Solo in Australia #17: Gold Coast Sea World
Besides sunshine, beaches, the ocean, canals, and villas, the best thing about the Gold Coast is the numerous theme parks – over 30 of them, big and small, including three world-class ones: Sea World, Movie World, and Dream World. That’s why the Gold Coast is also called the Theme Park Capital. I bought a combo ticket from a Taiwanese travel agency: Sea World (79.9 AUD) + Movie World (79.9 AUD) + Paradise Country (19.9 AUD) for 90 AUD, which was a great deal, so I didn’t plan to go to Dream World.
July 15: Woke up naturally. After 9 a.m., I swiped my Go Card and took a bus for about ten minutes to reach Sea World, located three kilometers north of Surfers Paradise. This is Australia’s largest marine theme park, featuring everything from whales to Nemo the tropical fish, plus polar bears—cool! Don’t forget to pick up a Chinese map and guide at the entrance, along with a schedule. Be sure to study it carefully and don’t miss any of the wonderful shows!
Here you can touch the slippery back of a stingray, but avoid touching its tail’s venomous barb or its mouth. Many tourists nearby were torn between wanting to touch it and being afraid—it was quite amusing. You could also touch starfish, which were hard and stiff. I watched 'Happy Feet' several times and was very interested in emperor penguins, wondering if I could see a dancing penguin here. And indeed, there was one penguin with especially large feet! I had read that there were two polar bears here, but I only found one—did the other one die? A little kid asked his dad, 'Where is the polar bear?' and the dad answered, 'Look that yellow one.' I was speechless! Yes, the polar bear wasn’t white as imagined, but yellow—no wonder the kid couldn’t find it. The park also added a dinosaur area, which I thought was not very original! But the dinosaur eggs were interesting. Dinosaurs indicate that Australia is an ancient land. The most popular attraction here was the dolphin show. In just 15 minutes, every second was exciting. The dolphins jumped several meters out of the water together multiple times. They showed dolphins guiding a rescue boat, a person standing on a dolphin’s back speeding forward, two dolphins simultaneously lifting an adult out of the water, and four dolphins leaping together. The audience gasped and applauded continuously. Highly recommended!
The dolphin show was spectacular, focusing on stunts, while the seal show was a skit where a seal helped a police officer catch a fish thief—it was hilarious. The theme park also had many cute rides that excited me. But when I realized that everything seemed to be in kid-sized dimensions, I quietly walked away. This place is more suitable for children.
But there were still rides for adults, like this roller coaster and this jet ski, both quite thrilling. Unfortunately, I was wearing a dress and the locker area was packed, so I gave up again. But no rush—Movie World has even cooler stuff! Hehe.
Every day at noon, there was a carnival performance in the main square at the entrance. Each period had a theme; this time it was SpongeBob. Colorful and lively, the kids watched with great delight.
Another happy show for kids featured Dona, the protagonist of an Australian cartoon. Have you heard of it? I had no idea. Actually, the theme park isn’t very big—a walk around takes about 30 minutes. But it still offers a free aerial cable car for visitors to enjoy Sea World from a different angle. On one side is the artificial canal and tall buildings, on the other is the blue ocean. This Sea World is not only fun but also beautiful! A pool called Blue Lake was so clear you could see the bottom. Several dolphins were kept there. Inside the park, you could book additional activities like dolphin training, feeding penguins, whale watching at sea, helicopter tours, etc. These extra close encounters naturally cost extra and required advance booking—they were very popular!
The cable car had a stop in the middle of the theme park, where you could get off and watch a SpongeBob 3D movie, shown every 20 minutes on a loop—pretty good effect. Then it was show time again. The jet ski stunt show at the main square was also spectacular and cool. I looked around here and there, and before I knew it, I had circled the park several times. After seeing everything, it was already 4 p.m. Tired, I headed back to my accommodation!
Complete Collection of Solo Australia
Solo Australia Part 27: Shopping
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/australia100048/1885842.html
Solo Australia Part 26: Strolling Around
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/australia100048/1885841.html
Solo Australia Part 25: Sydney Taronga Zoo
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/sydney236/1885160.html
Solo Australia Part 24: Paddington Market
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/sydney236/1885838.html
Solo Australia Part 23: Sydney Bondi Beach
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/sydney236/1884686.html
Solo Australia Part 22: Sydney The Rocks Market
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/sydney236/1884684.html
Solo Australia Part 21: Wollongong
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/sydney236/1884683.html
Solo Australia Part 20: Sydney Blue Mountains
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/australia100048/1884682.html
Solo Australia Part 19: Gold Coast Sunrise, Koalas, Q1 Building
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/goldcoast456/1884681.html
Solo Australia Part 18: Gold Coast Movie World
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/goldcoast456/1885391.html
Solo Australia Part 17: Gold Coast Sea World
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/goldcoast456/1884680.html
Solo Australia Part 16: Queensland Capital Brisbane
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/brisbane323/1884679.html
Solo Australia Part 15: Gold Coast Whale Watching
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/goldcoast456/1884678.html
Solo Australia Part 14: Gold Coast Rainforest 4WD
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/goldcoast456/1884677.html
Solo Australia Part 13: Gold Coast Glowworm Caves
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/goldcoast456/1884676.html
Solo Australia Part 12: Port Stephens Dolphin Watching
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/sydney236/1884675.html
Solo Australia Part 11: Melbourne City
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/melbourne312/1884672.html
Solo Australia Part 10: Melbourne Gold Panning
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/melbourne312/1885390.html
Solo Australia Part 9: Melbourne Great Ocean Road
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/melbourne312/1884671.html
Solo Australia Part 8: Melbourne Phillip Island
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/melbourne312/1884670.html
Solo Australia Part 7: Canberra
http://you.ctrip.com/place/canberra321.html
Solo Australia Part 6: Parks, Markets, Zoo
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/australia100048/1885275.html
Solo Australia Part 5: Sydney City
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/sydney236/1884668.html
Solo Australia Part 4: Integration
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/australia100048/1884667.html
Solo Australia Part 3: Transportation and Communication
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/australia100048/1884875.html
Solo Australia Part 2: Arrival
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/australia100048/1884873.html
Solo Australia Part 1: Preparation
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/australia100048/1884664.html
