Day 2 - Dreamworld, Gold Coast (Part 1)

It's Day 2, the first day where we have scheduled activities. 

First place we head to? Dreamworld! We grabbed a quick bite at the Palazzo Versace cafe and met Michael in the hotel lobby. He's from Australian Meet and Greet and he's a really friendly guy! He sent us to Dreamworld and it was about a 30 minutes ride from Palazzo Versace.

(yes, I can't help emphasizing the fact we were staying there. Unbelievable, ain't it? I especially love the chocolate they provide during their turndown service, which we didn't utilise cos the beds were so comfy, they were already all turned down even before bedtime.)

Along the way, we saw interesting shop signs, I like this one!

When we arrived at Dreamworld, we met Jane from Tourism Queensland and Alicia from Dreamworld at the reception area and headed into the park. It wasn't open yet at 8.30am, so we were walking around an empty theme park, which was interesting. When would you ever have a chance to see that, unless you work in one??

We sat around and waited for one of the rides to start. I don't know what made me do it, but I managed to go on 3 of the Big 6. 

Dreamworld's Big 6 consists of some of the tallest, fastest rides in the world, including the Giant Drop, Tower of Terror, Wipeout, Cyclone rollercoaster and the Claw. These look really scary.

So first ride of the day, the Claw. For those who know me well, they would know I'm not a fan of theme park rides, I have this HUGE HUGE HUGEeeeee phobia of heights and combining that with speed and the feeling of weightlessness, brrrrrr.

Trying to look calm for the camera. I am beside the brave woman who doesn't scare easily.

Scary, isn't it? I was trembling after the ride and took a while to calm down. It was all my screams and Nad's laughter during the ride. I think I burst my own eardrums from my screams and thought I wouldn't be able to take another ride. But we headed for one of Dreamworld's latest ride, another of the Big 6 - Moto coaster. It's like a rollercoaster, except you are seated on a motorbike and the ride's speed goes up to about 70+ km/hour.

Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take photos of us on the ride, so we sat on the model bike outside the ride instead.

After Moto coaster, we passed through Wiggles World to Dreamworld's Australian Wildlife Experience. This wildlife sanctuary is home to the second largest colony of koalas in the world, more than 100 native animal species and some rarely exhibited native animals including Saltwater Crocodiles and Tasmanian Devils, all displayed in their natural habitats.

Whilst walking through the sanctuary, we saw a Southern Cassowary, the colours on their head are beautiful!

We went into another area - this was my favourite part in the theme park! The following pictures will explain everything!!!

Kangaroos up close! Some came quite near to sniff at us. :)

Me, Nadia & Jane with Winnie the Wombat.

It was my first time seeing a wombat and it is SOOOOooooooo cute. The fur is rather coarse, but it still looked very cuddly. 

Handover process

Me with the koala!

Awww, isn't it adorable?

Likewise, it's my first time seeing koala bears. It is really an unforgettable experience, to be able to see and cuddle a koala. 

This is one of the smallest species of pythons. Normally I wouldn't hold a snake, especially after watching a show on Discovery Channel last week and watching an expert talking about his snake bite. But with the host and handlers there, I felt rather safe.

After reluctantly leaving the area, we passed by the crocodile swamp. CHECK OUT THE SIZE of the crocodile.... and the sign!

If you can't read the sign, it says... 

"No objects to be thrown into the crocodile swamp or you will be asked to retrieve them"

I guess it works, especially with the skeletal beside it. The crocodile swamp was clean.

Next, Nad headed for the Tower of Terror, I sat that one out as I really didn't want to zoom up a ramp in a car. I went to the Bengal area with Jane for a nice cool drink of Fanta.

It is a really great area to relax in the park. You can grab a drink and snack and sit down and watch the tigers. I really admire the closeness the handlers had with the tigers, especially the 2 tiger cubs, Indah & Rahni, who recently turned one! They even went up to their handlers for cuddles. 

Will blog about part 2 tomorrow if I get the time. My next big ride and Flowrider. And if there's time, more about Day 2 where we visited the Holden Performance Driving Centre and Q1.

For Nad's version of the trip, visit her blog at http://nadnut.liquidblade.com