We drove North on the following day, heading for a gander at Surfer's Paradise. Neither of us were particularly interested in dossing on a beach, there is way too much to do here. Also, I am a fair skinned freckly type and I prided myself on not being a sunburn victim on this holiday. Considering that the Aussies are very skin cancer conscious (compared to us Brits), and the shops don't sell much in the way of suncream under a factor 30........You'd either have to be pretty stupid or very unfortunate to actually burn there.
We finally arrived at Surfers after just one little wrong turn on the way. This was due to our onboard navigation system (me), failing to direct Sparks up a crease on the map sufficiently..
We parked up and had a walk around the town of Surfer's Paradise. I can honestly say that this place is way overrated. Never have I seen a place more geared up for extracting money off tourists - well, I have, Blackpool, but Surfer's is a surprisingly small place which sprawls into other towns. Full of shops selling overpriced tat, bars, beachwear shops and tickets to tourist attractions. Don't get me wrong, if you are travelling with kids then this is the place to go. Seaworld, Dream World, Movie World.... the theme park and entertainment complexes are endless.
In the spirit of experimentation, me and Sparks went to an attraction called Infinity. It was in the town centre and out of the blazing sunshine so we thought we'd give it a whirl. Infinity is basically a sensory experience for grown ups and children alike. It is like a futuristic maze through about 20 different rooms decked with lights and mirrors to make special effects. You are given a pair of white gloves and shoe covers (so that you can see your hands and feet in the lights).....and off you go.
This is a walk through attraction and has about 20 different rooms, all with different features but all of them dark. There is an electron maze which you have to get out of, the star chamber which looks like you are standing in the middle of an endlessly starry universe, the light canyon which appears to be a bridge of lights crossing a canyon of unfathomable depth, the cyclotron which is like stepping off a cliff edge and there is even a wobbly zone with soft, bouncy flooring and a madness tune playing.. It was like a bouncy castle for adults, me and Sparks were jumping about like idiots and I nearly pee'd laughing. There are lots more different rooms but all I could say about Infinity is that it's really trippy but damned good fun..
After having a look around Surfer's and a walk along the prom, we drove down to Broadbeach and visited David Fleay Wildlife Park. This is a small park which is easy to walk around. There is a Koala contact zone and I really wanted to stroke a Koala, so that's why we went.
I loved it.... the koalas are sooooo soft to touch but they do have very sharp teeth and claws. I didn't want to attempt to pick one up, they are, after all, wild animals, but I did a bit of stroking and cooing..
Koalas sleep for about 20 hours a day and spend the rest of their awake time eating (that's my kind of life!!!) Lots of people think that they are doped up from the Eucalypts which they eat, but in reality they eat a low energy diet so therefore don't need to move much. I loved them though, my favorite was a rescue koala who only had one eye and probably wouldn't survive in the wild but I thought she was lovely.
We wandered around the park at leisure, looking at some of Aussie's native species. We can now tell you that wombats are bigger than you think they're going to be, we can tell you the difference between a freshie and a saltie and we could, if quizzed, describe a cassowary.
I really enjoyed this little park and I loved the little lizards which follow you around here. They are like little dragons, we saw them everywhere we went in Queensland. They have a funny lop-sided run and look like they have little smiley faces and seem to be quite unafraid of humans. I loved it here..
Here are some pics, Surfer's Paradise town and beach, My favorite koala, koala friends, dingo, spot the saltie!!! would you dive in that billabong??? Wombat feeding time, the funny little lizard.