IT’S ALL WITHIN REACH
If you’ve never had the joy of playing tourist in our town, check out some of the perks of holidaying at home while discovering some fantastic experiences you may not have previously considered
“From now on, this is how we roll in carpool,” my son said to me. It was a Friday morning. My two children were dressed in their school uniforms, backpacks slung off the shoulder and hats askew on their heads. Another typical day in the life of an average school mum.
Except not. For this day … was extraordinary. Instead of wrestling the dog away from the front gate of our suburban home, we were casually chilling in the foyer of our five-star hotel during a three-night Surfers Paradise staycation. Instead of staring down the road for their ride, the kids gazed at the amazing tropical pools of the Marriott Resort, the Nerang River behind it and stunning skyline above.
Watching the carpool SUV swing into the grand porte-cochere, surrounded by limos, Mercs and Beemers, was not our first luxury experience of the day either.
Instead of a bowl of Nutri-Grain (I know it’s full of sugar but they eat it, so sue me Pete Evans) and some burned Vegemite toast, we indulged in a full breakfast buffet.
While I enjoyed sitting down and inhaling some chocolate croissants and coffee, the kids’ bums barely touched their seats. Instead, they were like war correspondents delivering news from the frontline back to base camp.
“Mum! There’s pancakes with whipped cream and butter and syrup and waffles!”
“Mum! They’ve got smoothies you can pour yourself! Look! I got three glasses!”
“Mum! MUM! MUUUM! They’ve got FROOT LOOPS!!”
While my tactic of serenely ignoring them worked for me, apparently not so much for the waiter – who wandered over to kindly inform them where the ice cream and chocolate sauce were kept, slipping a knowing smirk in my direction.
Joke’s on you buddy, they’re going to school. Sorry, teachers. Thus high on life and sugar, it was time to send them off.
The only drawback of our luxury life was when my daughter forgot her school cardigan in our junior suite – ducking back up to the 24th floor is a little more time-consuming than the usual pop-in to retrieve the halfdozen forgotten items the kids leave behind. But then came the sweetest part of all … waving goodbye. Now it was just me and the Marriott.
While the purpose of our staycation was to enjoy all the weekend wonders of the tourist strip, this extra day, for me, was what made it a real holiday.
Parents, if you’re considering a holiday at home, remember it doesn’t have to be during THEIR holidays. Take a day off and send them to school – enjoy each other or just yourself and some quiet, luxurious hours.
That Friday was a stolen interlude to rekindle the romance between me and … me. So what did I do? Well, first I took a leisurely stroll down by the river and on to the beach. Then I got in the spa. Do you know what sweet pleasure it is to sit in the hot water without some child using you as a flotation device/referee/ audience member?
With the afternoon still free before I was on-call for school pick-up, I returned to my room and weighed up the options. But there was really only one: bed. Dear reader, I napped. I napped so hard that the bed still bears the indent of my afternoon delight. Eventually the dream literally ended and it was time to bring the kids back. Joined by my husband, the two of us enjoyed a happy hour on the balcony – gazing out at the ocean while intermittently yelling at the kids not to break stuff or fall over the edge.
For dinner we were treated to a meal at our family’s favourite restaurant - Misono. Normally the place for birthdays, we love the food and the theatrics of the chef as he slices and dices on the hotplate table. It scares the children into submission.
Better than a birthday, however, was the fact that we could enjoy cocktails and not worry about driving, Ubers or bedtimes. Home was just 21 floors away.
Morning brought the day the kids had been waiting for: pancakes, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, Infinity, pool action and some nighttime fireworks.
We started with breakfast at Pancakes on the Rocks. It’s a restaurant with an American diner feel which, having spent seven months in the States last year, we all know and love. And just like in the USA, the portions were generous. My son ambitiously ordered a regular stack of three pancakes and was defeated less than halfway through.
“BETTER THAN A BIRTHDAY, HOWEVER, WAS THE FACT THAT WE COULD ENJOY COCKTAILS AND NOT WORRY ABOUT DRIVING, UBERS OR BEDTIMES.”
According to our waiter, he gave it a good shot. My daughter and I each made it through one pancake and my husband bucked the trend by ordering savoury eggs and bacon … but then polished off most of our leftovers. Eating is his napping, I guess.
And so … on to Ripley’s where, believe it or not, I have never been. In fact, prior to this visit, I would have said I would prefer to stick a replica Incan arrow through my shrunken head rather than go here. And yet … true fact: it was fun.
While some of the artifacts – or are they artifictions? – can be a little creepy for the younger ones, you can move through those areas at your own pace (ie quickly) and it seemed the further we went, the less freaked out certain members of our party were. Or perhaps my husband’s cold sweat was just a simple case of too many pancakes?
By the end of it, we had to all but drag the kids out to get to Infinity on time. The last section of Ripley’s includes a laser obstacle course (need I say more?) and the children were beaming some evils at us as we forced their exit.
But the frowns didn’t linger for long as we made our way to Infinity, yet another attraction I’ve never attended.
A favourite among school-aged boys, my son had been before and was extremely proud to act as our tour guide – checking with his sister regularly whether she was scared yet … and thus ensuring that she soon was.
A maze of mirrored walls, flashing lights and music, it’s a lot more enjoyable than that actually sounds. In fact, it was quite fun to be on a family adventure where everything felt uncertain, yet you knew was safe.
All except for the end, that is, where you walk out accompanied by a giant gust of wind below you. While this was fine for everyone else in our family not wearing a dress, it was most unfortunate for the Indian family sitting opposite me at the exit, innocently putting on their shoes and suddenly, unwittingly staring at my smalls. Word to the wise: wear pants (mirrored floors are also not a friend of the dress).
And so to the pool to cool off (yes it was winter but my cheeks, all of them, were blazing). Actually, a Pina Colada served in a coconut was what I required, while the children grabbed their goggles to swim with the fish who call the Marriott pool home.
Despite the winter weather, the water is warmed to a temperature that makes all-day swimming a real possibility.
While we had plans to venture to the beach in the evening to watch the Seafire fireworks festival, we ended up wearing our Marriott robes and watching from the warmth of our home away from home. Bliss.
Sunday morning brought yet another buffet breakfast with an extra special dish – the opportunity for the children to feed the aforementioned fish.
Watching them dangle raw prawns to tropical fish with a waterfall before them with THAT view just beyond in the sunny Sunday morning sunshine was a moment of family perfection. #blessed And then it was time to check-out. #sademoji
But the staycation wasn’t over yet. There was still time for a visit to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. While we’ve all been there before, I don’t think we’ve ever done it just the four of us. Normally we’re taking other tourists to visit or perhaps as part of a school excursion. This time, it was just for fun.
While my husband held his first koala (“soft and smells like eucalyptus” was his enlightening verdict) and we decided we’ll return soon to do the ropes course, it was the kangaroos that won our hearts – and imaginations.
The way they lounge in the sun is just so … alluring. Like a marsupial Zoolander – a Roolander, if you will – flashing some roo blue steel.
We debated taking enough photos to compose our own Kangaroos of 2017 calendar but instead satisfied ourselves by making our son lie down next to one and mimicking his pose. It was gold.
And then there’s the red roo muscles … those dudes are built. “Mum, he’s got a sixpack,” my son whispered in awe. #rooroids
At last, it was time to return home and get ready once again for a run-ofthe-mill school and work week.
A quick trip to the grocery store, the gathering of uniforms, the finding of homework … yet a sparkle of that staycation magic stayed with me.
While I couldn’t summon a buffet breakfast to appear, I could make lunch preparation disappear. “You get tuck shop! … And you get tuck shop! … Everybody gets tuck shop!” I yelled to mad cheers. Five-star all the way, baby.