Seaworld

On the Sunday of our intrepid adventure to the Gold Coast, we visited Seaworld.  It had been months in the organising because Erin and Blake (whose birthdays were being celebrated on this day and the next) were going to swim with the dolphins.  We arrived an hour before opening because we all had an early start and couldn't wait to get out of the caravan park.  After parting with a small fortune, we entered the theme park and walked to the far end so we could work our way back towards the entrance.
It was nothing like any of the other aquariums we had been to in recent months.  I could definitely now understand how Seaworld fitted into the theme park mould of the other Gold Coast attractions.  There was little in the way of display tanks with reef fish etc but lots of theme park rides for all ages which was a good thing.  There was also a mix of entertainment shows involving both seals, sealions and dolphins.  Seaworld seems to have reinvented itself over the years because there were areas where new attractions and rides were being developed for future visitors.  That is how they keep people coming back.
However, an old favourite was still there from when my family visited Seaworld in the late 70's early 80's.  The viking boat ride was still operating and still gave the same reaction as it did all those years ago except this time I was riding on it with my own children.  Many of the rides had height restrictions so the kids were somewhat limited but they were happy with whatever they got to ride on.  There were pirate ships with water guns and huge climbing rope walkways.  Becca had her first ever ride on a carousel which she loved and wasn't happy about getting off.  All the rides were included in the admission cost so we didn't have to pay extra and the kids could ride as much as they liked.
The polar bears were great and we arrived at the exhibit just in time to see them swimming and lazing around on their cold rocks.  Erin had never seen a polar bear in real life before so she loved it, as did Becca.  Shark Bay, which was a large reef exhibit, was very impressive and the visibility of the sharks was amazing because there was lots of natural light.  We also saw penguins and stingrays (not in the same tank of course).  There was a touch tank with baby stingrays in it which you could touch.  Some were rough and others were soft and almost slimy.  You could also hand feed them if you wanted.

Steve, however spent most of his time with his head in the air because the Seaworld helicopter was flying in and out during the day on scenic flights.  The pilot was landing on a floating pontoon and by the end of the day, Steve was disheartened by his lack of skill compared to what this pilot was doing.  Of course this pilot probably had 100's of hours up his sleeve when Steve had 10 hours, at that stage.  Sometimes he needs a good slapping but then he always was someone who wanted to 'fast-track' and become expert as soon as possible.

 
 
 
Finding something for lunch was hard because it was fairly busy but we eventually decided on the tavern. Initially it seemed expensive but turned out to be good value for our big group. Steve and I ordered a meal to share and Erin and Becca shared a kid's meal. With drinks included and an airconditioned place to sit out of the sun, it was a good choice. Normally we would bring lunch but because we were camping, we didn't have a lot of fridge space to bring extra food apart from milk for breakfast, water and a couple of yoghurts for the girls. It was a 'full-on' day and I can understand why people buy the two day passes because there is a lot to see and do over a day but we all enjoyed it.