James Sharpe Park: We left the Gold Coast for the weekend to avoid the crowds and parties resulting from the upcoming Gold Coast 600. Mum and Dad found a beautiful camping spot at James Sharpe Park. We were about fifty metres away from a clean, freshwater river where we spent the majority of our day swimming and playing. After setting up all our gear I grabbed a fishing rod before racing down to the river bed to try my luck. Sadly, luck had abandoned me today for while fishing I lost a lure in an overhanging tree branch.
Something in the water caught my eye. Was it bark? Was it a log? Was it Superman? The answer to all these questions is “NO!” It wasn’t a stick, or bark, or Superman. It was a platypus. I dropped everything and without delay sprinted up the hill to tell everyone. Dad didn’t believe me and said the climate’s too warm for platypuses, platy pies, platy people or whatever the plural for them may be. I tried to convince him but he didn’t believe me so I grabbed the camera and jogged back to the river to prove him wrong. As you can see in the photo gallery I scored an amazing picture and proved Dad wrong. While at James Sharpe Park we had a water fight of epic proportions. It was like WW1 all over again, only no one died.
At the end of the weekend we returned to the Gold Coast. While the weekend was great the most exciting event was yet to come – Tuesday was the day that we’d be hitting the THEME PARKS!
Wet ‘n’ Wild: AHHHHHHHHH! We were finally going to the theme parks. I was absolutely filled with anticipation because we were going to Wet ‘n’ Wild! We found a parking spot, purchased our tickets and headed straight for the Eight Lane Racer. As we arrived at the top heaps of little kids were asking the life-guard person the proper procedure and it was obvious that she had had enough. When it was our turn I sat down on the edge of the slide waiting for the green signal. Without delay I was zooming down this slide. Initially I had the better of Dad but he’s fatter than me so gravity helped him to overtake me. In the end Dad came first, I came a close second, Emily third and Levi fourth. Emily and I decided it was time for something more hardcore – the Aqualoop!
The Aqualoop is a fully-enclosed water-tube where once locked in the only escape is down via a trapdoor that disappears to send you hurtling through a series of loops at break-neck speed – hence, the Aqualoop. After running up the stairs of the tower we found ourselves in the queue for this thrilling thrill ride. Two minutes or so later I found my self in the small, confined space of the box we had to stand in. All of a sudden… 3… 2… 1… the ground dropped out from under me and it seemed like I was floating in mid air… then… AHHHHH! I literally dropped down a vertical slide then went flying up and around the huge loop. After this ordeal, gravity kicked in and I came back down to the end of the slide. My heart was booming in my chest and the adrenalin was surging through me, what a rush!
Once I had conquered the Aqualoop we walked around the theme park and accomplished some other rides like; the Black Hole, which is a completely pitch-black water-slide; the Tornado, where you go down a sheer drop whilst sitting in a raft falling into a huge, cone-shaped funnel; and some other slides. Sadly the Mach 5 wasn’t working today because they were repairing it.
Today was the best day ever and we were going to do it all again tomorrow.
WB Movie World: We woke up at the crack of dawn, just like yesterday, because today we were going to Movie World. We entered the park through a set of gigantic arches: at the top was the park logo. The first ride we went on was The Batwing Space Shot, followed by the Batman Adventure 2.
We were strapped into the Space Shot before being slowly lifted into the air. After this we were informed everything was clear for launch. A voice began counting down from 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Nothing happened, it went quiet. I was so nervous I had no idea what was happening. With what seemed like hours, but was more likely only 20 seconds, we were hurled straight up a vertical tower that was at least 60 metres tall. Basic physics suggests whatever goes up must come down and being very law abiding we came down … fast. It felt like my chair had plummeted to earth and left me behind, right at the top of the tower. It was a ghastly, sickening feeling. We reached the bottom where I was reunited with my chair as it continued to bounce around before finally coming to rest at the bottom. It was absolutely EXHILERATING!
After the Batman Adventure 2, Dad, Emily and I left the others and traversed the park towards the Lethal Weapon. We ventured down dark and shady Chinese back-alleys blundering past an old, wrecked caryard while sounds of vicious, savage dogs constantly barked at us. We made it, and further more we were still alive.
The attendant then strapped us into our overhead, suspended seats as we started the long ascent to the peak of the rollercoaster track. At the top I was so nervous I nearly wet myself as it suddenly dawned on me that we were now about to begin the much faster descent. It was so fast, and the G-forces so immense, that I felt like I was being swung to-and-fro like I was a worthless rag doll. I swear I almost hit one of the supporting columns that hold the track up but in reality I’m sure I didn’t even come close. We came to a grinding halt to signify the ride was finished and to let my stomach know that I could retain breakfast.
Emily, Dad and I doubled back to where Mum, Miriam and Levi were. Once we had found them we had lunch. After lunch my adrenalin was challenging me to try out some more rides. Some of these rides were; the Wild West Falls; and the Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster. The Wild West Falls was a ride where we sat in a replica log and floated down a long, winding course where the landscape had been made to look like an old, western town. At the end there was a massively angled drop where we plummeted into a pool of water below.
The Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster was a ride where four people were accommodated within their own separate carriage. It coasted through a scene depicting various monsters and scary things. Towards the end there was a roller-coaster track that was bigger than the miniature train at Cockington Green but vastly insignificant compared to Lethal Weapon.
At the end of the day there was still one ride left to conquer … the Superman Escape. We lined up for about ten minutes. After waiting we began our voyage to the train station. The ride was meant to be set up like the whole subway system was going to cave in on top of us because there was an earthquake. The creators did an amazing job at making it appear convincing because they had lockers rattling and shaking about, a burst water main with water cascading down a stairwell and a caved-in road where a taxi and cop car had fallen through. It looked so realistic.
Suddenly we stopped. My life flashed in front of my eyes. I thought we would all be destroyed in this shattering earthquake. When all hope was lost Superman rocked up and told us he was going to get us out of here fast – Superman fast.
What a relief! For a moment I thought we were going to die. Within a fraction of a second Superman shot us up an almost vertical slope at speeds of 100km/h. The carriages stalled at the summit before speeding back down and hurtling us around hundreds of metres of track. We arrived back at the station in one piece all thanks to Superman.
We walked back to the others and Dad convinced Mum to have a turn. To Mum’s chagrin she did and she absolutely despised it – Mum’s not cut out for these death-defying rides.
Dream World: Dream World was today’s attraction. We received our fancy passes and, in not much time at all, we found ourselves at the Thunder River Rapid Ride. There was a round, buoyant vessel with six seats which were fashioned too resemble barrels. Once we were all seated we drifted down a set of man-made rapids. The ride was quite enjoyable except for the fact that Dad constantly cried out that he wanted to get off. After, what Dad considered an horrific ordeal, we tested Rocky Hollow Log Ride which was almost exactly like the Wild West Falls, at Movie World, only it wasn’t as cool.
We continued looking around the park. Levi started asking if we could go on the Mick Doohan’s Motocoaster, so we did. After lining up, for what seemed like forever, we finally jumped onto the motorbikes. We were sitting there waiting to go while the operators checked our harnesses. I had that feeling, the one I always get, of nervousness and excitement mixed together. An orange light lit up, followed by two more before the final green one appeared. Almost immediately we were launched forward, at the speed of light, down the track. At the end of the ride I checked my speedometer and I was still going 240 km/h, amazing. We went and had lunch at the all-you-can-eat-buffet in Dream World after testing some of the rides in the Nickelodeon Jr. section.
Towards the end of the day we went on the rollercoaster called the Cyclone. Emily, Dad and I went on first because the others were all a bit apprehensive. The rollercoaster slowly crept up to the highest point in the track. Up it went, slowly climbing. With each metre we went I grew more and more excited. We reached the peak and descended faster than a rocket mishap before speeding all the way into Whitewater World. It came back to Dream World and threw us into two loops. I felt a bit queasy going up the first loop because we came up on an angle but I felt much more at ease on the second.
It then returned slowly to the platform and grinded to a halt. It was all over so fast. We raced down to the bottom and excitedly shared our experience with the others. Mum decided to have a go with Dad while Emily and I supervised Miriam and Levi. Once it had finished, and Mum had given it her tick of approval, Levi and Miriam joined the rest of us for another go. It wasn’t quite as good as Lethal Weapon, or Superman Escape, but it was great for Miriam, Levi and Mum.
Sea World: To finish off the perfect week we went to Sea World to relax and work off our aching muscles and joints. To start off the day we strolled over to the Sea Viper and Jet Rescue. The Sea Viper was just like every other rollercoaster only it was a lot shorter and not as legendary. However, the Jet Rescue was a different matter altogether. The Jet Rescue was like version 2.0.1 of the motocoaster. It was faster, went through a tunnel followed by a wall of mist, and threw your body around more. Plus, it was far more thrilling. All in all, I liked the Jet Rescue more – far more.
We enjoyed the exhibits of penguins, polar bears and other aquatic life. We also went to all the shows. My favourite shows were the Fish Detectives and the Pirates Unleashed. They were both very entertaining.
The Fish Detectives Show was about a guy who was stealing all the fish in the bay. A police officer, with the help of a sea lion, set out to stop him. They caught him and the bay was saved.
The Pirates Unleashed Show was about some pirates who were looking for treasure but they weren’t the only ones looking for it. A group of English sailors were after it too. In the end they decided to work together. Lame!
After lunch we went to Castaway Bay where there was an uber playground and a boat ride. The boat ride was called Battle Boats. On this you sit on a boat that is lined with water guns powered by hand cranks. There were many water guns scattered around the edge of the water as well. The whole idea was to float around on the boats, squirt everyone and try not get squirted yourself – easy.
