The 11th of November didn't start off as well as I'd hoped. Cameron and I had planned to go to Wet 'N' Wild, the water park, but just as we were sitting down in his car with our bags packed and in the back seat it decided not to start. It turns out his battery had died while we were gone to Sydney, and we were suddenly left without any mode of transportation. I was pretty disappointed since I was looking forward to the day but luckily Cameron has some really great friends who were interested in hanging out with us. While Cameron's car battery was in one of the automotive shops being recharged Zidane and Zac came and picked us up from his house. From there we drove to the beach, specifically the one at Burleigh Heads, and went swimming. Although I had visited the ocean before and walked through it this was the first time I've actually ever put on a bathing suit and swam in it. You don't have much room to actually swim because you have to stay within 2 lifeguard-placed flags, and the flags are relatively close together. Once you're actually in the water it's the most amazing feeling. The waves are crashing against you pushing you towards the shore while the current is trying to drag you out. You can feel it around your feet and your ankles, like someone is grabbing your legs under the water and tugging you towards the middle of the ocean. You have to dig your feet into the sand just to avoid being pulled in any direction, either by the waves or the current. You also don't have to go far or deep to feel the waves and get soaked by the water; even if you only walk in up to your knees, when the wave hits, it'll soak you all the way up to your waist. I stayed in the water to about my waist so it would hit me around my midsection, and it was really fun to try to avoid being pushed over by the strength of the waves. At one point Cameron actually fell over because one hit him harder than he expected. I can see how the ocean could be considered dangerous since it's so easy to get tossed around, and I can't see how surfers can use it without getting pulled out too far. Another funny moment was when Zidane ran into the ocean with his glasses on and a wave knocked them right off his face and into the water. He caught them in his hands just before they hit the water which is lucky because once they entered the water they weren't likely to come out. We stayed at the beach for a few hours until we had to go home, and Zidane dropped us back off. At one point while he was driving we nearly rear-ended a car in front of us, which I feel is worth mentioning because it was much more thrilling than any of the rides I've been on at a theme park so far (not in a good way). Lucky for me his breaks worked about an inch before the collision and the only bad thing that came from it was the driver ahead of us giving him the finger.
Cameron and I had dinner with his family and once we were finished Brad came over to the house to pick us up. We went for a drive around the Gold Coast, one of my favorite things to do, and ended up at Robina Town Center. If I didn't describe it before, it's a very beautiful 5-level mall that has lights in the parking lot to notify drivers of available car parks and a beautiful water fountain just outside of the building. While we were there we went back to Max Brenner, which is the chocolate shop on the Gold Coast. Cameron and I got a sundae while Brad had an ice cream sandwich. The best part of our snack happened when Brad decided to use the melted chocolate and sprinkles they give you to put on top of your sundae as 'shots'. He took the small cup of sprinkles and the small cup of melted chocolate and put them both in his mouth at once. It was hilarious to watch him try and down it, but he was successful. I'm pretty sure he felt sick the rest of the night, but I don't think anyone could blame him for it.
After we finished our dessert we continued to drive around the city looking for something to do. At one point we passed a Hungry Jacks (Australia's version of Burger King), and Cameron mentioned that Zac absolutely loves their food. Since we didn't have anything else planned, and we knew that Zac was currently at working at the drive-in liquor store, we decided to buy him a burger and drive over to give it to him. On the way to his work we tried to think of all the different ways we could present him with the burger, as we wanted to pick the funniest way. One of our ideas was for one of us to run up to the door, drop the bag in front of it with the burger inside, then run away and wait for him to come out and discover it. Another one of our ideas was to throw it at him once he walked outside and then to drive away. Brad suggested we get a bag of chicken nuggets and throw them at him while he drove, which sounded hilarious but was probably a bit too cruel. In the end, we drove up to the door of the store, waited for Zac to come outside, dropped the bag quickly out the door without him seeing us and then we drove away. It was so funny to watch him because he just stood there the whole time staring at the bag with a confused, dazed look on his face. We drove back around and couldn't stop laughing when he said that he assumed it was a bomb someone had left him and he was waiting for it to explode. He did enjoy the burger though, which is the main thing we aimed for, since it's probably not the funnest job to have to turn away drunk, angry people all day and serve liquor to everyone else.
After we finished visiting with Zac we headed back to Cameron's house where Brad dropped us off. Once we were at home I started to work on my previous blog, and I did that until I was ready for bed.
The 12th of November was an absolutely beautiful day. It was a Friday so I knew the water park would be busy, but it was just too nice out to resist going. Zac came around that morning to pick us up since Cameron's battery was still in the shop and we started our trip to Dreamworld/White Water World. Once we got there we decided to try out as many rides as we could since it was not only the first time I'd ever been there but also a first for Zac and Cameron. The first ride we went on was called 'The Green Room' which we picked because all 3 of us were able to ride it at once. The tube we sat on was a 4-seater, so Cameron and Zac sat across from eachother while I took one of the other ends. We were then dropped down a steep tube (I screamed all the way) only to wind up inside of a sideways funnel. This ride is probably the most terrifying I've ever been on, including any roller coasters or upside-down rides, simply because there is nothing protecting you or stopping you from falling right over and getting hurt. We ended up being propelled right up the side of the funnel to the point where I'm sure I was 3/4 of the way upside down against the wall. The full goes 20 meters up above the ground, and I could really tell that while on it. The boys loved the ride, but I was kind of shocked for a while after exiting, especially since it happened to be our first ride of the day. The next ride we went on that fit 3 people was called 'The Rip', which was similiar to one of the rides found at the West Edmonton Mall water park. The ride is basically one gigantic toilet where you spin around the sides then fall out of the bottom. We were propelled against the way doing a complete circle before we slid down the last slide and into a pool of water. That one wasn't nearly as terrifying as the previous, but it got me way more wet. Luckily the sun dried the water almost as fast as I got wet in the first place so I was never cold.
Another ride I went on was called 'The Little Rippers' which is really just an individual version of the previous ride. It was fun but it's definitely more exciting to go on as a group. Afterward we all picked a basic water slide at 'The Temple of Huey' which was a lot more tame and what I'm used to. They were just simple, long, slow slides but fun nonetheless. 'The Cave of Waves' was where we ended our day, which is, as the name suggests, a large wave pool. That's my favorite part of any water park simply because I love the feeling of the waves. Even the Edmonton water parks that offer wave pools don't really provide you with waves equivalent to the ocean's.
Zac dropped us off early at Cameron's house a little while later and we were just in time to go with his dad to get the family their fish and chips for dinner. We drove up to a very busy little building that focused on selling fresh fish as well as fish and chip meals. There were about 20 other people waiting around for their orders and it was easy to see why they'd pick this store in particular. Besides having a huge variety of different seafood to buy and take home they also cook your orders right in front of you and as soon as you order so you know it's fresh. We ended up waiting about 50 minutes for ours to be ready but when it was it smelled delicious. We took it back to Cameron's house to eat with the family and they all loved it. It's so incredible to be able to eat fresh seafood that was literally caught that same day then prepared in front of my eyes. It was obviously delicious, and only $8.00 for the whole meal.
After dinner was finished and Cameron had his car battery fixed we decided to go out for a drive. We hadn't since we'd gotten home from Sydney and those 5 days felt like a really long time. Going driving and getting out of the house feels so nice and liberating, and I can't wait to get my own license so I can explore Edmonton as well. Cameron took us down to 'The Spit', the area with the beautiful view of the cities beside the river, and we sat and enjoyed the scenery for a while.
Once we returned home I organized some of the items I planned to bring with me to Brisbane and put a few other things in Cameron's backpack for the following day. I went to bed soon after to get ready for the early morning the next day.
Saturday the 13th of November was full of excitement, even at 7AM in the morning when I had to get up to prepare for the trip up to Brisbane. Cameron and I stuffed his backpack full of the rest of our stuff, I prepared my purse, then we boarded Cameron's parent's car to drive to the train station as his Dad had to drive Cameron and I, as well as his brother and his brother's wife.
I had never been on a train before and I was really looking forward to the experience of riding on it for the first time. I know that we do have a train station in Edmonton as well but I don't think there's ever really been a reason to ride it since my family doesn't do much traveling. To get to Brisbane the quickest, easiest and cheapest way it to take the train. The city is quite large, much like Sydney, and it would be hard to navigate for someone who doesn't live there. The traffic is also pretty hectic and it's best to just walk around instead of driving.
I found the train to be quite similar to the LRT except it was much faster and there weren't nearly as many underground tunnels or roads. We went over a few bridges and through some rural areas so I got a good idea of what the city and surrounding areas looked like along the way. The ride to Brisbane took about an hour from the Gold Coast, during which I played on Cameron's DS and he listened to music from his I-phone. Once we got to the train station in Brisbane we had to figure out where our hotel was, and it turned out to be only a short walk from where we were. After a 10 minute walk up a hill we arrived at 'Hotel Urban' which was much fancier than I had imagined. The building itself was quite modern, which is actually unique in Brisbane. Sydney's buildings are all modern and newly built, but Brisbane is a very historical city where classic architecture is common and older buildings are still used.
Once we got to our rooms it was so exciting to see things like a mini bar, free robes, and a room service menu. I know most people wouldn't find that very interesting but since I've only stayed at a few hotels and none of them were quite as fancy as this I was pretty amazed at how accommodating the place could be to a traveler. Of course I know that the prices for everything are totally exaggerated so I didn't order or eat anything, but the fact that I could if I wanted to is what I liked about it!
After Cameron and I unpacked some of our belongings and got settled in we met up with Christian and Saraya and headed down to Queen Street Mall. Although it's labeled as a mall it's really a lot more like a shopping district since it's completely outdoors. Walking down and around it felt much like walking along Whyte Avenue, the only differences being the lack of a road for cars and the addition of a more classy feel. There were so many different types of stores that I just enjoyed browsing the shop windows to compare what all you could buy or eat there. Their Town Center was located just nearby and the building itself is absolutely beautiful and looked very historical. It's obviously been around a while, but the way it's been taken care of makes it look brand new. The casino is absolutely incredible as well and almost too classy. We tried to get inside to take a peak at the interior, however you weren't allowed to wear sandals, tank tops, hats, skate shoes, shorts, or hoodies. Basically, to get into this casino you needed a very formal attire (which we didn't have, browsing the streets of Brisbane). Once we were finished looking around we all headed to the 'Groove Train' restaurant, which is another version of the same restaurant on The Gold Coast. It's service definitely didn't compare, as it took about 10 minutes to have someone take our order, and our drink didn't arrive until after our food! The food was still delicious, and I'd have to say that it remains one of my favorite restauarants here in Australia.
After we had our lunch we walked down to the train station again to pick up some alcohol to enjoy prior to the football/rugby game we were going to. While we were looking around, Cameron and his brother happened to notice a really tall, muscular man walking up the escalator who looked like any other person to me, but he turned out to be one of the football players from the game we were going to see later that night! I obviously wasn't as excited or shocked to see him as the two guys were, but then again I had absolutely no idea who he was at the time. Once I watched the game that night I definitely regretted not getting a picture with him, as his name is Sam Thaiday and he's actually one of the top 20 football players in all of Australia and very exciting to watch. They happily got pictures with him and talked about meeting him all the way back to the hotel. Once we were back at the hotel we rested for a few hours, showered and got ready for the game later that night. At around 5PM we left and headed to the train station, which was already quite packed with people all heading to the game as well. Since the rugby game we were seeing was the Rugby League Four Nations finals there were hundreds of people crowded onto each train. The game we were seeing was Australia VS New Zealand which is a very tough rivalry, much like the United States and Canada or Calgary and Edmonton. Everyone was dressed up in their countries colors and the excitement level was pretty close to that of a hockey game for us. Once we got to the stadium there were thousands and thousands of people outside walking from every direction to the building. We found out later that 36,000 people attended the game that night, and it was obvious by how large the stadium was and just how packed full the seats were. The game itself was confusing at first, but after about a half hour of explaining from Cameron I understood what to look out for and what to cheer for. Obviously I was Team Australia, so I even bought a little hand clapper with their logo on it to support the team. The goals for rugby are called a 'try' for which you get 4 points and when you get a try you also have the opportunity to kick the ball through the posts to get another 2 points. Prior to starting the game there was both the countries anthems and then a dance was performed by the New Zealand team called the 'Haka'. The traditional dance is used by the indigenous people of New Zealand to draw strength for the New Zealand team and attempt to intimidate their opposition. It was a very unique performance to watch, especially with some of the movements and faces the men would make. Australia started off the game by getting 6 points, and from then on they were in the lead throughout the rest of the game. It was only in the last 4 minutes of the 80-minute game that Cameron said to me, "When Australia wins, we will stay until the end to watch them do their victory lap of the field." I looked at him and said, "Don't count your chickens before they've hatched." No sooner did I say that then a New Zealand player ran past all of the Australian defenses to get one final try, placing them 4 points ahead of Australian and winning the entire game. All of the Australian people were completely upset, some of them yelling and others just looking down at their feet as they left. We attempted to board a train to get home and after waiting on it for 20 minutes because of 'technical difficulties' the driver announced we would have to get off and take another train because it had completely shut down. Unfortunately at that very moment every single train leaving the stadium station were not working either, so thousands and thousands of people had to find other ways to get back to their homes and hotels. We found a very old bus that stopped quite close to our hotel which was quite lucky, but it was packed to full capacity just so everyone could get back to theirs as well. In the middle of the ride a group of about 5 Māori men (the indigenous people from New Zealand, similar to our Aboriginal people) burst out into song to celebrate. It was interesting to hear the way they sang because it was in a language so unique to me that I'd never heard of before, and everyone on the bus (even the Australian people who just lost the game) quieted down to listen to their celebration. After we got off the bus and on our way home we passed a pack of teenagers at another bus stop, and they asked us who won the game. When Cameron's brother told them that Australia lost, one of the shorter ones looked at us and flashed me, to which Cameron replied, "Welcome to Australia!"
Once we got back to the hotel Cameron and I hung out in his brother's room until around midnight then we went back to ours and headed to bed.
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| Brisbane City Hall |
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| Queen Street Mall |
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| The Casino |
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| A face one of the dancers made during the Haka |
The next day, November 14th, we got up early (at about 7:00AM) to get our room cleaned up and to get showered and ready for the day. Cameron and I headed down to the lobby of the hotel about an hour later to have a buffet breakfast, and it was delicious. I love staying at a place that serves you breakfast, I know it's not anything too special and it's pretty common at most hotels but since I'm not used to that type of thing it really feels like a treat. They even had a bin of mini glass containers of tomato sauce you were able to grab and bring to your table to use. Since they were such a perfect size, about 1 tablespoon, and there was so many of them I decided to grab a few to keep in my purse. I love having my purse! It's good for storing just about anything. I know it seems silly to be carrying little containers of tomato sauce with me, but since most places will charge you a dollar or two just for a spoonful I thought it was a pretty good idea.
Once we had all finished our breakfasts we got our stuff from the rooms and began our trek back to the train station. It took a little longer to get home this time, but it was much easier to unpack than the Sydney trip and we were home and ready to do something else by noon. Cameron and I decided to go to Wet 'N' Wild Water World again since it was such a beautiful day out and I was really looking forward to using the wave pool to cool off. We got there early, got our locker and headed straight to the wave pool to relax before going on any rides. We stayed in for about two minutes before deciding to go on a different ride, but as we exited the pool area Cameron realized he had left something in his pocket; his iPhone. Unfortunately his $1,400 phone isn't waterproof, and therefore it was completely destroyed by the wave pool and the chlorine. Cameron was pretty upset about the loss of his phone so we removed our stuff and headed home quickly in the hopes that he could fix it. Sadly, once a phone is touched by water and it seeps under the case and through to the electronic insides it's ruined, so he was without a phone completely. Luckily his brother had lent me a phone for my stay here, so Cameron simply took that one and is now using it as his own. It's too bad he had to find out the way he did, but I guess from now on he'll know to check his pockets before swimming!
After we got home and he wasn't able to fix his phone we decided to go down to the pool at his complex to cool off. It didn't have any fancy slides or waves like the water park, but it was definitely nice to relax in the water. I wish we had private neighbourhood pools it only took a minute to walk down to, but pools are much more common in Australia than anywhere I've seen in Canada. We stayed there for a few hours, playing and swimming around, before going back to his place. We ate dinner at home that night and then watched X-Factor with his family. X-Factor is produced by Simon Cowell and is similar to American Idol except it allows groups and the judges actually coach the specific categories of people (groups, 25+, girls under 25 and guys under 25). The Australian version is awesome, I find that they have much better singers here than in Canada and even on the US Idols. The finale is next week, so I get to watch it just before I head home. Speaking of heading home, I can't believe how soon it is that I go back! I've enjoyed my time here so much it feels like it just flew by. I will miss the country and especially the Gold Coast like crazy, it feels like a second home to me now. When Cameron and I go for drives I know where everything is and where we're going, and I feel very comfortable here. It will be extremely hard to leave, and especially challenging to go back to winter weather! Anyways, after dinner that night I just wrote a bit for my blog then went to bed.
On the 15 of November, the next day, we woke up early again to get a good start at Wet 'N' Wild. We decided to give it another try, and this time when we got there Cameron made sure to triple-check all of his pockets for loose items. It was a lot more fun this day because he wasn't as stressed about his phone and there were more rides open than there were before. 'Mammoth Falls' was an exciting ride where Cameron and I got to be on the same raft facing each other while going down a long and windy slide. It would have probably been more fun with some extra weight to add more speed, but either way we got soaking wet and enjoyed ourselves. After that we tried 'The Black Hole', which is a very thin, very fast, completely enclosed water slide. Cameron and I were together in a little tube and it shot so fast I screamed most of the way down. It's considered one of the extreme slides at the park, and the title definitely is fitting. After we finished going on the water slides we spend the rest of the day in the wave pool just relaxing. I love to go deeper when the waves come out and jump up into them, letting them push me forward. I feel much safer in the wave pool than I do in the ocean, but it's fun either way. Cameron had an appointment at about 4PM, so we left the park and went for his meeting soon after. Once he was finished we headed home and since I still had my bathing suit on we both went and spent a few hours at his complex's pool again. When we were finished and it had gotten dark outside we went back to his house for dinner. We watched the results for X Factor, then later that night we watched Jackass 1 and 2 on his computer since I enjoyed seeing Jackass 3 in the theater.
Tuesday the 16th of November started off quite well because we had something exciting planned at the very beginning of the day. Once I had finished getting ready for the day we headed down to Surfer's Paradise to visit the Q1 Tower, which is the world's tallest residential tower and also the tallest building in all of Australia. Cameron's neighbor Gerald was nice enough to take us there and get us half-price tickets, and it happened to be his first time up the tower as well. The view from the top of the tower was absolutely amazing, and once again the height of the building made me legs weak like jelly for the first few minutes. I was stunned at seeing the ocean from such a high point, as Sydney didn't really have the same impact because the water was too far away to see. It was incredible to look at the beach and all of the other surrounding buildings from above and to see the city that I've loved to stay at these past few weeks in it's entirety. From the tower I was just barely able to make out the complex where Cameron lives, Robina Town Center which we've visited a few times, Marina Mirage, the millionaire homes I passed on the Aquaduck, the casino I went to on my birthday and all of the other high-rises we pass on our drives down the beach. I could have stayed up there all day just looking around or reading a book, knowing I was at such a special place. We decided to leave around lunch time, and on the way home Cameron gave his friend Brad a call and we all thought it'd be a fun idea to go to Dreamworld. Once we swung around to pick him up we had lunch quickly at KFC then enjoyed the drive up to the theme park. Once we were there we went on a couple of rides and visited with some of the animals at their zoo area. I had the very special opportunity to get my picture taken with a Koala, and it really was one of my favorite moments of my trip so far. Not many people get the chance to hold one in their arms, and it felt a lot like a little baby that I had to hold close to my body as it wrapped it's fingers around me and grabbed on tight. It wasn't very heavy but it gave the camera the sweetest look while I had it with me. All of the other zoos and wildlife parks I visited only let you stand with the koalas and it was really neat to actually get to touch it and have it in my arms. We had a good time at Dreamworld that day and we managed to get quite a few rides in. The best of them had to be the water rides, such as the log ride and the river rapids ride, because it was the perfect day to get wet. Somehow Brad avoided most of the water whereas I got drenched. We got a really great photo taken when we went down the log ride and it was so awesome that Cameron decided to buy a copy of it. I'll have to figure out how to transfer it onto here so I can post it.
Once we were finished at Dreamworld we dropped Brad off and went back home for dinner. The rest of the night was spent working on this blog, which takes much longer than you'd think. I guess if I updated it more than once every 7 days I'd actually spend less time doing it, but taking all night is my punishment for putting it off I guess!
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| Cameron's complex in the top area of the photo |
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| The Tower of Terror (the fastest and tallest flat ride in the world and the 6th most extreme roller coaster in the world) |
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| Brad and the kangaroo |
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