And we're still here...

We decided to splurge and buy theme park multi pass thingys - unlimited entry to two parks until the end of June. We aren't going to be hanging around until the end of June, but we figured we could stick around for a week and go to Seaworld and Movieworld a couple of times each and make them worth it.

We started out with Movieworld. It is very American - even the ride announcements (you know, "Please keep your hands inside the carriage at all times" and all that) are done in American accents. It's a Hollywoodish place, so it makes sense. There are loads of rides at Movieworld which are almost all too scary for our kids, but there is plenty of other stuff to do as well - shows (Shrek 4D, a stunt car one, a Batman one, etc), interesting shops like the Harry Potter shop which is cute and Nate really likes as he's fully into Harry Potter at the moment, and a whole kiddie rides section with ultra tame rides for all ages. Eli particularly likes the little train that does a few laps around its enclosure. Very cute.



Here we are with Shrek:



Nate and Maya in the Wild West:



An exhilirated Nate after the ride started:



And more:





Seaworld is really great. I understand why dolphins are such a cliche - it's because they're awesome. It is mind-blowing what they are capable of, and how trainable they are. We saw people surfing on dolphins, dolphins swimming with only their tails in the water and the rest of their bodies straight up in the air, spectacular flips and dives, and lots of flipper waving. There is a dolphin nursery where you can see the babies and mums and learn how similar dolphins are to humans - 9-10 month gestation, 2-5 years of suckling (yes doubters, a minimum of 2 years is recommended for human babies, and the world average is 5 years).

Here's some fancy dolphin action:





I really enjoyed the bull shark exhibit. I had no idea that there were so many sharks inhabiting the canals of the Gold Coast, very interesting. For every 4 humans killed by sharks, there are 1 million sharks killed by humans. Huh. This no-nonsense exhibit teaches that the vast majority of shark attacks are not only cases of mistaken identity, but they are also very rarely fatal. Suggestions for fending off an attacking shark include gouging its eyes, punching it in the face, blowing bubbles, and shouting at it. Only in Australia.

There are rides at Seaworld as well, arguably better than those at Movieworld. Here are some pictures:







A particularly cute picture from lunch:



We went to a Bert and Ernie Island Adventure show and Nate and Maya were lucky enough to be invited onstage by Elmo and Cookie Monster:



We just have a few more things we want to do at the Gold Coast, including another visit with a lovely friend who moved up here from Sydney. She was among the first people I met here when I sought out like-minded parents, and generously lent us a stroller for schlepping around the theme parks. Her partner makes a mean mango daiquiri. I'm going to take advantage of her amazing, huge kitchen to make a batch of gluten free carrot cake cupcakes! Yum.

We also hope to make it back to Seaworld on Sunday to hang out at the water park there, weather permitting. It is massive. There is an incredibly alluring water slide that I'm looking forward to. Hopefully by then we will have found the cord that allows us to upload photos! At least we still have the camera.

Then we'll be off... Brisbane? Or Mt Tambourine? Not sure yet.