Gold Coast - Day 4: Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

Time to see the Australian wildlife. We went to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, which actually had mixed reviews on Tripadvisor. But we thought we'd go see for ourselves if it's any good.

1st thing that impressed us - the koalas were near and low enough for us to see easily! And there were so many of them, compared to other zoos and parks we'd been to in Perth. Only similar thing - they were all sleeping.

We had to walk a long way into the sanctuary to catch the Free Flight Bird Show, which was very educational. Compared to the Jurong Bird Park in Singapore, we were much closer to the stage (coz it's a much smaller arena), and the birds flew over our heads many times!

After that, we caught the Sheep Shearing show, which was entertaining because of the presenter. But throughout the show, Aaron was impatient and kept bugging us to go for the train ride. And that's what we did after the show, because we didn't want to walk any more.

Nadine and Marcus enjoying their train ride

Aside from the train, the other highlight at the Sanctuary for the kids was the playground.

Nadine has always been very agile and athletic. So we were not surprised that she could conquer this challenging rope bridge effortlessly.

Aaron, who again, was apprehensive initially, took a while to warm up to the playground. But once he's warmed up, he was all ready to try all the obstacles, with help from the very sweet Marcus.

We were surprised that Aaron was brave enough to try this more challenging rope bridge, which is actually too spaced out for him. He had lots of help, but key thing is, he was brave enough to try! And again, Marcus was on the lookout for him. Aaron's little guardian!

The kids played at the playground for a good hour, after which, we decided it's time to head out for lunch. Our conclusion on the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary - more a place for walking in nature than a place to see Australian wildlife. Nice place, for an a day.

We headed out to Pacific Fair Shopping Centre, which is a short distance from Currumbin. Had lunch at the food court, and went crazy at Kmart, except for Ethan, who slept through the shopping.

On our way to Pacific Fair, our taxi driver warned us that a storm is coming, and we should try and get back to our apartment before 5pm. So we did, and watched the storm approach from our balcony.

The wind was really strong as the storm approached. So we decided to eat in - feasting on yummy Indomie Mi Goreng and roast chicken and salad from Woolworths. The adults sat around and chatted while the kids played and entertained themselves without us having to worry about them getting lost. Nice!

Gold Coast - Day 3: Sea World, Wet 'n' Wild

Day 3 happened to be the hottest day that Gold Coast in the last 4 years - 37 degrees Celsius. It was unbearably hot!

We spent the morning at Sea World. First, we caught the dolphin show, which was really spectacular. The dolphins looked healthy and happy.

Then we went to see the sharks, because Aaron's really into sharks now, and also because the air-con was a great relief from the scorching sun. But despite the heat, both Aaron and Nadine still wanted to ride the train.

Nadine also made Daddy do an extremely strenuous ride with her. He had to pull them up all the way!

We then had lunch, caught one more Fish Detectives show, and decided to call it a day at Sea World. It was too hot to be walking around in a theme park. We decided to head to Wet 'n' Wild. A group photo before leaving Sea World.

Wet 'n' Wild was packed. Sooooooo many people seeking refuge from the sweltering heat. Nadine enjoyed herself going on the whatever slides and rides she was allowed on. Very thrill-seeking. She convinced Aunty Wendy to go on this slide with her. She certainly enjoyed it more than Aunty Wendy!

Aaron was initially very apprehensive about the water and slides. But once he saw his Jie Jie going on the slides, he followed suit, and went on the slide again and again, even going on his tummy at some point! Too bad we didn't capture those moments in photos.

By the time we left the park, the kids were all bushed, and famished. But still had enough energy to take a wefie with Uncle Mel, much to the amusement of the other adults!

And a group photo before we leave.

We went back to the apartment to wash up and rest for a bit before heading out for dinner. 

On our way to the restaurants, there was a trampoline set up that the kids have been asking to try. We decided to give them a treat that night. All the fearless Gan boys, and my little Miss Thrill-Seeker, enjoyed themselves tremendously.

Gold Coast - Day 2: Movie World

Movie World reminded us of Universal Studios in Singapore, except the kids didn't know many of the characters! The cartoons are not from their time! But still, they enjoyed themselves, and the weather was much better than Singapore's.

This trip, Nadine is older and much more daring and willing to try various rides. The thrill-seeker in her is definitely emerging. Here's her taking the Sylvester drop ride (mini version of the Batwing Spaceshot) with the Gan boys.

She also made me take the Roadrunner Rollercoaster with her. Daddy would have loved to go on it with her, but he's still recovering from his eye op.

Thrills aside, she's still fascinated by carousels.

And while she and the Gan boys joined the super long queue for the Junior Driving School ...

Aaron went to drive a taxi. We were not sure if he could handle it - having to step on the accelerator and steer the car properly at the same time. But he surprised us!

Then together with Gong Gong KK, we piled into the Yosemite rail.

The highlight for us at Movie World was the Hollywood Stunt Driver Show. The Gans missed the show as their Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster ride took longer than they anticipated. Both Nadine and Aaron were absolutely fascinated by how skillful the drivers and bikers were. 

We then went for a bumper car ride, mainly to get some air-con. On our way out, we saw a sign on one of the carnival games, which said "Children under 137 cm can play until they win". We thought that's a fantastic deal! Of course all the kids wanted to play. Nadine surprised us by hitting the balloon (with a dart) on her 1st try. And Aaron did it on his 2nd try!

Then as we were walking out, Batman came out with his Batmobile! Daddy and Aaron got really excited, and chased after Batman like some crazy paparazzi!

Movie World's parade is a far cry from Disney's, and although the kids didn't know many of the characters, they were still happy to hi-5 them.

Back at the apartment, the kids rushed to go to the pool. The temperature had actually dropped considerably, and the water was cold. Still, the kids enjoyed themselves. And I captured my little fish in action.

December 2014 holiday - Gold Coast

After a wintery holiday in Korea last December, this year, we decided to go somewhere summery - Gold Coast in Australia.

Scoot flies direct to Gold Coast, but 7 hours is really too long to be on a budget airline with absolutely no service, unfriendly crew and expensive food. Plus, our midnight flight was delayed to 3am, eating up half of our 1st day in Gold Coast. Not worth the "budget"!

But the rest of the holiday was great. We rented an apartment at Mantra Circle on Cavill at Surfers Paradise. Our apartment was on the 46th floor, giving us a fantastic view. The following 2 photos are Daddy and the kids capturing the view, while I laid in bed to recuperate from the red-eye flight.

This photo was captured on one of the evenings, as we watched the oncoming storm from the balcony.

The kids loved the apartment, especially the bathtub, in which they take hour-long baths every day. It is also conveniently located. There is a Woolworth's downstairs, lots of restaurants nearby, a mall with shops that open till 9pm every night (very rare in Australia!), and it is just a 10-min walk to the beach, 5-min walk to the tram station, and has bus services to the theme parks - which was important because both Daddy and I forgot to bring our driving license and so we couldn't rent a car!

Nonetheless, it turned out to be quite a nice experience taking public transport, and talking to the taxi drivers. Aaron enjoyed himself taking buses and taxis with us, while Nadine happily went around with the Gans in their rented SUV.

So we had to tweak our itinerary a bit, but still had lots of fun, and in fact, thought we could have stayed longer!

Leaning towards the left

It seems more and more probable that Aaron is left-handed, or hopefully, ambidextrous. He definitely uses his left hand more naturally, and more often, but is able to use his right hand too.

For eg, in this video of him eating ice-cream, he started off with his right hand because Ma-Ma asked him to. But switched to his left hand after a while.

And Aaron sure loves his ice-cream!

Christmas @ Kovan 2014

Our church has been holding a big Christmas celebrations at Kovan Hub for the last few years. We set up games and food stalls, photo booths, put up performances, sing Christmas carols, worship, and share testimonies.

This year's highlight, for our family, is that Nadine and a few of her friends from her kindergarten, put up a dance item!

This little girl is such a performer!

Christmas Wonderland @ Gardens by the Bay

We went to Gardens by the Bay on Thursday night to check out their Christmas Wonderland lights. It was very elaborate and beautiful .... but the colours of the lights reminded us of Deepavali!

They also had "blizzards" at set times. But that was really a mini foam party that didn't quite interest the kids, especially Nadine, who felt yucky about the muddy ground. She just stayed out to watch people play in the "blizzard".

And the highlight for them - ice cream!

National Library

2 weeks ago, I took leave to bring Bibi to the Indonesian Embassy to get a stamp on her passport so that she can come back to Singapore after her home leave.

Of course the kids had to come along. It was a rainy morning, and as a result, there were not many people. So we didn't have to wait long.

After that, we drove along Orchard Road to the National Library at Bras Basah. The kids were totally fascinated by the Christmas decoration.

Nadine has been bugging me to bring them to the "tree-house library". We went there in September 2013, and she still remembers it to be a fun place with a tree house, lots of space to run, and lots of books.

The kids were happy to just run around, rearrange the chairs, pull out books to read, and play with other kids there.

Glad they can be contended easily with "free play"!