November 17th was an absolutely beautiful day, it was one of the sunniest I've seen since arriving in Australia. I decided that I wanted to visit Movie World one last time, since it was one of my favorite theme parks and somehow I had only been there once. After we finished up our breakfasts and got ready we headed up to the park to start our day.
While we were at Movie World we did a lot of the things we did before and went on a lot of the same rides; The Wild West Falls, Superman Escape, Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster, The Hollywood Stunt Driver show and Journey to the Center of the Earth. I actually went on the Superman Escape twice in a row, which is a pretty big deal for me considering it's the most terrifying ride I've ever been on and I managed to go in it twice within the span of 10 minutes. My favorite ride at Movie World that time around had to be the Wild West Falls, simply because it's the highest drop that I've ever been on for a water ride, and it was a hot day where water was necessary. While at Movie World that day I also got the chance to meet Batman, and I thought it was very nice of him to take some time out of his busy day fighting crime to pose for some pictures.
Once we were finished at Movie World we headed back to Cameron's house and stayed in for dinner. We had tacos, and I will say that tacos are probably the same everywhere in the world, so it was nice to have a meal I'm used to and I enjoy. After dinner Cameron and I drove over to a house that his brother was taking care of for his friend so I could meet the couple's dog Zoe. She is a Malamute, which is a breed I've never heard of before, but looks very similar to a Husky. She is a huge dog but very friendly and she followed me around the house that night because I wouldn't stop petting her. There are actually quite a few breeds of dogs here that I haven't ever seen before, so there must be certain types of dogs that are suited better to this warm climate that couldn't handle ours. I always knew to expect there to be birds unique to this area of the world, but I hadn't even thought about different types of dogs before.
Some other things I noticed at that house were the amount of geckos hanging around on the sides of the walls outside. When we went out into the backyard there were about 6 tiny geckos the length of my pinky finger crawling around and resting up in the corners. Apparently they are quite common here, but if I ever saw a gecko on the side of my house in Canada I'd probably get really excited and try to capture it to keep as a pet. There were also several bats flying around in the sky, which I just think is the coolest thing to see. I honestly never realized that bats would be in residential areas, I thought they only were found more in the bush and places that were uninhabited. Anyways, after we were finished visiting Cameron and I went back to his place and retired for the night.
Movie World
The next day, the 18th of November, was a pretty busy morning. I had to wake up at 7:00AM and be ready for 8:30AM, which is something I'm not really used to. I mean, I've been getting up early lately but I've never had such early plans! I was definitely looking forward to my day, however, because the event we were going to was one of the very first screenings of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I. Something particularly special about our outing to this movie was that Cameron had booked us the seats about a month and a half ahead of time in the theater's "Gold Class". This meant that once we were at the cinema and inside of the theater there were only a limited amount of people (probably a total of about 20 in the whole area), we got to sit in reclining leather chairs, and we were served food and drinks directly to our seats. There was even a red carpet to walk down leading to the theatre, which was pretty neat. The only problem was that we left Cameron's house at around 8:30AM, which should have left plenty of time to get to the theatre by 9:30AM when the movie started. Unfortunately the theatre, Birch Carrol and Coyle, was in the Australia Fair Mall, which is quite far from his house. What we hadn't anticipated was the heavy amount of traffic around that time that was caused by all of the parents dropping their children off for school. Roads were completely crowded because of all of the cars waiting at every corner, and we almost didn't move for 15 minutes at a time. We arrived at the cinema at around 9:35, but lucky for us we arrived during the previews and didn't miss any of the movie. I really loved Gold Class and I wish that we had it in Canadian Theaters because it really makes you feel like you're doing something a lot more special than just seeing a movie. We even ordered french fries and nachos that were hand-delivered to us, and it was just such a different experience that I really had fun with. The movie was great and actually much better than I'd expected. Normally I don't think the movies compare much to the books, but this one did a pretty good job in my opinion of summarizing all of the book's events without leaving too much out. Now that I'm in Harry Potter mode I think I'll have to read the book version on my way back home.
After our movie was finished Cameron decided to take me to his favorite seafood take-away shop called 'The Fish' in Varsity Lakes. We both ordered the crumbed fish and chips, and I really can't describe how delicious the fish was. I know I haven't had a lot of experience with fish and chips living in Edmonton but it had to be one of the best in the world (for fast food fish and chips). We also found a bakery nearby and got a caramel slice to take home (my favorite) and a chocolate mud-cake slice (a very heavy chocolate cake).
Once we were back at his place we enjoyed our fish and chips and just after we finished Cameron got a call on his cell phone from one of our online friends, Joeline. She flew all the way from Sydney to come visit and was staying for the weekend, so Cameron and I hopped back into his car and drove to Robina Town Center to pick her up. It was really neat to meet someone I'd only ever talked to online in person. I have known Joeline for about a year, but only by the name 'Platonia', and it's so surreal to have this person you've always pictured greet you for the first time face to face. Since she was staying with Cameron's friend Elite (his real name is also Cameron, so I'll just refer to his as Elite), we went to pick him up from his work. Once we were all in the car we drove around for a bit before deciding to go and get Brad as well. With all 5 of us shoved into Cameron's car we headed down to Surfer's Paradise to explore and show Joeline around. It was such a weird feeling, being a tourist here as well but knowing where everything is and what it's like to be there. I think being on the Gold Coast has gotten so comfortable for me now that it feels like a second home.
While we were down at Surfer's Paradise we stopped for a drink at one of the bars, which is something I actually hadn't done for a while. It was nice to sit outside talking with friends figuring out what we were going to do for the night. We decided to head over to Infinity, which was just a minute's walk away, and to explore it with Joeline. Cameron and I had already gone to Infinity once so I did know what to expect, but I was looking forward to trying it again with more people this time.
Joeline and I led the way, and it was really fun to go through all the rooms again. This time we stayed in each one a bit longer to enjoy it instead of rushing through and finishing as quickly as possible. The funnest one to explore was a really dark room with strobe lights, which meant everything looked like it was moving in slow motion. There were a bunch of huge bouncy balls, the type you'd use for exercise, that you could throw at other people. We stayed in there for a good 10 minutes with the 5 of us hitting eachother constantly. It was a really fun time and the whole thing was made more exciting by having more people join in.
Everyone was happy after we were done at Time Zone, and we walked down to Pancakes in Paradise for dinner at around 8:00PM. Cameron and I got an order of Pancakes and Strawberries to share (I remembered how filling the orders were last time and didn't want to overeat) while the other two boys, Elite and Brad, got All-You-Can-Eat Pancakes and Joeline tried the Black Forest Pancakes. Our order was delicious and Cameron and I finished it quickly, but the best part of our dinner there had to do with Brad and Elite. They challenged eachother to an eat-off, so whoever ate the most pancakes won and the loser had to drink a shot made of random items at the table. I think Elite made it through about 2/4 of the first round of pancakes served before he gave up. Brad ate all four of his and even asked for more, just to prove a point. Once Elite officially said he was done, everyone at the table started to add a little bit of everything on the table into a small container to make his 'mystery shot'. There was a bit of whipped butter, maple syrup, salt, pepper, sugar, ice cream, whipped cream, and the worst ingredient of all was some liquid warhead spray that Cameron and I had bought earlier in the week which was really sour. He gulped it down like a pro, and didn't even make a face at all of the weird ingredients he had to ingest. It was definitely the most fun I've had eating out.
Once we were finished dinner it was getting late and the guys had to head home for work. Cameron dropped everyone back off at their houses, then we went back to his place for the night. He stayed up playing his racing game while I started to work on my blog. That was pretty much it for the night!
Friday the 19th started out as a beautiful, if not a bit windy, day. I decided that it seemed like a nice day to treat Cameron's family to lunch, but unfortunately in the past they'd been too nice and refused to let me take them out. Since they were out shopping on this particular day, Cameron and I decided to drive down to a local seafood shop and pick up some fresh items to bring home. It happened to be the same place we'd ordered takeaway fish and chips previously, so it was easy to plan what to get. Once we were there I bought 2 kgs of prawns, 1 kg of Morton Bay bugs (like mini-lobsters), and half a dozen oysters for his dad. His parents were really surprised when we brought them home, and since there was so much food we decided to have them for dinner instead.
Cameron and I went back out after we dropped off the food and headed down to Robina Town Center just to walk around and explore. While I was there I bought myself a Portable Driver to store my photos to take home, since there was really no other way to get them all back and I have literally hundreds to bring, and I also picked up a lock for my carry-on bag. We continued to walk around the mall for a while until we got to a small candy store that stocked international candy that usually wouldn't be found in Australia. They happened to have A&W Root beer, which Cameron couldn't help but pick up a case of. When we brought it back home, his parent's said that they had actually had something like it before called 'Sasparilla', which is kind of neat because we had no idea they were the same drink. It's weird that the drink is so popular in Canada and the US, but in Australia it's re-labeled and no longer popular.
That evening we enjoyed our dinner together, and I thought it was just incredible to have freshly caught seafood right at someone's own home. The prawns didn't need any type of sauce with them since they were so delicious on their own, and the Bugs were just perfect. Cameron's Nan hadn't had the Morton Bay Bugs for many, many years, and she thought they were just as good as lobster and really enjoyed them.
After we finished dinner, Cameron and I spent the rest of the night together just hanging around his house.
The 20th of November was a pretty interesting day, despite not actually getting anything accomplished. I had planned to spend the day getting souvenirs down in Surfer's Paradise, but once we drove there Cameron decided it was way too busy to stop and browse. The reason why it was particularily popular at this time was because of an event called 'Schoolies'. Schoolies is a week-long celebration for high school graduates who are on vacation following their final exams. Surfer's Paradise is the most popular spot for thousands of students to go to and celebrate at, although other cities close to the ocean are also used. Cameron let me know that almost all of the hotels down in Surfer's Paradise were booked out by the teenagers, and if you know how many hotels that part of the city has then you know that thousands upon thousands of kids were up there all at the same time. When we drove through looking for shops there were a ton of these people acting like idiots; they were yelling to eachother across huge hotel's balconies, girls were flashing people driving by, and there were just hundreds more people walking down the streets. We decided to head to a different part of the city to try to souvenirs instead, and Cameron took us to the Pacific Fair shopping center. Unfortunately, even after we checked the entire mall, we didn't find a single souvenir shop. We then drove to Robina in search of one, but they didn't have a souvenir store there either. In the end we had spent the whole day driving around the city looking for a store to pick up my items to take home but sadly the only place that did sell them was super busy and a little bit dangerous to visit at the time. We came home for dinner that night and then, since the weather turned stormy, we stuck around for the night.
The 21st of November was a Sunday, and Cameron figured that most of the students who were up late the night before would be sleeping in on this particular morning since they'd be worn out and hung over. We decided to take a chance and head to Surfer's Paradise again since I needed to get my souvenirs before I went home and it seemed to be the only place that would sell them. We ended up parking in one of the almost-full parking lots and then we walked down the streets that led us deeper into the shopping area. There were about 10 different souvenir stores to visit, each one with a huge variety and selection of items. Obviously the Gold Coast and specifically Surfer's Paradise is a really popular spot for tourists to have so many places to buy items to take back home. I ended up finding quite a few things I liked there that reminded me of my trip, and by the time we were done I was hoping everything would fit in my suitcase to take back.
We went to Robina for lunch a little while later, and went to KFC just so I could have one last 'Golden Gaytime' Crusher drink. That was probably my favorite thing to drink there since the Golden Gaytime ice cream bar turned out to be my favorite dessert as well. I wish that we offered them in Canada, and especially the krusher version!
For dinner Cameron and I decided to eat back with his family again, and we stayed home that night to watch one of the final shows of the X-Factor. It was really fun to watch but also quite long, I couldn't believe each contestant performed 4 songs each. Cameron's mom even sent in a vote for Altiyan, the rock singer, and she was pretty excited that she figured out how to text in a vote. I tried to imagine my mom using my cell phone to do that, but since she has trouble just answering the phone I think it'd take about an hour to figure out the text feature (sorry Mom!).
After the extremely long episode of the X-Factor we headed to bed on what was one of my very last days on the Gold Coast.
November 22nd was one of the busiest days I've had so far on my holiday, mostly because I had so much to get done that I had left until the last minute. I'd just spent so much of my time enjoying being in Australia that all of the important stuff I wanted to finish was pushed to the end, but I did manage to get it all done that day. In the morning and afternoon Cameron drove me around so I could get pictures of all of the different parts of the city and especially the spots I frequented the most. I made sure to get beautiful views of the different skyscrapers and the stores we shopped at, as well as The Spit and other parts of the water I loved to see when we drove around. While we were down in Surfer's Paradise again I visited Time Zone one last time and traded in Cameron and my points for a few little souvenirs. On the way home past all of the buildings and landmarks I mentally said good-bye to each one, as I knew that I probably would not be visiting them again for a long time, if ever. I was sad as I watched all of the buildings pass me by, as I'd become so accustomed to seeing them and I'd felt so comfortable being there. I don't know when I'll see such unique buildings again, or the beautiful water the roads cross over so frequently.
Once we returned home and finished dinner I began to pack my bags so I'd be completely prepared for the following day. In the midst of my packing Cameron's brother and his wife came over to say goodbye to me, and we all sat down and watched the finale of X-Factor together. I was walking back and forth between both the living room and my room I was staying in, trying to pay attention while at the same time getting ready. It didn't actually take me as long as I had expected to pack and I did manage to fit everything in quite well in my bags. I was able to watch the final few minutes of X-Factor to see that Altiyan had won, and his whole family was excited and happy just like mine was every time we watched American Idol. Some things are the same everywhere, like reality shows! I spent the rest of the night with Cameron, writing a little bit of my blog but mostly just enjoying my remaining time in his house.
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| A ute, which is the Australian truck |
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| Bond University |
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| Entering Broadbeach |
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| Jupiter's Casino |
The Gold Coast
We returned home afterward and Cameron quickly got ready for his job interview. I also changed clothes, since my shorts were soaking wet, and once we were both ready we drove up to the train station. We had to take the one and a half hour train ride to Brisbane, and left at 11:00 to make sure we'd get there on time. Once we were there we had lunch then walked around for about half an hour trying to find the one building he had to go to. There were literally hundreds to look through, and it took quite a while to actually spot the one he was looking for. He went up to the 19th floor to get interviewed while I waited down in the lobby for an hour, playing with his DS. When he came back down he said it'd gone well and he had another interview the next day at 9AM. The bad thing about this interview was that my plane was going to leave at 6:30AM the next day, and he probably wouldn't have enough time to get back to the Gold Coast and ready for his interview in time if he was going to stay and wait for my plane with me. Once we were on the train back to his house we ended up figuring out how he could make it, but I admit I was a little bit upset because I was hoping he would see me off. I knew all along that I was going to miss everything about Australia, but I don't think it hit me until then that I'd be missing Cameron as well.
Once we were home it was around 5:00PM, so we'd spent the majority of the day down in Brisbane. We stayed for dinner at Cameron's house, and we had lamb chops and a pasta bake to celebrate my last night. It was a nice final dinner with his family and very nice of his mom to get something special for my last evening there. After dinner Cameron and I drove down to Robina Town Center to have one last dessert at Max Brenner. We got the Chocolate Souffle I had wanted to try since my first time there as well as the Chocolate Fondue for Two, the very first thing we'd shared there together. It was a really nice evening, and the water fountain at the mall looked beautiful at night. We came home at around 8:30PM just as his family was getting ready to go to bed, and I spent a little while making sure my bags were completely packed, having a shower, and cleaning up my room. I was done by around 10:00PM, and I got about 2 hours rest before waking up at midnight to get ready to leave for the shuttle bus. Once I was sure I had everything packed and I was ready, Cameron's Dad drove us down to the front gates of his complex to wait for the bus. It came by a few minutes later and we both hopped on and packed my bags in the back. The shuttle bus had to drive to about 5 other households before we left for Brisbane, so we were in there for about two hours before we got to the airport.
I have to say that I was extremely nervous to fly home alone. On my way to Australia at least I had Cameron with me, who had done it all before and completely calmed me down as well as knew what he was doing. I tried to remain calm and not think about it, but once we were actually there the idea of me going across the world by myself hit me, and I was nothing but emotional. In addition to feeling very overwhelmed, I also realized that this was the last time I would be seeing Cameron for a very long period of time. I may not have mentioned it before in my blog, or pointed it out specifically, but I would never have enjoyed myself as much as I did if I didn't have Cameron there with me for every new experience. I realized that going home didn't just mean my vacation would be over, but I would also have to leave behind the person who made it truly special and one-of-a-kind. Saying goodbye was one of the hardest things I've ever done, and even though he was with me waiting for my plane for about 2 hours at the airport it only felt like a few minutes. I went through my whole container of kleenex and when he walked away and down the stairs I felt my heart break for the first time. Luckily I didn't have a whole lot of time to think about how I was feeling because my plane started to board just a few minutes after he was gone.
I had to wait an entire hour onboard the plane because the pilot announced they were having hydrolic problems they had to fix before we could take off. All I could think of was the fact I would miss my next plane and wouldn't be home when my family was expecting me. When he did let us know we were alright to fly an hour later, I was really hoping the plane wouldn't break down for us mid-flight. Luckily I got to Sydney safely, albeit much later than planned. Once I was there I realized there was about a million different things I had to do. Customs, a security check, checking in and taking a bus from one side of the airport to the other were only a few of my major problems. It was pretty busy at the time I arrived so there were quite a few lineups I had to wait in. In the end I made it to my gate just prior to the boarding time, but I was so tired and exhausted just from trying to get everything finished. The good thing about everything I had to do was that I completely forgot what I was doing and I was so focussed on getting to my plane that I didn't worry about anything else.
Once I was on the plane from Sydney to Vancouver I was no longer worried about getting home. The only plane I wanted to make sure to catch was the one that crossed the ocean, because I figured one I was in Canada I could get home no matter what. It felt like a long flight, but I watched quite a few movies and was able to sleep for an hour or two. The landing was incredibly smooth to the point I didn't even realize we were on the ground when we stopped. I've discovered that the only really scary part about flying is the landing, even turbulence isn't that bad.
In Vancouver I was unhappily welcomed by the cold feeling of snow in the air, and as much as I felt at home I was already starting to wish I was back in Australia. Sydney was +25 when I left! I got my sweater out of my bag for the rest of my time at the Vancouver airport, and luckily I had a lot more time there to make it to my gate. Once I was on my Edmonton flight I was feeling perfectly fine, and I knew I was almost home.
The most exciting moment of coming back to Canada and Edmonton was when I began to walk down the steps to the waiting area and I saw my cousin Andrew standing at the doors holding two balloons and looking for me. I started to cry as I looked around at my parents, my cousin Corina and my Auntie Julia. I had felt very alone on my flights back home, and seeing there faces was not only a surprise but very comforting. I couldn't help but get emotional to see my parents and as much as I had enjoyed my trip I was really happy to be home and with them again finally. Overall, my plane rides home were much better than I was imaging them to be. Even though I was alone the time passed quickly enough and I was proud of myself for managing to get where I needed to go on time with no mistakes made and without having a mental break-down.
I will have to make another post in a few days to summarize my trip to Australia, but for now, that's the end of the story and my last few days there.
