We started our drive from Brisbane at 2 pm. It took us about two hours to reach Currumbin near Gold Coast.
We visited Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.
We first made a beeline for the Kanagaroos - the Australian icon.
They were lazing and grazing and were very friendly even as groups of visitors went close to them.
We could pat them and also pose with them, they had no problems. They also shared space with birds hovering about. We could even feed the kangaroos from special snack packs sold at the counter - we were thrilled when they ate out of our hands.
Not so friendly is their distant cousin - the Tree Kangaroo - on the verge of extinction - smaller in size and unsociable by nature.
The moment we stood outside their enclosure, the fellow turned and went to his 'home' and sat outside with his back to us. He remained in that position till we left. This pattern was followed not by one but two of them - so it was not a coincidence, I feel.
The next Australian animal we saw were the koala bears - they were blissfully asleep on treetops in their enclosure totally unaware of the admiring and enthusiastic onlookers. After lingering there for some time, we moved on to other animals...
Tasmanian Devil, the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world - earlier found throughout Australia but now limited to the wild of Tasmania.
The guy had his face turned away from us, so we couldn't capture his sharp teeth.
Then we returned to the koalas hoping to see them awake - one or two of them stirred but immediately went off to sleep.
Our day was made as we had enjoyed good time with the kangaroos.
It was now time to drive to Gold Coast.
The skyline of Gold Coast was awesome - glitzy skyscrapers lined the area near the beach - most of them hotels.
Ours was one of them - Mantra Legends.
Our room was on the 11th floor.
We were excited to see the sea from our room window and also from the little sit-out ...
... where we enjoyed our evening cuppa with Veena World snacks.
We had a nice warm bath. After getting refreshed, we decided to rest till dinner time. It had been two long days of travel by various modes and we stretched ourselves on the bed for an hour and realized the luxury we had missed.
We walked across the road to 'Tandoori House' for Indian dinner. We were ready to hit the bed on returning to the hotel. We enjoyed a good sleep and woke up early.
We could see sunrise from our window. I was happy I could watch the sunrise now in The Pacific Ocean too having experienced the same in beaches along the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean.
We decided to take a stroll along the beach and in the neighborhood before breakfast. The beach was awesome - just dotted with a couple of joggers, the sky was a mix of pink and blue ...
and the blue water was glistening like silver in the sun's rays.
The majestic hotels along the beach mesmerized us.
As we walked down our street we couldn't help noticing a couple of modest Indian restaurants too - Govinda's and Sher-e-Punjab.
We reached our hotel for breakfast. It was the beginning of continental breakfast every day for the next thirteen days. Of course we had the luxury to pick and choose from the lavish spread. Our breakfast remained almost the same throughout the tour but we didn't get sick of it!
The day's program was Warner Brothers' Movie World, Gold Coast. The ten minute drive took us to the place.
I was excited to see the Indian flag too at the entrance.
All of us first watched the fantastic 4D show 'Road Runner' at Roxy Theater.
'Hollywood Stunt Driver' was edge-of-the-seat entertainment.
Having visited several theme parks in the US and Europe, our interest had perhaps weaned.
Nevertheless we enthusiastically enjoyed Road Runner Roller Coaster, Bumper cars, Yosemite Sam, Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster, Justice League 3D.
Our group gathered for lunch at Rick's Cafe Americain for lunch.
After that we were contented to just watch the high-speed roller coaster rides - Green Lantern, Superman Escape, Space Shot, and Wild West Falls.
We found ourselves good seats for the Parade which began at 3.30 - it was a modest show when compared to the couple of Disneyland Parades we had visited earlier.
We left Movie World at 4.15 and reached our hotel in 15 minutes.
Most of us still had the enthu to head straight to the nearby beach to enjoy the sunset.
We went to the nearby stores and did some souvenir shopping.
Then after dinner again at Tandoori Place, we went to bed early. The next day was to take us to Cairns.
Then after dinner again at Tandoori Place, we went to bed early. The next day was to take us to Cairns.
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