East Coast Road Trip - Day 3 to 5 - Surfers Paradise

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Day 3

Feel sad to be leaving our first hostel as it was such a nice place, but we have much more to do and many more exciting adventures to be had! The motorway has been reopened so we head off nice and early towards Byron Bay. When we get about half way, we are unfortunately detoured through Casino and Lismore, as some of the roads are still flooded. That adds about another two hours onto our already long journey, and to top matters off, our speedometer goes crazy and starts spinning around making a loud whirring sound. Greg starts to go a bit crazy with the sound and I think at one point he is going to pop a vein in his forehead. We pull over at the side of a quiet road in the middle of nowhere to see if it will make the noise stop but it doesn’t. At the same time, a massive trucker pulls up on the opposite side of the road. There is no other traffic around, and nothing but fields for miles and all I can think about is that movie Road Kill… We swiftly move off again and manage to find a mechanic at the next small town who fixes it for us for 6 beers. After a long 8 hours of driving we finally make it to Byron Bay. We decide however, to skip Byron Bay as we have seen it before, and just make our way straight to Surfers Paradise instead. I suggest we stay at a fancy looking backpackers with a steam room and sauna inside, but when we eventually find it, we discover that the reception has just closed. So we drive around for another half hour trying to find somewhere before finally consulting the lonely planet, which is what we should have done in the first place. Cabin fever has well and truly sunk in by now, and it’s fair to say if someone was to hand me a gun I wouldn’t shy away from using it on Greg, and vice versa. We eventually agree upon a backpackers at the top end of town called Trekkers, which turns out to be a wee gem of a place. It is really quiet due to all the road closures and so we are offered a large double room for the same price as a dorm. So we save some money once again- result. 9 hours of driving really takes it out of you so we watch a film with Denzel Washington in it and then crash out completely.

Day 4

After a great sleep in our luxurious abode, we make plans to head to Dreamworld, one of the theme parks located just north of Surfers Paradise. We have our (free) breakfast at the hostel (basically supermarket value weetabix), and it’s on to the theme park. Greg has a fear of heights, and was immediately terrified when he saw the daunting structure of the Tower Of Terror staring back at us. As we enter the park, we see another high rollercoaster to the right hand side and decide it is time Greg should face his fears. We head straight for the cyclone, and he has the time of his life. We make our way to a variety of different rides including the Claw, and Alien v Predator laser quest. This is the highlight for Greg as it is like being back at school. Unfortunately we are on the same team in laser quest, so no chances to shoot each other. Greg is gutted but I am extremely pleased. The park has a large wildlife section in addition to the white knuckle rides. We wander around the various enclosures, including a 4.5 metre croc called Goliath, a Kangaroo enclosure, and a Tiger exhibit. During the afternoon sun we stumble upon an arena called Oakey Creek Farm. Initially attracted by the sheep, and border collie dogs, we decide to head in. It turns out to be an outback/farm show that includes sheep sheering, and feeding chooks. All seems rather boring on screen, but it was actually great fun. We feel slightly daft as the average age watching the show is roughly 10, and Nik laughs at a snake joke where the punch line was “Went for a hiss”. Time for a few more rides. Greg likes the look of Mick Doohans (Moto GP Champ) rollercoaster, but I decide I am game for the Tower Of Terror. The ride catapults a rollercoaster carriage 150 feet in the air, VERTICAL. After a second of suspended animation, the car comes plummeting back to planet earth. I would never admit it to Greg but inside I am shitting myself. It is absolutely great fun though. Time for another game of Alien v Predator then home. Only problem is, the heavens completely open and we get absolutely soaked on the way back to the car. I am wearing a white dress which is not good when it is pouring of rain, and I nearly give the other punters a bit more than they bargained for in their ticket price. Greg says that he was contemplating the Tower Of Terror, but due to the adverse weather conditions he was unable to give it a go. Hmm, sounds like a good excuse to me. We head back to our friendly hostel and decide we will have a few Vodkas and make a bit of a night of it with the other people from the hostel. Turns out the hostel is completely dead, and we end up playing drinking games to Monopoly and Dominoes by ourselves. Rock and Roll. We finally head up stairs to watch Felon starring Stephen Dorf and Val Kilmer. Great film, and a great way to end another hectic day.

Day 5

Wake up feeling slightly worse for wear this morning after a night on the cheap mishka vodka. But after a nice cup of tea, a shower and some more free brekkie, I feel right as rain and ready for another day of adventure. It’s just as well as today we are heading to the Wet n wild waterpark. It’s another sunny day but quite a few clouds in the sky. We don’t mind though as it means the waterpark is really quiet for a Saturday afternoon- there are no queues on any of the rides. I think the best ride by far is the kamikaze, which is a vertical waterslide that two people go down in a dinghy. Greg prefers the rollercoaster which is like a big surfboard that swings vertically up and down on a horseshoe-shaped frame. In between going on the rides and sunbathing, we take a nice, relaxing dip in the free outdoor Jacuzzis. We are absolutely knackered by the time we get back to the hostel and try to decide what we should do in the evening. Once again we are faced with the dilemma of staying in on a Saturday night, especially when 95% of the hostel is going on the organized weekly pub crawl. It is tempting but we have to consider how much we’d end up spending, and the fact that we are up early again in the morning… Gee, is this what it’s like to be 28 year old?! SO we decide instead to go to the cinema to see Night at the Museum 2. It’s quite funny and at least we manage to while away a couple of hours outside of our hostel room. We get back at about midnight and are once again completely bushed. As soon as my head hits the pillow I am out for the count completely, off to a dreamy land of chocolate lakes and marshmallow clouds…

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Photos

Surfers Paradise
The tower of terror

Surfers Paradise
Greg on the big surfboard

Surfers Paradise
Greg touching a snake at Oakey Creek farm