Family Vacation to Gold Coast, Day 3 - Seaworld and Surfer Paradise Night Market

The kids woke up excited! I told them that we are going to find sea animals and DORA! Yes, though I am not so sure about the link between Dora the Explorer and SeaWorld, it is always a joy for kids to see their familiar favourite character.

The park open at 9.30am and we reached there 10minutes after it was open (cos the GPS nearly led us the wrong way!). There was already a queue forming when we reached there. As we have gotten a 6-month season pass through an online promotion which offer better rates and gave us access to the 3 Worlds ie Seaworld, Movieworld and Wet N Wild, we have to join the queue to exchange for our season pass.

Welcome to SeaWorld! It has been a decade since I was there with my parents and siblings

While queuing to change our season pass at SeaWorld entrance

I guess they have thousands of sea gulls in SeaWorld as they were everywhere in the park and they are not shy to snatch food from the visitors. I was playing hide and seek with one of them when I was enjoying my churros!

Our first stop! It was one of the must-watch performances for my kids. 

 

We were in time for the Meet N Greet with Dora! See how delighted Janelle was!

The boy need a while to warm up though as he clammed up when I brought him near to Dora. But yet he was very enthusiastic in waving goodbye to Dora before we left.

As we were early and there was another 30 minutes before the performance starts, the kids couldn't resist the kids' rides at the Kiddy world located next to the Dora's performance area.

First ride of the day. The kids sat inside the cabin while the parent or guardian was supposed to sit on the open seat. Spot the kids inside the cabin.

This is one of their favourite rides as they went on it at least twice.

 

There is a lever that the kid can pull so that we can fly up high. And my boy can do it by himself. Guess he wouldn't miss out on anything when it comes to play and fun.

See how engrossed the kids were during the Dora performance

Dora's Best Friend Adventure. The kids simply loved it!

I spotted this rainbow ice-cream during Dora's performance as a little kid was savouring it. Hence I simply had to get it after the show though it was still very early at 11am. Yes, I allowed the kids to have ice-cream early in the morning before lunch. Well, we were on vacation and there are no rules during a vacation right? It's all about experience and having fun!

Up close and personal with the beautiful dolphins

This girl was just so happy in the park that she started skipping and hopping in her stride and singing at the same time. I loved to watch her skip away as this meant that she was enjoying herself thoroughly.

Next was the SpongeBob ParadePants. The parade was spectacular and amazing with the extravagant floats, stunning water displays and thematic boats. Another parade not to be missed!

We also visited the Shark Bay to see the magnificent sharks, sting rays and other tropical fishes.

Another show that must not be missed, Imagine!

These dolphins are simply intelligent and amazing. We really have to protect and save the dolphins from being endangered.

Another ride that Janelle loved! The ride move up slowly and drop down in a slow pace. Jayven wanted to go on the ride too but he did not reach the minimum height limit. She went on this ride again before we left the park.

Happy shoppers!

We also brought the kids to Penguin Encounter and Polar Bears Shore so that the kids can learn more about the different animals.

The park is relatively big and it was challenging to cover every area and catch every performance with 2 kids in tow hence we decided to skip some animal enclosures and shows. The park closes early at 5.30pm and we left the park at 5.15pm before the skies turn dark.

We did research beforehand and knew that there is a night market at Surfers Paradise every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday night. It took us a while to find the place as we were trying to google for the nearest car park to the market and we walked quite a distance to reach there. 

Finally! We reached the night market after a good 20 minutes walk

There are alot of stalls selling fashion and accessories, art pieces, handicrafts, beauty products and house wares. Nonetheless, the prices ain't exactly cheap considering that it is a night market. Not really for bargain hunters but more for treasure hunters and great for after-dinner walks.

The temperature was much colder at night but it felt good to walk along the beachfront with the cool breeze. We liked the place and decided to visit the beach again another day before we left.

It was the first night in Gold Coast where we gotten back to our apartment later than 9pm and everyone was exhausted after a long day out.

My sweet little girl

I have been travelling to and fro KL for the past week and hardly had time for the kids. Had an event yesterday and was planning to bring my firstborn to participate in Me & Mini Me run but couldn't work out. And she was really upset upon realizing that the event was over and she did not get to participate.

This 'sensitive deeply attached to mummy' girl requested for my time and asked me not to go work. But I have to travel to KL again (I am here now) and told her I have to be away for the next 3 days. She insisted that she want to send me to the airport and make me promise that I will wake her up before leaving for airport.

This morning when I woke up at 4.30am, she followed suit. I guess she must have been a light sleeper so that she can catch me before I left the house. This sweet girl just wanted to travel to airport with me and was behaving well throughout the journey.

Then just when I alighted from the car, she burst out into tears and refused to let me go. I felt so bad, really so so guilty.

My sweet little girl, mummy loves you and will spend more time with you whenever I can. Thank you for being such a sweet lovely girl.

Family Vacation to Australia, Day 2 - Paradise Country and Harbour Town Outlet Shopping

Rise and Shine to the lovely climate and scenery!

Good morning Gold Coast!

We spotted a pretty lorikeet at the balcony and happened to take a snapshot of it taking flight

All ready for Day 2. It was cold and sunny. We could hardly open our eyes and the floor tiles was icy.

We decided to have our breakfast at the cafe in Bel Air before we head to our first destination. The prices for the food are pretty steep. The servings seem pretty big hence we ordered 2 meals to share along with drinks.

Both of them chilling out at the sofa in the cafe

The kids with their latte

She really looks like she need a latte. Haha

After breakfast, it is time to visit the farm animals and the koalas and kangaroos that the kids have been anticipating. However, the GPS directed us to MovieWorld instead. Luckily we saw the directional sign to Paradise Country when we exit from the motorway and we went with our instinct. It was a pretty long drive in to the car park and we had to walk for another approximately 10 minutes before we finally arrive.

We have purchased the tickets online back in Singapore along as we prefer not to spend time queuing for the tickets and there are usually good rates for online purchases.
 

This is the entrance from the car park

Our first family shot

We walked for another 10 minutes before we reach. The cool climate helped to keep us cool.

We missed the billy tea presentation but we were in time for another show. I didn't even realised that I was carrying my boy's bag. Such a glam mummy!

While waiting for the whip-crackling show

 

A group shot with the cow after the cow-milking presentation

The dog was busy sniffing Jayven. Spot how glum his face was

Free to roam. And the little boy want to feel the sheep.

They were trying to feel the sheeps along with other kids. Yes, they managed to feel them eventually

Next, we proceeded to the sheep shearing show. The kids had a good time watching the show.
After which, we had our lunch before we explored the place farther. We did some shopping at the visitors center and proceeded to the farmyard and the koala and kangaroo enclosure to get up close and personal with the animals.

The kangaroos are free to roam and we can buy food to feed them at AUD1 per pack. But the kangaroos were not interested in the food. Guess all were very well fed for the day so we returned the food pack to the vendor when we left. The kids loved the animals. I liked their little courage to touch and feel the different animals.

Guess who he spotted?

The kids love the cuddly koala bears in the enclosure.

The kids enjoyed feeding the lambs at the farmyard

The farmyard is a very interesting place for the kids to learn more about the farm animals especially on their youngs. Piglets, chicks and lambs can be found in the farmyard and the kids got to feed the lambs which they thoroughly enjoyed seeing them nibbling on the food from their hands.

The little ones had a great time in Paradise Country and kept telling us that they loved the animals there. The place closes at 1pm and we left for our second destination, Harbour Town Outlet Shopping.

I did research earlier and I knew that the place is huge. However, we only had a few hours left to shop as the place closes at 5.30pm. First thing to do when we reach there was to visit the Tourism Lounge as they will give tourists a free club card for further discounts from participating outlets. The lounge also offer complimentary refreshments for the tourists. However, we realised that there are not many participating outlets for the further discount with the club card.

In fact, we didn't get anything much from the outlet shopping at all. The prices in most stores ain't exactly that attractive considering that it is an outlet shopping centre.

Spot the different shoes on Janelle? She was whining that it was too cold for her as the jeans were too short to keep her feet warm. That shows how fast she is growing, She wore the same jeans in last September in Japan and it kept her warm. Anyway, we had to buy a pair of boots to keep her feet warm and there was sale going on at Pumpkin Patch. That pair of boots only cost AUD10. But anyway the boots came apart on the last day of our trip. So much for good value huh.

Most stores started closing at 5pm and soon the skies turned dark at 5.30pm. We decided to have our dinner at one of the restaurants as my hubs spotted fish & chips which he has been craving since he reached Australia.

The place that we had our dinner at Harbour Town. At least dining places are still open at 5.30pm

The restaurant is kid-friendly as they have kids menu and colouring to occupy the kids while waiting for food to be served

Yummy clam chowder with lots of seafood

One of their recommended dishes. Cannot remember the dish name though but it was yums

Fish & Chips from the kids menu. Quite a big serving for kids

The fish & chips for adult portion. It tastes different from the kids' version though. I prefer the fish from the kids menu.

As expected, the bill came up to almost AUD100 for the dinner. Food was not bad though could be better. Their service was commendable as the staff were friendly and patient.

It was another early night back to our apartment as most places closes early. We showered the kids and gotten them ready for bed. My hubs and I then decided to check out the convenience shop near Bel Air, only to realise that they are also closing soon at 11pm, which left us with 10mins to shop.

It was freezing cold by then but it felt good to be enjoying the cold breeze which we could never experience in Singapore.