from when they owned and ran a sheep station, and so had prepared for us a full-on country roast. We hit the road again shortly after tea.

10:45pm:
We arrived and stayed at the Hi-Way Motor Inn in Yass, for the night... it was colder than a Melbourne winter's night.

Travel Tip: Did you know that the Tooth Faerie will still find you, even if you are travelling away from home... Zahlee put the Tooth Faerie to 'the test', and she passed with flying colours.


Monday 1 September:

9:45am
Left Yass after a good night's rest

3:30pm
Quick visit with Uncle Ernie and Aunty Judy in Stanford Merthyr (Kurri Kurri).

6:00pm
Dinner at the Raymond Terrace Bowling Club. What an impressive club, none of us have seen a better "night time" bowling set up; there are covered greens that are brightly floodlit.

10:45pm
We arrived and stayed at Motel Kempsey in... you guessed it... Kempsey. This is a very nice motel, and the weather was almost warm enough in the middle of the night to wear a t-shift.


Tuesday 02 September:

09:30am
Left the motel for the last leg of the journey to Turtle Beach Resort.

11:30am
Stopped at Coff's Harbour for a bite to eat and a leg-stretch. There is so much to see and do here, like the Pet Porpoise Pool and the Big Banana complex, that we may have to stop for a day or so on the way back.

Not far out of Ballina we watched a rooster just casually walk across the road... the busy Pacific Highway... we were all so amazed that none of us thought to stop and ask him "WHY?"

3:45pm
We arrived at the Turtle Beach Resort in 22* when Melbourne was about 11*. All we have really done is get unpacked, rested, got dinner at Sizzler, and basically we all spent the time just resting and becoming human again.

Got The Internet Working

Looks like we're back online, mobile online that is.

We've had a couple of calls from people having trouble leaving a comment because they don't have a Google account. I'm pretty sure you don't need one, just select the "Open ID" option; that should open up a text box where you can leave your name so we know who added the comment.

If you see some of the words underlined, that's probably because it's a link that you should click on, some people didn't realise that.

Sometimes the writing in the blog seems to disappear or turn invisible, I don't know what's going on with that. The text will still be there, and if you pass the cursor over the area the text will magically reappear. I'll try to get that fixed up over the next couple of days.

Check back regularly for more updates.

Cya in the sun,
Nick.