Sea World

Well despite the very late night it was another early start this morning.  I sure didn't want to take off my new slippers that Yvonne had made for me.

But the boys were once again ready and raring to go at the crack of dawn!  So, with our picnic packed along with our wet weather gear AND the sunscreen (it was one of THOSE days) we were on the road by 9 o'clock and ready and waiting for the Sea World gates to open at 9.30am.

We stopped briefly to check out the pelicans before we made our way to the Dolphin Nursery.  We got an early look at the dolphins up close as they were getting fed their breakfast.

 

We were on our way to the thrill rides but simply couldn't go past Henry the polar bear without stopping in.  Henry is a playful 275 kg two year old who is about to embark on the next stage of his development at a world-class facility in Canada called the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat.

 

 

We were lucky enough to be watching while the staff were taking some footage of Henry.  So we got to see him leaping in and out of the water chasing and playing with polar bear toys!

After bidding our farewells to Henry, it was straight onto the Storm Coaster for us.  Well, all of us except Fletcher of course, who is just too small to ride on pretty much every thrill ride!  On this ride we rode the perfect storm, facing a 20 metre wave on dry land.  Needless to say we were drenched after the very first go!

This ride was great fun and the queue wasn't very long so we did go back a couple more times for some thrills and spills.  After a brief confrontation with a rude and unbelievably smelly Indian woman, however, we decided to move on.

Next we stopped in at the Ray Reef, where we got to get up close and personal with the majestic stingrays.  Although their morning feed had been cancelled, we still got to touch them and we all thought that was pretty cool.

 

Our next stop was the Viking Revenge Flume where we rode in Viking-themed log style carriages and embarked on a 460m floating ride.  There was a pretty good splash down at the end but the general consensus by all (including Fletch) was that the line was too long to ride this one again!

 

 

The Jet Rescue was the next ride on the agenda and after the first go Bruce declared this the best ride on the Gold Coast (so far, anyway).   Strapped aboard jet skis we zoomed around the track at speeds of up to 70km/hr and pulling 2.5Gs, flying past rock pools and racing through a dark and dangerous blowhole cave.  It was awesome.  So much so, that Bruce and Jack must have had at least four consecutive rides each! However, some of the family were unhappy with the height restrictions, so we moved on.

 

 

We stopped for our picnic lunch at Castaway Bay.  All the boys loved this interactive playground with the Pirate Battle Boats and over 80 water cannons.  Jack didn't quite know what to think when an over-enthusiastic Chinese grandmother hip and shouldered him off a cannon in order to shoot an oncoming boat.  There was no harm done though, and he got his revenge a short time later.

 

 

The boys also had a go on the five levels of the Sky Fortress where they climbed, crawled and clambered their way through rope bridges, tunnels and slides.

 

We caught the Jet Stunt Extreme show at 1.30pm, but to be honest it was a bit lame.  It started to rain so we ducked in to check out the Creatures of the Deep Exhibition.  This was an educational exhibition displaying mysterious, mythical and prehistoric creatures from the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean.

 

The Fish Detectives Sea Lion Show was next on our agenda where we heard the fishy story of Al Baloney and sea lions Buddy and Clawde.

The boys loved the show, particular watching the sea lions slide down the slides!

From here we headed to Shark Bay - the world's largest man-made lagoon system for sharks.  We were lucky enough to be there at feeding time and loved watching the big sharks, turtles and stingrays as well as the colourful array of tropical fish.

  
The Affinity Dolphin show was, as to be expected, a highlight of the day.  The speed and natural grace of these beautiful animals never ceases to impress. 

By the time the dolphin show wound up, the day was drawing to a close.  The family split for the last 30 minutes or so, with Bruce and Fletch having a ride on the monorail, while Jack, Jarrah and I had a go balancing 12 metres above the ground on the Sky Climb.

We couldn't go past the pirate ships without a final battle with the water cannons, and this didn't end well for us!  By 5.30pm we were all drenched and freezing, and heading for home and some dry clothes.

We arrived back at Mermaid Waters to meet Col and Trace, friends of Yvonne and Cobs who had travelled down from Dysart, in outback Queensland.  We enjoyed a few drinks and a few yarns and a great BBQ dinner on the deck.

Cobs took responsibility for the children and hence they ate packets of chips, coke, ice creams, chocolate, rissoles and several serves of apple pie for dinner (in that order).  When I checked on them later in the evening I wasn't sure who was having the most fun!

Despite the great company I split early and took the kids to bed.  Apparently I'm not quite the girl I was 26 years ago and can no longer back it up three nights running!!!