We found this week how much fun adults and kids can have at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on the Gold Coast. Our family had a lovely day watching the beautiful expressions on the faces of two young children as they experienced Aussie animals, reptiles and birds for the first time in their young lives! It was awesome to see!

Prices (as at October 2012)

Buy your tickets Online at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary website to receive the Discounted prices above.

Special 100 Years Celebration Prices
[10th to 31st October 2011 only]

Come to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary before the end of October 2011 for the special Discount entry prices in honour of Alex Griffiths who was born 100 years ago, in 1911.

Hours of Operation

Daily: 8:00am to 5:00pm
Closed Christmas Day
Anzac Day: 1:30pm to 5:00pm

Address:

28 Tomewin St,
Currumbin, Qld 4223 Australia

Location:

View Larger Map

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Aerial View:

View Larger Map

Parking:

Parking is available for $5 a day in the large car park opposite. If you arrive early, before 8am then you may be able to get in before the attendants set up. There are also a few parking spots on the street that are free.

Disabled parking is also available in a few specially marked spots outside the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.

Wheelchair Access?

There are boardwalks and ramps throughout the sanctuary that give access to most locations within the park for wheelchairs, strollers and wheelie walkers. The minature train does not currently have the facility to allow passengers sitting in a wheelchair to ride, but if the person is able to take a seat on the train then their wheelchair can be lifted on to the storage section of the train and then removed at the desired stop.

Lorikeet Feeding

Arm Protection
When the lorikeets land on visitors’ arms their feet can leave small marks. I did not find that they hurt or anything, but it may be worthwhile to protect your arms. Especially for young children and the elderly, you may want to wear a jacket or a piece of clothing with long sleeves to protect your arms. You can always take the jacket off when you go to see the rest of the park.

Bird Feeding Times:
8am and 4pm Daily

Greg and I arrived just before 8am to make sure that we got to see all of the wild lorikeets coming in for breakfast. We were happily surprised to find out that the shop, cafe and the lorikeet feeding area are all open for free to the public. So anyone who wants can enter the first section of the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary without having to buy any tickets. Then for a donation, visitors are given a metal plate and so specially formulated food for the lorikeets. Everyone can then stand with their plate of food and watch as the lorikeets fly in for some breakfast.

We noticed that there were two different types of lorikeets and so asked the volunteers about the different species. We found out the more prolific and colourful lorikeets are the Rainbow Lorikeets who are brightly coloured red, blue, green, orange and yellow. The smaller species, that usually travels in pairs, are known as the Scaly-Breasted Lorikeet, these are green in colour with yellow flecks on their chest. On the day that we visited, there were three pairs of the Scaly-Breasted Lorikeet flying around feeding. Apparently this number various each day, with some days only having one visiting pair of Scaly-Breasted Lorikeets. Since they are smaller in size and number they are easily intimidated and driven away by their larger Rainbow Lorikeet cousins.

We were greeted by Eastern Water Dragons spread around the park, beginning right next to the wild lorikeet feeding area. These native Aussie lizards delighted our two young nieces. They even bravely reached out and patted the one of the Eastern Water Dragon’s tail.

Holding A Baby Crocodile

After the lorikeet feeding we all had turns holding a baby crocodile. Our two and three year old nieces really enjoyed this and so did the adults, as we had our photo taken by the sanctuary’s professional photographer. We were later able to view the images that were displayed for purchase up on a wall next to the lorikeet feeding area. After handling the croc we were sent to sanitize our hands before continuing into the park. We found that throughout the sanctuary there are washing and sanitizing stations where soap or hand sanitizer is provided so that our hands are clean both before and after we touch any of the native animals, reptiles or birds. This way everyone keeps clean and healthy.

History of Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

My first visit to the sanctuary was with my family back in 1974 when we all came on a trip from Melbourne up to the Gold Coast for a holiday. Back then it was called the Currumbin Bird Sanctuary as the main focus of the park was the lorikeets and feeding them. Since this time there have been lots of additions and changes, including to the name of the park.

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is a non-profit organization and so any funds that are raised from Donations, entry tickets, food, souvenir purchases, photographs, segway safari rides and the Green Challenge are all put back into helping the animals, whether towards their food or the animal hospital, which is on-site at the sanctuary. So you can rest assured that anything you spend at Currumbin will be well used to help our native wildlife.

We then all purchased our tickets at the Visitor Services counter right next to where we feed the lorikeets and went inside the entry to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.

Australia’s Green Cauldron

Our first stop once inside the sanctuary was Australia’s Green Cauldron. Here we saw a green tree snake and other pythons and venomous snakes. There were also two salt-water crocs and native turtles. There were also two small active Long-nosed Potoroos and two Tawny Frogmouth birds sitting in the trees.

Miniature Train & Animal Hospital

We then all got onto the Miniature Train to continue our tour of the sanctuary. Mum’s wheely walker and my sister’s pram were both placed into the storage section of the train by the driver. We travelled passed the water in flat Rock Creek and through a tunnel that took us under the Gold Coast Highway. We then all got off at the first stop at the Hospital Precinct. We were unable to see any of the Tassie devils, as they must have been sleeping, so we went for a walk behind the cafe to the animal hospital. There was a turtle on the operating table that we could see through the large glass-viewing window. The turtle had swallowed some fishing line and a hook and needed to have these removed.

As we were leaving a short time later a Cormorant seabird was brought in and placed on the table next to the turtle. The oxygen mask was placed over the bird’s beak as the surgeons prepared to operate to remove the hook and fishing line that this bird had also swallowed!

It was the first time any of us had seen wildlife being treated and operated on like this. We were really impressed with the set up at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary so that visitors get a birds eye view (literally!) of how the hospital staff and volunteers are helping our Australian wildlife on a daily basis! There were also donation stations around the hospital so that guests could contribute towards the high costs involved in looking after our native animals.

Koala Junction

We caught the train to Koala junction, rather than walking with mum and her wheeley walker. We grabbed some lunch at the Koala Junction Kiosk and the kids played in the playground next door.

Wild Island Adventure Playground

After lunch we walked the short distance across the train tracks to Wild Island Adventure area. We had fun taking some photos sitting on top of the gigantic Crocodile and with the huge spider suspended above his web! The kids played in the adventure playground and had a great time!

Kangaroos

Again we caught the miniature train from Koala junction to the next stop at the kangaroos, called Kangaroo Crossing. We spent a long time here patting the kangaroos, seeing the cute little joeys hiding inside their mum’s pouch and also feeding the roos. There were lots of joeys around. Some were even outside the pouch, but were still poking their head inside the pouch to have a drink of their mum’s milk. There were also several happy duck families walking around with their 5 or 6 little, fluffy ducklings. They were so cute!

There were also inquisitive emus that kept coming up and having a look at what we were doing. One emu thought my four-month-old little nephew, Joel, looked kind of interesting in his stroller and so the emu stuck his head in to say “Hi” to Joel. That was funny!

Our two-year-old niece was a little nervous in the beginning and did not want to pat the kangaroos, but after around 30 minutes she got used to them and had a wonderful time chatting with the roos and patting their backs. It was lovely to watch.

Tasmanian Devils, Dingoes and Koalas

We caught the train again around passed the main station and back to the Hospital precinct station. Here we disembarked and had a look at the Tasmanian devils enclosures again. We were not disappointed. They were all starting to wake up and run around their enclosure. In fact, two Tassie Devils climbed up onto the top of rock structures in their enclosure to get a better look at us and this also gave us a great, clear view of them!

We began to walk over the train tracks and towards the Koala enclosures when we were especially blessed by two park keepers walking past with two Aussie dingoes on leashes. It was so awesome! The dingoes walked right passed us, we could almost reach out and touch them!

We got to the koala enclosures and were really happy to see the koalas all awake and happily looking around. There was one baby koala sitting in the tree hanging onto his mum’s back! So cute! The girls loved seeing these sweet little Australian mammals.

Departing the Sanctuary

After our fun time seeing the koalas we walked back to the hospital train station and waited for the train. We were happy to learn that it was in fact the last train of the day, at around 4.35pm. So we got to travel right through the park again, passed the water birds and through the kangaroo enclosure and back to main station.

We had been at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary since just before 8am and so by now our feet were feeling weary. We sad down at the cafe near the entrance to the park and relaxed with a cold drink and snack. Joel had his bottle of milk heated up here, thanks to the lovely lady in the cafe, and so he was also quite content.

We got to see and enjoy many different animals, reptiles, birds and different experiences through out the day, but there were still many different birds, mammals and reptiles that we did not get to see, due to time and lack of energy with three young kids and mum with her walker.

I would say that you could easily spend two days at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary to see and enjoy everything that this native park has to offer to visitors. We hope to return in the not to distant future!

Thanks Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary for a fantastic, memorable, fun, family day out!

Until next time, Remember to Enjoy Life, Smile at a Stranger and Make a Difference in the World!

Leanne Annett <><

We had just enjoyed a lovely morning whale watching cruise and now waited on board, at around 11.30am, for the whale watching only passengers to disembark. Some new passengers then boarded for the fast cat ride up to McLarens Landing at the northern end of South Stradbroke Island. These new passengers had the choice to book lunch with their boat trip or no lunch, if they preferred.

Prices (as at October 2012)

Times of Operation:

Daily: Full Day Island Adventure with Lunch (Sailing Ship)
Departs: 9am. Returns: 4pm. Approx. 6 hours.

Fast Cat Island Adventure with or without lunch
Departs: 11.30am. Returns: 4.15pm. Approx. 4.5 hours.

Address:

Tall Ship Cruise Terminal
Shop 5, Mariners Cove Marina,
60 Seaworld Drive Main Beach
Queensland, 4217 Australia

Mariners Cove Marina Map:

View Larger Map

McLarens Landing Aerial View:

View Larger Map

Parking:

Free parking available at Mariners Cove and Marina Mirage – some undercover parking available

You can choose from the Full Day Island Adventure with Lunch, which lasts around 6 hours and involves travelling on the relaxing square-rigger Tall Ship. The trip up to McLarens Landing on the tall ship takes around 90 minutes and the same at the end of the day for the return trip.

Or if you are looking for something a little faster, then why not catch the fast catamaran on the Fast Cat Island Adventure? You can book with or without lunch, with lunch costing an additional $30 per person. This faster trip lasts around 4.5 hours and departs later than the tall ship cruise.

At around 11.45am the catamaran departed Mariner’s Cove, Main Beach and we enjoyed a lovely 30-minute cruise through the Broadwater and up to McLarens Landing.

Lunch at McLarens Landing, South Stradbroke

Shortly after we arrived at McLarens Landing we were able to find a table and then queue up for our yummy BBQ Aussie lunch. Each of us had already pre-ordered which type of meat we preferred. Mum and I ordered steak, our son ordered chicken and Greg ordered fish, which was dory. We handed in our meal tickets and were each given a plate with our selected meat on as well as a bbq sausage and some potatoes. We then walked to the second table and grabbed some salads to add to our BBQ meat.

We each purchased a can of soft drink from the bar, right next door for $3 and sat down to enjoy our yummy lunch. There was also live entertainment with music and singing from a small stage in the centre of the courtyard. It was a lovely atmosphere, with the Broadwater on one side of us, native wallabies wandering around, lovely Island trees hanging overhead and relaxing singing that serenaded us as we enjoyed our delicious meal.

Feeding the Wallabies

After lunch we were able to join in the wallaby feeding, with some carrots and celery. It was fun watching the wallabies holding the vegetables in their small paws and chewing.

We took some photos of the local pirate statues and had a short walk around McLarens Landing, before boarding the Tall ship at around 2.30pm for our return voyage to Mariner’s Cove on the Spit.

Tall Ship Voyage Home & Feeding Sea Eagles

It was exciting sailing on the square-rigger tall ship. Shortly after setting sail we went up the front of the ship and each had a turn feeding the local native sea eagles and kites. It was fun watching these powerful birds swoop down as we threw raw meat up for them to skilfully catch in their talons.

Relaxing Scenic Cruise Along Broadwater

After we finished feeding the eagles and kites we sat back and relaxed over afternoon tea, with a hot cuppa and some yummy Arnott’s biscuits. It was really peaceful sailing along, watching the jet skis and speedboats zoom past us.

We arrived back at the Marina just after 4pm after having an absolutely wonderful day! Whales in the morning, a delicious Aussie BBQ lunch on Sth Stradbroke and a relaxing sailing trip home on a real sail boat.

We recommend this as a fun outing for locals and visitors to the Gold Coast alike. We took some great photos and created some wonderful memories for the future.

Next time we will share our trip to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary with you as they celebrate 100 Years since the birth of their Founder, Alex Griffiths.

Until then, Remember to Enjoy Life, Smile at a Stranger and Make a Difference in the World!

Leanne Annett <><

Whale watching is something that I absolutely love doing, so when my family was able to book a morning cruise on one of the Tallship Whale Watching Gold Coast boats we were all really excited. My husband, son, mum and myself all arrived just before 8am and joined the queue of people waiting to book in and confirm our bookings.

Prices (as at October 2012)

Times of Operation:

During Whale Watching Season (June to November each year)
Daily: 8.30-11.30am Half Day (Whales Only)
8.30am-4.30pm Full Day (Whales & Island)

Address:

Tall Ship Cruise Terminal
Shop 5, Mariners Cove Marina,
60 Seaworld Drive Main Beach
Queensland, 4217 Australia

Map:

View Larger Map

Mariners Cove Marina Aerial View:

View Larger Map

Parking:

Free parking available at Mariners Cove and Marina Mirage – some undercover parking available

We boarded the ship around 8.15am and then settled in and waited for departure.

Morning Tea

Note: Morning tea is provided, as everyone is boarding. Due to safety regulations the tea, coffee and hot water are all packed up just before departure. So if you want to get a cuppa make sure you grab it as soon as you board or you may miss out. Muffins arrived just before we left the wharf and these were then distributed among the passengers.

Refreshments are available at a cost during the cruise; for instance, you can buy a bottle of water for around $3, soft-drink or a glass of wine. There are also some chips and other snacks available for purchase on board.

Sun Protection

Ensure that you bring a hat and wear sun protection. It is a good idea if each family member can rub on some sun lotion before arriving in for your cruise so that you are set for the cruise.

On our cruise there was a bottle of sunscreen available for use at the counter where snacks and drinks are purchased. If this is available on your cruise then you can use the boat’s sun-cream, but it may not be a good idea to rely on this in case it is not available on every sailing.

Departure From The Marina

Our cruise was scheduled to depart at 8.30am, but it was 9.05am when we pulled away from the marina. On speaking with the crew during the cruise, I was told that the departure time could vary slightly depending on how many people need to come on board. We had a full ship and so it took a little longer than planned.

We had a lovely little cruise up past SeaWorld and the Spit towards the Seaway. During our passage through the seaway all passengers had to remain seated, as the waters are a little rougher then the smooth waters of the Broadwater.

Whale Sightings

Once we were through the seaway and heading out into open waters, we began looking for whales. We had our first whale sighting at 9.43am, only 38 minutes after leaving Mariner’s Cove at Main Beach. This was quite an exciting moment, watching a pod of whales surfacing and heading south, not far from our boat. We stayed in this location for around until around 10.15am and then headed north, alongside South Stradbroke Island, as too many other boats were following us to the original spot.

Once we had travelled north a few minutes we stopped and were totally blown away with the show that another whale pod put on for us. There were six whales in this pod and each of them began to jump up out of the water, with majestic head lunges and full body breaches! You should have heard the Ooh’s and Aah’s from all of the passengers on board as we enjoyed this special whale performance.

This group of whales continued to perform for us, for almost 10 minutes, before a whole lot of vessels arrived on the scene. The whales then settled down and began to continue on their journey south. Over the next 40 minutes we enjoyed watching the whales as they came up to the surface, blew air up through their blow-hole and as they plunged into the waters and we saw their tail disappear as they dove deeply. There were two children at the end as we left who said outloud, “Thank you whales.” It was so cute, but also expressed my heart too.

At around 11.10am we left the whales and headed back towards the opening in the Seaway, past the Spit and down to the marina at Mariners Cove, Main Beach. My family stayed onboard the vessel, waiting for other passengers to disembark, so that the boat could then take us on the second part of our day up to McLarens Landing on South Stradbroke Island.

Family Photo

During our cruise back to Main Beach we were all given the opportunity to purchase the family or group photo that was taken just prior to boarding before the cruise. We grabbed our photo as it was a happy reminder of our fun, family day out and the whales that we saw.

We truly had a wonderful time on this Whale watching Gold Coast cruise and we want to do it again next year. It is certainly something that we recommend to others, both locals and visitors to the sunny Gold Coast.

In our next blog post we will continue with our day and our journey up to McLarens Landing and then back again in the Tallship sailing boat.

Until then, Remember to Enjoy Life, Smile at a Stranger and Make a Difference in the World!

Leanne Annett <><

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium is located right smack bang in the centre of Surfers Paradise in Cavill Mall in Cavill Avenue. It is opposite the Surfers Centro shopping centre and just a short walk from the Surfers beach.

I couldn’t resist checking it out while holidaying in Surfers with my husband. It is something that I have wondered about over the years and have just never got around to going to see it.

So during our week holiday I went to Ripleys Believe It or Not! Odditorium to see what it was all about.

While I was there I videoed a few of the things that stood out to me and made them into a short video clip. You can see this video below.

Prices (as at October 2012)

 Note: Buy your tickets online to save $2 off an adult ticket and $1 off each child ticket. (Tip: There may be additional fees though online so work out which is the cheapest way for you to buy all of your tickets!)

Times of Operation:

Daily: 9am – 11pm
Christmas Day: Open 9am – 11pm
Anzac Day: 1:30pm to 11pm
New Years Eve: 9am to 6pm

Address:

Soul Shopping Centre
Cavill Mall
Surfers Paradise
Queensland, 4217 Australia

Map:

View Larger Map

Cavill Avenue Aerial View:

View Larger Map

Parking:

You can park at many different locations around Surfers including:

• The “Soul” building where Ripley’s is located
• On the Surfers Paradise Beachfront Esplanade
• “Centro” across Cavill Mall from “Soul”

Wheelchair Access?

Yes there is a lift located in the “Soul” building to easily take our visitors with special needs down to the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Odditorium.

What is There to See?

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of different items, displays and features to see, enjoy and interact with inside Ripleys Believe It or Not! Odditorium, Surfers.

Here are a few that I enjoyed the most:

• The picture on the wall of the Last Supper made out of regular pieces of Toast! How Awesome is that?
• The magic, special effect mirrors
• The double-spinning tunnel! Although I did start to feel like I was really spinning around as I walked through. It was fun though.
• The gourd penis sheath that the men of the Danai tribe of New Guinea wear for both decoration and protection. Apparently, they can often have a whole wardrobe full of different sheaths that they wear!
• The wooden chest that you need to lift the lid on and see what happens…

I had a fun time and think that judging from the many other families, kids, couples who were also at “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Odditorium” that they too really enjoyed the experience.

I personally did not really like seeing the real shrunken heads and skulls of people or the dead decaying body, but I did find plenty of unusual displays and items to enjoy and read about.

I also found the small theatrette and video clip to be fun and informative. I actually watched it right through until it began again.

Halloween is coming up in shortly and so I thought that I would write about the special Screamworld nights that Dreamworld puts on a few times over the year here on the Gold Coast.

So get ready next time for an article on Screamworld at Dreamworld in Coomera, Queensland.

Until then, Remember to Enjoy Life, Smile at a Stranger and Make a Difference in the World!

Leanne Annett <><

Continuing our fun holiday in Surfers Paradise Greg and I decided to have three games of mini golf at King Tutt’s putt putt.

We grabbed our tickets for all 3 games, as it was the cheapest way to go, and we decided to play the Egyptian course first.

On hole number 1 Greg got a hole-in-one! His ball went right down the green and around the mummy case and into the hole! A total surprise.

Then on hole number 3 Leanne also got a hole-in-one! Another surprise.

We had a great time. Part of the course goes through a darkened section that is like being inside the pyramids or tombs, with hieroglyphics and images on the walls.

Prices (as at October 2012)

Times of Operation:

Daily: 9am – 9pm
Christmas Day: Closed

Address:

Cnr Surfers Paradise Boulevard & Pandanus Ave, Surfers Paradise

Map:

View Larger Map

Facilities:

• Free off street parking
• 19th Hole Refreshments
• Arcade games
• Party Room
• The Saloon Shooting Gallery
• Restrooms
• Tourist Information
• EFTPOS

When we came back to King Tutts putt putt in the evening to do the next two courses we decided to do the Tutt’s Challenge course outside first.

We found Tutt’s challenge a lot more difficult than the Egyptian course we had done in the afternoon, but it was still heaps of fun.

Due to this course being much more challenging (even as the name implies) we spent a lot longer on the outside course than the inside courses.

The third and last course that we played was on the Jurassic course. I must say that out of the three courses the Jurassic one was my favourite.

It was a fun course, surrounded by different dinosaurs that were around between the various holes or hanging down from the ceiling.

We even took some pictures of Greg with his head inside the mouth of a T-Rex!

Then Greg jumped into an automobile and I took his photos just before the giant gorilla crushed Greg and the car! Greg was lucky to quickly escape as soon as I finished taking his photo!

I am sure that you can tell from the videos above that we had a wonderful time at King Tutt’s Putt Putt in Surfers and highly recommend it to other visitors to the Gold Coast.

Next time we will share our trip to Ripleys Believe It Or Not! Odditorium in Cavill Mall with you.

Until then, Remember to Enjoy Life, Smile at a Stranger and Make a Difference in the World!

Leanne Annett <><