I <3 Australia: A bit of Gold Coast, Brisbane and Australia Zoo!

There are so many FANTASTIC places in Australia that I struggle to name my favorite. Saying that Gold Coast area was the place where I felt like I could spend a bit of my life in. Could it be the warm weather (again), or the love for ocean-side cities (well, all places I visited in OZ were by an ocean) or the view of surfers trying to tame big waves on top of the vibe of the place that made me like it this much?? Perhaps all of the above. But seriously how not love views like below?

Gold Coast can be a destination on it’s own really as there is plenty to do in the city (beach’ing, surfing (Surfers Paradise anyone?) and all the other water sports, and numerous theme and water parks). It reminds me a bit of Florida in that respect. A smaller scale maybe but still pretty good. The city was rather busy when I visited and that was BEFORE summer peak season in some places the city might feel a bit empty. Big beaches do not make it feel more busy either, but cannot complain about that!

What I did when I first got to the city was pushing through busy streets to get to the beach asap. Once I did that I put the headphones on and just walked and walked and walked along the ocean front from one end of the city (as can be seen in the above photo in the far end of the skyline) to the other side (one of the below photos). This took me 2h and made the glasses sticky of salt, but oh man I was one happy chap!

The hill the above photos were taken from was magnificent. Perfect place and perfect timing! I could not have asked for a better first day in Gold Coast. But not only the ocean views were nice, but the inland was pretty spectacular too!

On the way back I did some shopping and came across this Vegemite roll. Surprisingly good and a bit different to our Marmite. You cannot go to Oz and not try this very local and pretty “different” meal/spread. It is said you will either hate it or love it. So why am I in between? I wouldn’t eat it raw on a sandwich, but quite like it mixed with other ingredients. It’s a strange one. Defo try when you have a chance!

Good night! And good morning 🙂

Gold Coast is a fine place if you are an animal lover too as it turned out! 2h north of Gold Coast (and through Brisbane) lies one of the best Zoos in the World. And quite famous too thanks to Steve Irwin, the famous crocodile hunter who made this place a home for various animals – or various animals made this place a home for him I should rather say? I initially thought that James created this place but as it turned out he was brought up there helping his parents to take care of crocodiles among many other species. But the rapid development and growth to the size it is now is thanks to him and his wife Terri.

I have to say the whole Zoo is quite compact and definitely not the biggest out there, but it’s a quality one. Animals do live in decent conditions but also visitors get to interact with some of the animals. If you want to make most of the visit make reservations in advance. Entry tickets for Adults is $59 so definitely not cheap, but then again what in Australia is?

Unfortunately the above Crocoseum was empty which was a disappointment. Fortunately there were some other shows taking place in other areas including… live croc feeding! A real saltwater boss eating chicken. That was quite something you do not get to see much elsewhere as it’s pretty dangerous! You can see the crocodile charging to get the food? Scary!

Female croc – not too happy with me being this close…

Other crocs in the zoo:

Australia Zoo is a very decent, semi-size Zoo worth visiting if you are in the area. My trip was rather a spontaneous one and no preparation / advanced bookings were made and hence I missed a bit on shows in the park but it was still a very enjoyable experience. I am sure you will like it too!

A very enjoyable day ended with a short visit to Brisbane, third biggest city in Australia and the capital of the Queensland state. With the day being Sunday the city seemed a bit empty but maybe that’s a good thing. Wish I had a bit more time to explore Brisbane but I should be glad I got to visit it at all on my ever-stretched trip! A few shots from Brisbane’s riverside and bridge. You can get a good feeling of the size and quality of the city!

A surprise on the way – Glass House Mountains! A set of extinct volcanoes. Pretty amazing sights! I only managed to see this one but there is a few in the neighborhood.