One Ultimate Day Around the Gold Coast

Posted in Reviews, South East Qld by Vanessa Smith

After the ProBlogger Event, I was lucky enough to be chosen to be a participant in the Travel Bloggers Beware pop up experience, organised by Queensland Tourism. We had an incredibly FUN day, but busy! If you have one day to spend on the Gold Coast, I couldn’t recommend what we did enough.

I was a Guest of Queensland Tourism and the establishments listed below. I did not pay for these excursions or my food and I did not receive any money to write this post. All opinions are my own – because I don’t know how to be someone else.

Bike along the beach

We picked up our funky retro bikes from the lobby of the QT Hotel and rode along the beach.

A glimpse of the great beaches on the Gold Coast

View from my bike at Southport on the Gold Coast

Breakfast

Having worked up an appetite on the bike ride, it was time for a delicious meal at the Southport Surf Club.

Lovely breezy place to eat after a bike ride!

Eggs Benedict

Then we met up with our driver and bus for the day.

The best kind of transport – one that I don’t have to drive myself!

Jetboating

Yep, on a full stomach of breakfast, we went jetboating. You have to be tough to be a travel blogger.

Even the wall is exciting

If a picture says a thousand words, then a video must say a million. Click here if you want to watch the YouTube video of our jet boating trip. (When the camera is pointing at our faces, I’m second from the left in the second row.)

Perhaps needless to say if you watched the video and saw our driver Duffy soaking us, we were totally drenched after this! So drenched, I even blogged about How To Be Loved After Jetboating.

Now, I have jet boated before (on Sydney Harbour) and this one kicked Sydney’s ass! Maybe it’s because the Gold Coast is semi-local to me, maybe it was the smoother ride, maybe it was a driver who really should think about a career as a comedian or maybe it was the awesome company of other travel bloggers… but I would go back and do this again in a heartbeat!

Movie World

Once your adrenaline is up for the day, you may as well let it keep going. So we were bussed over to Movie World. I’ve already blogged about how this was my ultimate theme park experience for our ultra-VIP treatment. And more excitingly, for my birthday last month, my husband and I were given annual passes to Movie World! Woo! So as soon as my husband can beat his latest round of illness, we’re heading down there for more wild days.

Sing it with me “I’ve been to Movie World”…

First stop: the Green Lantern Coaster. An unnerving coaster!

Then we headed over to the Superman Escape coaster.

Lunch

We finally had a chance to rest our weary stomachs as the bus took us up to Mt Tambourine for lunch. We stopped off at Spice of Life cafe.

Spice of Life Cafe at Mt Tamborine

Pad Thai at Spice of Life

Rainforest Walk

Our day took a gentler turn with our visit to the Tamborine Mountain Skywalk.

Tambourine Rainforest Skywalk Entry

High above the trees

Travel bloggers working hard

At the bottom of the rainforest

Out to the edge of the forest

Beer and Cheese

We would up the day with beer and cheese at the MT Brewery.

Cheese from Witches Chase

Beer tasting. Yeah. I still don’t like beer.

Scenic Drive Home

Once we had eaten the cheese, sampled the beer and learned about the beer, it was time to head back to the QT Hotel.

Scenic drive back to the Gold Coast from Mt Tamborine

A river on the way back to the Gold Coast

Which activity would you like the best? Do you travel slow or fast?

26Nov2013

Views from a Plane

Posted in Travel by Vanessa Smith

My day job has been flat out ~~recently~~ for most of this year; one of the big reasons this blog doesn’t get updated much! But today I thought I would share with you some photos I’ve snapped from planes while on work trips. These are all from flights within Queensland – I don’t have much idea of where I was flying over when I took these though!

The best type of snack Qantas serves – cheese!

A stretch of sand – I wish I knew where I was flying over so I could visit!

Qantas snacks on regional flights – I prefer the cheese kind!

Do you love to survey the world from above?

5Nov2013

Centenary Place Park – Fortitude Valley

Posted in Brisbane CBD, Parks, South East Qld by Vanessa Smith

As a city worker for years now, I like to take any opportunity I can to get into Brisbane’s parks and relax in my lunch breaks. Centenary Place was a park that I had been past many times, but never actually been to! So I took the opportunity to go for a little walk one day. And I was pleasantly surprised!

It was very quiet when I went there, despite being in the middle of a weekday. Only a few others were out enjoying the park.

It was really nice to have pretty much the entire park to myself.

Brisbane City Council lists the park’s address as 85 Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley. I’d recommend public transport for getting here, but if you drive there are lots of paid car parks around that you could take advantage of. If you wanted to stop by this park and have a picnic, it’s very close to the Woolworths in Spring Hill, so you can grab your picnic items on the run.

Centenary Place park is in the middle of some very busy roads that funnel a lot of traffic to and from Brisbane CBD, so I wouldn’t recommend this park for kids. But it is a great park for a quick, middle of the day getaway or leisurely weekend picnic.

What do you do on your lunch breaks? Do you get out for fresh air?

29Oct2013

The Ultimate Theme Park Experience

Posted in Reviews, South East Qld by Vanessa Smith

So, you may have noticed a small theme on this blog. That of Theme Parks. I’ve written about them a lot. I’ve written about White Water World, Dreamworld, Wet n Wild, Sea World, Theme Park Tactics and Movie World. I love theme parks. Really. Truly. Honestly.

Today I’m here to talk to you about Movie World. I first went to Movie World in 2000, for a year 10 excursion. I have no idea what subject it was for – honestly, I don’t really care. I got to go to a theme park on a school day!! One of my best memories from this excursion was getting to go on the Wild West log ride about 10 times in a row – it was a quiet day so the ride operators stopped making us get off the ride & just let us continue!

After the 2013 ProBlogger Event on the Gold Coast, I was invited by Tourism & Events Queensland to partake in some activities around the Gold Coast. When I received my itinerary, I started dancing around my house, singing “I get to go to a theme park! I get to go to a theme park!” I still don’t know if my husband was jealous or annoyed by me.

Green Lantern at Movie World

We were whisked into Movie World by their friendly staff, and here begins my Ultimate Theme Park Experience. We didn’t have to queue up. Honestly. This is my dream! No queues! We were on a tight time frame, so we were rushed into the Green Lantern Coaster for our first experience. I hadn’t been to Movie World since this was built, so it was a 100% brand new ride for me. We had a little taste of the ride as we walked up the exit path:

And then it was our turn! This was a bit of a different roller coaster for me; if I was designing it in Roller Coaster Tycoon, it would have a lot of ‘air time’ on the stats page. The less nerdy way of putting this is that you will feel like you’re falling out of the ride! (As you can tell, I didn’t fall out and I did survive.)

After having the ultimate VIP status for one roller coaster, we were whisked across the park.

The beautiful fountain at Movie World

Our next stop was the Superman Escape coaster. I’ve been on this ride before and LOVE IT. It’s an ultimate thrill ride – fast, smooth, and a bit freaky.

And when I say fast, I mean FAST. As the Movie World website says: “go from zero to 100km an hour in only two seconds”. Fast enough for you?

Speeding by, at the speed of Superman?

Once again, we were taken in the back entrance to the ride by staff, and bypassed the queue. I would pay a lot of money for this every time I’m at Movie World, if it were possible! I’ve felt like a celebrity at one other time in my life, and this passed that experience by far.

There was one possible thing that could have made this an even better experience – to go on my favourite roller coaster at Movie World – the Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster. Don’t be put off by it sounding like a kid’s ride – it is a fantastic roller coaster.

If you’re going to be stopping by the Gold Coast any time soon, I really can’t recommend Movie World enough. I have been going there for 13 years now and the rides just keep getting better and better.

What would your Ultimate Theme Park Experience be?

Disclaimer: Tourism and Events Queensland arranged for my visit to Movie World. I was not paid for this post and all opinions are my own.

7Oct2013

QT Hotel Gold Coast

Posted in Reviews, South East Qld, Travel by Vanessa Smith

A few weeks ago, I was at the Gold Coast for the annual ProBlogger Event. The event was held at the QT Hotel Gold Coast, so that’s where I stayed as well!

I was a little too excited at the entire thing to get any photos of the lobby…whoops! But the QT’s website has a gallery section, so you may have to use that. When I heard about the conference I initially booked a twin room for two nights, just in case I wanted to share to make the rooms cheaper. Then I realised that I snore and no one wants to share with that. And then I was offered a place in a post-conference event (more to come on that in future weeks) and I needed to extend my stay by one night. Unfortunately the hotel was at such capacity that I had to swap to a king single room for the final night, but the staff were really accommodating: not only did they store my bags while I was in the second day of the conference, they emailed me as soon as the second room became available so I could check in ASAP. And put up with me having to swap money around to pay for it all – what did we do before iPhone banking apps?!

I’m not a neat person, so I have to snap a lot of photos quickly when I check into a room to make sure my mess isn’t in them!

Twin room:

Twin Room

Twin Room – from down low!

Twin Room – funky mirrors

Bathroom in Twin Room at QT Hotel Gold Coast

Best shower wall ever!

Mini Bar in the Twin Room at QT Hotel Gold Coast

Mini Bar – I actually just used the fridge to keep my own water cold.

Lamp in Twin Room at QT Hotel Gold Coast

Possibly the most photographed object of the conference…

Love a creepy hallway

As with most hotels, the rooms are all pretty similar – out of sheer necessity I guess! It must be a much more effective use of space if there’s not much difference between room layouts and sizes. Here’s the King Single room:

Bit of a dark snap – ran upstairs to put my stuff in my room during morning tea break!

Comfy & funky – this hotel is perfect mix for Instagramming!

Unfortunately I was too busy while I was there to get to use the tennis courts, pool or spa. But that’s also a good reason for a return visit I don’t think they could have picked a better place to hold the conference – and the most impressive thing? The hotel wifi stood up to 450 bloggers madly tweeting, blogging and generally sucking them dry for two straight days. That is really impressive!

I’ll leave you with a few other snaps around the hotel:

Yep – a different sticker-person in each lift.

Pool bags in each room at QT Hotel Gold Coast

Funky mesh bags with thongs (flip flops) in each room

Outside of the QT Hotel, Gold Coast

“The Lawn” area of the lobby

Have you ever stayed at a QT Hotels property? I really loved how they didn’t just look like every other hotel around. I would love to go there for a relaxation weekend – maybe a massage, buffet breakfast, walk on the beach & a bike ride. Could be a pretty perfect weekend!

8Sep2013

Burning Man Ball Pit

Posted in Festivals by Vanessa Smith

This morning I was lazing about at home and opened my Buzzfeed app. And I came across this article about the Burning Man festival.

People, they have a GIANT BALL PIT!

(Image source http://www.buzzfeed.com/kevintang/53-things-i-learned-at-burning-man)

Now, call me a big child (because, well, I am), but there are times when you see things that just sell you on a place. I had heard of Burning Man plenty of times before and read about it in a travel memoir. But a giant ball pit has completely sold me on this being an experience I have to have!

How do you find new things to add to your travel bucket list? Do individual activities sell you on a place in a heartbeat?

23Jul2013

Small Planes

Posted in Travel by Vanessa Smith

Yesterday I went in the smallest plane I’ve ever been in (at least in my memory – could have been in smaller as a kid & not know it).

It was a Dash 8 propellor plane on a short Qantas flight (you can check out their fleet here for more info).

The main thing I noticed was the annoying person next to me who spread himself out like he was on a beach chair.

But the second thing was the NOISE! Wow, what a racket! I was sitting by the propellor, so I don’t know if the noise is better if you’re at the front or back. Then again, the front or back isn’t really all that far from the propellor either, so it may not make any difference.

The pilot told us that we’d be slightly delayed due to a 110km/hr headwind, but that the flight should be fairly smooth. Cue turbulence. Naturally.

I even overhead the cabin crew joking to each other, “He calls this smooth?!”

Thankfully it was a very short flight, so by the time we were at cruising altitude it was nearly time to descend.

I was very glad to stretch as soon as the seatbelt sign came off – thanks lousy seat mate! Hope I don’t meet you again.

However, this flight did cement into me that I really do prefer larger planes. They have that bit more space to make you comfortable, better noise protection, and just feel nicer.

What sort of plane do you prefer flying on?

17Jul2013

Einbunpin Lagoon Sandgate

Posted in Parks, South East Qld by Vanessa Smith

A great local spot for a quick walk or weekend picnic is Enibunpin Lagoon at Sandgate. I’ve never called it by it’s official name – I’ve always called the Sandgate Lagoon.

Panoramic Park

For the traveller/technology addict – good news! This park has free WiFi!

Wheelchair/Pram accessible huts

This park is also popular for outdoor weddings.

Turtles

The local wildlife use this area too – but they run away fast if you try to get a close up photo

The locals have a sense of humour.

Lagoon

And it’s not a good park if they don’t tell you about the animals & how to keep the park looking good.

All about wildlife

14Jul2013

Victoria Park Mini Golf

Posted in Brisbane CBD by Vanessa Smith

A few months ago I had a work function at Victoria Park Golf Complex. The work part was, well, fairly boring and work related (at least until the wine started flowing). But between the work and the wine we had a round of mini golf! Now that’s what I call work.

I was actually a bit disappointed when we first got out to the course. Mini golf to me has always meant loud & large cartoon-like characters around the course. In comparison to that, the Victoria Park course is plain. But it’s also fun and challenging. And since it’s not outrageously tacky, it also suits the rest of the golf club.

Putt Putt Course

The thing about this Putt Putt course is that it requires some skill. Or at least more skill than I have. I think it’s best to go there with friends who don’t mind you doing things like kicking the ball up the hill when it has just rolled back down for the 10th time in a row.

Panoramic views

And the golf course itself has a fantastic view of the city.

Driving range

This is one place I’ll be returning to!

24May2013

Kite Fest 2013

Posted in Festivals, South East Qld by Vanessa Smith

Last weekend was the annual Redcliffe Kite Fest. It had some big changes this year, including paid entry & a focus on food. It was hugely successful from what I could see – after all there were queues to get in!

The streets were packed – long way to walk for parking.

While the local council sets up parking at a showgrounds and has free busses to events, in this case it actually wasn’t enough space, so the showgrounds were nearly full AND all the streets around the festival were packed out for at least 1km in each direction.

Paid entry

I’ve got to say, I hate these stick on wrist tags with a passion. I know most people wouldn’t think twice about it but I don’t wear any jewellery so it felt weird and annoying to be on my wrist all day. Plus, I yanked it off to drive home when I was done & it’s so damn heavy duty it hurt to rip it off! I think they need a better ticketing system next year – try to class up a festival by making it food & wine, yet give out tags that you wear at a theme park…

Kites!

Statue performer

Mini rides

Iced tea

I grabbed a green iced tea from a stall holder for the bargain price of $2.50. So. Nice.

Visited friends

Dropped in to visit my friends who had their business at the market. You can see what they sell here.

Huge crowds

Kites

Planes

More kites

Sizzler toast

And of course you can’t go to a food festival without eating. Sizzler had a great stall – just their famous cheesy toast, and all for a coin donation to charity. Absolutely loved it.

Squid

The toast made me hungry and I wanted something more substantial, so I picked up a squid noodle box from the Mon Komo food stand. The squid was absolutely fantastic – perfectly cooked and really good quality. The noodles were pretty bland – but I guess they need to cater to everyone’s tastes in one box.

Top Tip

Eating at a food festival can be really expensive. Try to look for school or charity fundraising stalls, as they’ve usually got food for the $5 mark, rather than the $10-15 mark that most stalls charge.

Overall?

I think the revamped festival was a really popular success. I think there will be some issues (ticketing, parking & overcrowding) to sort out for next year, but I’m also an ex-events planner so I tend to get incredibly picky on these things – others probably didn’t even noticed!

Suitcase Scribbles

Stories from an Occasional Traveller