Renth's Eastern States Odyssey Part 1
Jan 18th 2007, 9:39 pm
#1
(It's not my real name)
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2002
Location: Ilukapool. WA
Posts: 12,467
Renth's Eastern States Odyssey Part 1
Hi everyone, I'm back in Perth after nearly 5 weeks away, travelling around QLD and NSW. Our trip extended from Bundaberg in QLD to Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains.
We set off about a week or so before Christmas and flew Perth to Brisbane with Qantas. We flew direct, a lot of times you have to go via Melbourne or Sydney which would turn the trip from a short 4 and a bit hour flight to more of a long haul slog which I didn't want to do with 3 kids aged 9 7 and 7. Qantas were great.
We arrived in Brisbane and hired a car through Hertz, I managed to get a Ford Falcon for 32 days for $1650, this included 4000km in the deal. The web site always says "Ford Falcon or equivalent" - well, there is no equivalent to a Falcon in terms of load carrying in its class, our friends had a Mistubishi 380 which is Hertz's idea of "equivalent" and there is no way we would have got our 2 large, 1 medium and 5 small pieces of luggage in the back.
We drove down to Surfers Paradise to what would be our accommodation for 6 nights - the Paradise Resort - http://www.paradiseresort.com.au/ I was pleased with this place. Definitely a "budget" sort of hotel, you know, lots of tats, kids with mullets, little boys with ear rings etc... just about all Aussies, I did see one other English family. Our deal was a kids eat free deal which was good. The food was plentiful, certainly not gourmet but tasty and filling. There is lots for kids to do organised by the hotel but we didn't take advantage of any of it because we were always out and about.
The kids loved the pool but I wasn't tempted, it looked to be about 25% urine which isn't really surprising considering the number of kids using it every day and the filters were going flat chat 24 hours a day to keep up.
Every morning we tucked in to the buffet breakfast - or "the trough" as I called it - stuffing our faces with fried food and muffins to see us through a busy day. Now I know how actors like Russell Crowe manage to pile on the pounds for some of their roles.
We did most of the theme parks starting with Sea World which was superb. Sea World makes AQWA look very poor in comparison. Next we did Wet and Wild - fantastic we also did Warner Brothers Movie world - another brilliant day out.
I was amazed that the queues weren't longer than they were, it really wasn't that busy. Staff an Movie World told us that it got much worse just after Christmas. So maybe that's something to think about if you are planning a trip to the Gold Coast.
We met up with friends from Perth who were staying in the Crown Tower apartments - WOW! http://www.crowntowersresort.com.au/ not a lot different in terms of price and a fantastic swimming pool with a real sand beach. They were on the 35th floor, what a view, not good for vertigo suferers.
It did provide a good vantage point for one of the low points of the holiday - 3 dickheads obviously high on ice or something in the main drag below stopping the traffic by kicking the passing cars to make the drivers stop and "bashing" anyone who got out of their cars for no reason. I felt Surfers might not be a good idea after dark. I took my boy to Ripleys museum at about 9pm and there were a lot of piss heads wandering about, I reckon later on it would have been "on for young and old" - but this is Surfers and this is Australia - add alcohol, drugs, holidays and what do you expect, Aussies, like the English, love a good punch up.
We did some trips to the hinterland - up mount Tamborine - incredible, lovely views and brilliant rainforest. We did a bush walk to some falls and saw loads of wildlife including a snake. We visited the glow worm caves which was very interesting http://www.cedarcreekestate.com.au/gwc/
One day we teamed up with our friends from Perth and hired a little barbecue boat and spent the day chugging around the islands and canals around surfers, it was great not only did we catch a flathead and a mangrove jack we also saw some of the most spectacular houses in the world - multi million dollar places with huge boats on private jetties - I wonder what they all do for a living?
Christmas eve came around and it was time for the 4 or 5 hour drive north to Hervey Bay, jumping off point for a 4 night stay on Fraser Island, which is part 2...
We set off about a week or so before Christmas and flew Perth to Brisbane with Qantas. We flew direct, a lot of times you have to go via Melbourne or Sydney which would turn the trip from a short 4 and a bit hour flight to more of a long haul slog which I didn't want to do with 3 kids aged 9 7 and 7. Qantas were great.
We arrived in Brisbane and hired a car through Hertz, I managed to get a Ford Falcon for 32 days for $1650, this included 4000km in the deal. The web site always says "Ford Falcon or equivalent" - well, there is no equivalent to a Falcon in terms of load carrying in its class, our friends had a Mistubishi 380 which is Hertz's idea of "equivalent" and there is no way we would have got our 2 large, 1 medium and 5 small pieces of luggage in the back.
We drove down to Surfers Paradise to what would be our accommodation for 6 nights - the Paradise Resort - http://www.paradiseresort.com.au/ I was pleased with this place. Definitely a "budget" sort of hotel, you know, lots of tats, kids with mullets, little boys with ear rings etc... just about all Aussies, I did see one other English family. Our deal was a kids eat free deal which was good. The food was plentiful, certainly not gourmet but tasty and filling. There is lots for kids to do organised by the hotel but we didn't take advantage of any of it because we were always out and about.
The kids loved the pool but I wasn't tempted, it looked to be about 25% urine which isn't really surprising considering the number of kids using it every day and the filters were going flat chat 24 hours a day to keep up.
Every morning we tucked in to the buffet breakfast - or "the trough" as I called it - stuffing our faces with fried food and muffins to see us through a busy day. Now I know how actors like Russell Crowe manage to pile on the pounds for some of their roles.
We did most of the theme parks starting with Sea World which was superb. Sea World makes AQWA look very poor in comparison. Next we did Wet and Wild - fantastic we also did Warner Brothers Movie world - another brilliant day out.
I was amazed that the queues weren't longer than they were, it really wasn't that busy. Staff an Movie World told us that it got much worse just after Christmas. So maybe that's something to think about if you are planning a trip to the Gold Coast.
We met up with friends from Perth who were staying in the Crown Tower apartments - WOW! http://www.crowntowersresort.com.au/ not a lot different in terms of price and a fantastic swimming pool with a real sand beach. They were on the 35th floor, what a view, not good for vertigo suferers.
It did provide a good vantage point for one of the low points of the holiday - 3 dickheads obviously high on ice or something in the main drag below stopping the traffic by kicking the passing cars to make the drivers stop and "bashing" anyone who got out of their cars for no reason. I felt Surfers might not be a good idea after dark. I took my boy to Ripleys museum at about 9pm and there were a lot of piss heads wandering about, I reckon later on it would have been "on for young and old" - but this is Surfers and this is Australia - add alcohol, drugs, holidays and what do you expect, Aussies, like the English, love a good punch up.
We did some trips to the hinterland - up mount Tamborine - incredible, lovely views and brilliant rainforest. We did a bush walk to some falls and saw loads of wildlife including a snake. We visited the glow worm caves which was very interesting http://www.cedarcreekestate.com.au/gwc/
One day we teamed up with our friends from Perth and hired a little barbecue boat and spent the day chugging around the islands and canals around surfers, it was great not only did we catch a flathead and a mangrove jack we also saw some of the most spectacular houses in the world - multi million dollar places with huge boats on private jetties - I wonder what they all do for a living?
Christmas eve came around and it was time for the 4 or 5 hour drive north to Hervey Bay, jumping off point for a 4 night stay on Fraser Island, which is part 2...
Last edited by renth; Jan 18th 2007 at 9:48 pm.
Jan 18th 2007, 9:58 pm
#2
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2006
Location: Coventry soon to be bris
Posts: 327
Re: Renth's Eastern States Odyssey Part 1
Hi
Sounds like you had a wonderful holiday
Look forward to the next update.
Tracey
Sounds like you had a wonderful holiday
Look forward to the next update.
Tracey
Jan 18th 2007, 9:59 pm
#3
Proudly Deplorable
Joined: May 2003
Location: Alloha snack bar
Posts: 24,246
Re: Renth's Eastern States Odyssey Part 1
Great post Renth and welcome back.
A mate of mine lives in a house like that on Sovereign Island. He's an 'entrepreneur'.
A mate of mine lives in a house like that on Sovereign Island. He's an 'entrepreneur'.
Jan 18th 2007, 10:06 pm
#4
Gutter Gob!!
Joined: Feb 2005
Location: Perth
Posts: 13,098
Re: Renth's Eastern States Odyssey Part 1
Excellent post. Nice to see you back though. Looking forward to the summary at the end and whether you have decided after all that if you will be staying in Perth.
Jan 18th 2007, 10:07 pm
#5
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2003
Location: Noosa Heads
Posts: 3,507
Re: Renth's Eastern States Odyssey Part 1
Hi everyone, I'm back in Perth after nearly 5 weeks away, travelling around QLD and NSW. Our trip extended from Bundaberg in QLD to Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains.
We set off about a week or so before Christmas and flew Perth to Brisbane with Qantas. We flew direct, a lot of times you have to go via Melbourne or Sydney which would turn the trip from a short 4 and a bit hour flight to more of a long haul slog which I didn't want to do with 3 kids aged 9 7 and 7. Qantas were great.
We arrived in Brisbane and hired a car through Hertz, I managed to get a Ford Falcon for 32 days for $1650, this included 4000km in the deal. The web site always says "Ford Falcon or equivalent" - well, there is no equivalent to a Falcon in terms of load carrying in its class, our friends had a Mistubishi 380 which is Hertz's idea of "equivalent" and there is no way we would have got our 2 large, 1 medium and 5 small pieces of luggage in the back.
We drove down to Surfers Paradise to what would be our accommodation for 6 nights - the Paradise Resort - http://www.paradiseresort.com.au/ I was pleased with this place. Definitely a "budget" sort of hotel, you know, lots of tats, kids with mullets, little boys with ear rings etc... just about all Aussies, I did see one other English family. Our deal was a kids eat free deal which was good. The food was plentiful, certainly not gourmet but tasty and filling. There is lots for kids to do organised by the hotel but we didn't take advantage of any of it because we were always out and about.
The kids loved the pool but I wasn't tempted, it looked to be about 25% urine which isn't really surprising considering the number of kids using it every day and the filters were going flat chat 24 hours a day to keep up.
Every morning we tucked in to the buffet breakfast - or "the trough" as I called it - stuffing our faces with fried food and muffins to see us through a busy day. Now I know how actors like Russell Crowe manage to pile on the pounds for some of their roles.
We did most of the theme parks starting with Sea World which was superb. Sea World makes AQWA look very poor in comparison. Next we did Wet and Wild - fantastic we also did Warner Brothers Movie world - another brilliant day out.
I was amazed that the queues weren't longer than they were, it really wasn't that busy. Staff an Movie World told us that it got much worse just after Christmas. So maybe that's something to think about if you are planning a trip to the Gold Coast.
We met up with friends from Perth who were staying in the Crown Tower apartments - WOW! http://www.crowntowersresort.com.au/ not a lot different in terms of price and a fantastic swimming pool with a real sand beach. They were on the 35th floor, what a view, not good for vertigo suferers.
It did provide a good vantage point for one of the low points of the holiday - 3 dickheads obviously high on ice or something in the main drag below stopping the traffic by kicking the passing cars to make the drivers stop and "bashing" anyone who got out of their cars for no reason. I felt Surfers might not be a good idea after dark. I took my boy to Ripleys museum at about 9pm and there were a lot of piss heads wandering about, I reckon later on it would have been "on for young and old" - but this is Surfers and this is Australia - add alcohol, drugs, holidays and what do you expect, Aussies, like the English, love a good punch up.
We did some trips to the hinterland - up mount Tamborine - incredible, lovely views and brilliant rainforest. We did a bush walk to some falls and saw loads of wildlife including a snake. We visited the glow worm caves which was very interesting http://www.cedarcreekestate.com.au/gwc/
One day we teamed up with our friends from Perth and hired a little barbecue boat and spent the day chugging around the islands and canals around surfers, it was great not only did we catch a flathead and a mangrove jack we also saw some of the most spectacular houses in the world - multi million dollar places with huge boats on private jetties - I wonder what they all do for a living?
Christmas eve came around and it was time for the 4 or 5 hour drive north to Hervey Bay, jumping off point for a 4 night stay on Fraser Island, which is part 2...
We set off about a week or so before Christmas and flew Perth to Brisbane with Qantas. We flew direct, a lot of times you have to go via Melbourne or Sydney which would turn the trip from a short 4 and a bit hour flight to more of a long haul slog which I didn't want to do with 3 kids aged 9 7 and 7. Qantas were great.
We arrived in Brisbane and hired a car through Hertz, I managed to get a Ford Falcon for 32 days for $1650, this included 4000km in the deal. The web site always says "Ford Falcon or equivalent" - well, there is no equivalent to a Falcon in terms of load carrying in its class, our friends had a Mistubishi 380 which is Hertz's idea of "equivalent" and there is no way we would have got our 2 large, 1 medium and 5 small pieces of luggage in the back.
We drove down to Surfers Paradise to what would be our accommodation for 6 nights - the Paradise Resort - http://www.paradiseresort.com.au/ I was pleased with this place. Definitely a "budget" sort of hotel, you know, lots of tats, kids with mullets, little boys with ear rings etc... just about all Aussies, I did see one other English family. Our deal was a kids eat free deal which was good. The food was plentiful, certainly not gourmet but tasty and filling. There is lots for kids to do organised by the hotel but we didn't take advantage of any of it because we were always out and about.
The kids loved the pool but I wasn't tempted, it looked to be about 25% urine which isn't really surprising considering the number of kids using it every day and the filters were going flat chat 24 hours a day to keep up.
Every morning we tucked in to the buffet breakfast - or "the trough" as I called it - stuffing our faces with fried food and muffins to see us through a busy day. Now I know how actors like Russell Crowe manage to pile on the pounds for some of their roles.
We did most of the theme parks starting with Sea World which was superb. Sea World makes AQWA look very poor in comparison. Next we did Wet and Wild - fantastic we also did Warner Brothers Movie world - another brilliant day out.
I was amazed that the queues weren't longer than they were, it really wasn't that busy. Staff an Movie World told us that it got much worse just after Christmas. So maybe that's something to think about if you are planning a trip to the Gold Coast.
We met up with friends from Perth who were staying in the Crown Tower apartments - WOW! http://www.crowntowersresort.com.au/ not a lot different in terms of price and a fantastic swimming pool with a real sand beach. They were on the 35th floor, what a view, not good for vertigo suferers.
It did provide a good vantage point for one of the low points of the holiday - 3 dickheads obviously high on ice or something in the main drag below stopping the traffic by kicking the passing cars to make the drivers stop and "bashing" anyone who got out of their cars for no reason. I felt Surfers might not be a good idea after dark. I took my boy to Ripleys museum at about 9pm and there were a lot of piss heads wandering about, I reckon later on it would have been "on for young and old" - but this is Surfers and this is Australia - add alcohol, drugs, holidays and what do you expect, Aussies, like the English, love a good punch up.
We did some trips to the hinterland - up mount Tamborine - incredible, lovely views and brilliant rainforest. We did a bush walk to some falls and saw loads of wildlife including a snake. We visited the glow worm caves which was very interesting http://www.cedarcreekestate.com.au/gwc/
One day we teamed up with our friends from Perth and hired a little barbecue boat and spent the day chugging around the islands and canals around surfers, it was great not only did we catch a flathead and a mangrove jack we also saw some of the most spectacular houses in the world - multi million dollar places with huge boats on private jetties - I wonder what they all do for a living?
Christmas eve came around and it was time for the 4 or 5 hour drive north to Hervey Bay, jumping off point for a 4 night stay on Fraser Island, which is part 2...
Jan 18th 2007, 10:11 pm
#6
Crazy Cat Lady
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 65,493
Re: Renth's Eastern States Odyssey Part 1
Sounds good so far. The only time we have been in Surfers after dark was to visit the night market. The idiots don't seem to bother with that
Look forward to part 2.
Look forward to part 2.
Jan 18th 2007, 11:18 pm
#7
happy to be here!
Joined: Aug 2003
Location: Ellenbrook, WA
Posts: 2,732
Re: Renth's Eastern States Odyssey Part 1
Good post Renth, looking forward to part 2
Tracey
Tracey
Jan 19th 2007, 10:47 pm
#8
Cheesy Member
Joined: Jul 2003
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 1,033
Re: Renth's Eastern States Odyssey Part 1
...
It did provide a good vantage point for one of the low points of the holiday - 3 dickheads obviously high on ice or something ...
...
...we also saw some of the most spectacular houses in the world - multi million dollar places with huge boats on private jetties - I wonder what they all do for a living?
..
It did provide a good vantage point for one of the low points of the holiday - 3 dickheads obviously high on ice or something ...
...
...we also saw some of the most spectacular houses in the world - multi million dollar places with huge boats on private jetties - I wonder what they all do for a living?
..
Cheers,
DagBoy
Jan 20th 2007, 8:40 am
#10
(It's not my real name)
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2002
Location: Ilukapool. WA
Posts: 12,467
Jan 20th 2007, 8:54 am
#11
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jul 2003
Location: Cairns
Posts: 3,918
Re: Renth's Eastern States Odyssey Part 1
Excellent post...looking forward to part 2.
Jan 20th 2007, 11:01 am
#13
BE Enthusiast
Joined: May 2005
Location: In a house very close to the beach
Posts: 984
Re: Renth's Eastern States Odyssey Part 1
I-pom I'd visit you 
Jan 20th 2007, 12:42 pm
#15
Happy migrant
Joined: Oct 2006
Location: Newcastle , NSW
Posts: 6,756
Re: Renth's Eastern States Odyssey Part 1
Great post Renth.
Looking forward to the next one. Have you got any pictures?
Looking forward to the next one. Have you got any pictures?
