HOLIDAY PLAYGROUND
The Gold Coast is the place you should go for beaut theme parks, writes Mike Yardley
AUSTRALIA IS OFF-LIMITS for now, but when the bubble is reinflated, there’s no denying the pent-up demand for Kiwi holidaymakers setting their sights on the greatest holiday playground in Oz.
It’s the Mary Poppins of travel destinations. Like a trusty neighbour, ready, willing and able to entertain and enlighten the kids, we’re so lucky to have the holiday mecca on our doorstep.
I’ve been busy road-testing the thrills and spills, heights and sights that combine to deliver a power-packed vacation experience that is constantly raising the bar.
Coming soon to Dreamworld is a reptilian rollercoaster experience with a top speed of 105km/h and a G-force of 3.8.
You’ll hang on tight as Steel Taipan snakes around 1.2km of twists, turns and gut-lurching launches! With multiple inversions and even a spinning gondola at the rear of the train, this experience will have enough venom to leave you reeling. It’s set to open before the end of the year.
Movie World sets itself apart as one of the very few movie theme parks outside North America, blending an old Hollywood vibe with live character performances, interactive adventures and thrill rides galore.
Home to the tallest, longest and fastest Hypercoaster in the southern hemisphere, Movie World boasts a full day of adventure filled with all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, your favourite Looney Tunes characters plus the Super Heroes and Supervillains of the DC
Universe.
And the movie magic really hits top gear with the daily Star Parade down Main St, which is simply unmissable. I want a JL52 Batmobile!
Spend a day at Australia’s largest marine theme park, Sea World, to get up close and personal with its stirring abundance of furry and flippered and feathered residents, from dolphins and seals to polar bears and penguins.
The New Atlantis precinct is a thrilling and immersive new multimillion-dollar precinct which will soon transform the park with the three world-class thrill rides.
Jump onboard the Storm Coaster, a rollicking water flume roller coaster ride, that
goes under water and features some explosive special effects.
For a complete change in scenery, I boarded an Aquaduck safaris tour, Australia’s original amphibious tour, which has hosted over two million customers to date.
Their latest offering is the 90-minute Secrets, Scandals and Sunsets Tour which brings to life the most unbelievable tales about the personalities who have laid their roots in Surfers Paradise over the years.
After taking in the sights by road, our “Duck” splashed down into the
Broadwater, as dolphins frolicked, for a cruise around the swanky waterways of Surfers Paradise.
It’s extraordinary just how many notorious rich-lister scoundrels built their trophy homes on the water’s edge, on man-made nooks like Chevron Island.
It was equally illuminating to watch the skyline gilded by the slumping sun, as twilight took hold.
If casual grazing floats your boat, Miami Marketta hosts top-notch street-food stalls spanning the world. The sheer size of this market-style dining experience is astonishing, with seating for 1000 people undercover.
Bursting with live entertainment, the four onsite bars serve boutique wine, locally brewed beer and specialty cocktails. Don’t miss the gorgeous gin bar.
Miami Marketta first opened a decade ago and the Gold Coast’s street-food market remains a tractor-beam for party-seeking taste buds.
Nearby, in Miami, be sure to drop by Grandad Jack’s, the Gold Coast’s first craft distillery. Evocatively clad in up-cycled materials, this old surfboard warehouse has been converted to expose a raw and rustic one-of-a kind distillery.
It has been open for three years. David and Luke Ridden are recreating age-old family recipes in memory of David’s grandfather and Luke’s great grandfather, Grandad Jack, who was a barber in Christchurch. Each of their award-winning spirits is handcrafted, made from locally or nationally sourced botanicals.
They recently were crowned as the producers of the world’s best liqueur coffee.
My beach base was in Burleigh Heads, or simply Burleigh to locals. Look at a map and it sits like a cool comma between Surfers Paradise and Coolangatta, a photogenic punctuation mark along the Gold Coast.
The waters are generally less choppy than at Surfers Paradise, while the tourist tempo is less frenetic than the heart of the glitterstrip.
I adored taking leisurely strolls in Burleigh Heads National Park which wraps around the headland, serving up delicious ocean views.