BB's Australia: Gold Coast Experience 2014 (With Pictures)

[OmOm]

Hi,

 

If you are applying for Visitor Visa:

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/Visit/Pages/Visit.aspx

 

If you are applying for PR:

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/Work/Pages/Work.aspx

 

If you intend to migrate, this blog is very useful as it provides a comprehensive step-by-step guide:

 

http://neurotic-ramblings-sg.blogspot.sg/p/migrating-to-australia-from-singapore.html

 

All the best!

 

Hi folks,

Need ur help again,anybody can share which website i can apply for visa?

 

[Beonhah]

Hi,

 

If you are applying for Visitor Visa:

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/Visit/Pages/Visit.aspx

 

If you are applying for PR:

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/Work/Pages/Work.aspx

 

If you intend to migrate, this blog is very useful as it provides a comprehensive step-by-step guide:

 

http://neurotic-ramblings-sg.blogspot.sg/p/migrating-to-australia-from-singapore.html

 

All the best!

 

Thanks OmOm!

 

[Dleodleo]

Hi folks,

Need ur help again,anybody can share which website i can apply for visa?

 

You look for one of the member at hardwarezone forum by the name of kangaroo kang. She helps to do free but you must donate $5 to World vision for every visa application.

 

You can take a look here:

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/australia-trial-317/visa-australia-2951847-70.html

 

She is reliable. I did mine with her. very fast and no problem.

[Beonhah]

 

You look for one of the member at hardwarezone forum by the name of kangaroo kang. She helps to do free but you must donate $5 to World vision for every visa application.

 

You can take a look here:

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/australia-trial-317/visa-australia-2951847-70.html

 

She is reliable. I did mine with her. very fast and no problem.

Hi,thank you for your information but i already apply visa two weeks ago,$20 aus dollar per passport

[thaiyotake331]

beauiful pics..

[Hjteo]

 

You look for one of the member at hardwarezone forum by the name of kangaroo kang. She helps to do free but you must donate $5 to World vision for every visa application.

 

You can take a look here:

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/australia-trial-317/visa-australia-2951847-70.html

 

She is reliable. I did mine with her. very fast and no problem.

Thanks. Just did mine and family with her. Read the requirements on page 15 post 222 of the HWZ site above.

[Shorty]

hi guys. if i am to go gold coast with kids, which r the places to go? how many days will b enough? n is it better to arrange the trip myself or go with tour?

[Jman888]

hi guys. if i am to go gold coast with kids, which r the places to go? how many days will b enough? n is it better to arrange the trip myself or go with tour?

How old are your kids? Travel on your own since no language barrier.

 

One week is good enough, the usual theme parks, farm, shopping, markets.

[Volvobrick]

How old are your kids? Travel on your own since no language barrier.

 

One week is good enough, the usual theme parks, farm, shopping, markets.

 

Self drive is easy, distance are not long. Other than those theme parks, Currumbin Sanctuary if you want to see some animals, a drive to the mountains in the west (small villages/cafe), Whale Watching/Fraser Island (long drive to Harvey Bay) etc.

 

Remember not to speed!

 

PS. Just spend 100-200 more and get a big CC car. It is more enjoyable in the open road. I drove a 3.6 XR6 when I was there.

 

 

Edited December 12, 2014 by Volvobrick

[BabyBlade]

hi guys. if i am to go gold coast with kids, which r the places to go? how many days will b enough? n is it better to arrange the trip myself or go with tour?

 

Movie World, Sea World a must go for the kids! As an adult I really liked it myself too.

 

Are there better places than Currumbin Wildlife? Personal opinion is that there is nothing much to see at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. What about Australia Zoo opened by the late Steve Erwin?

 

Other must do activities includes hot air balloon, whale watching.

 

Check out their tour packages when you're there.Will save you lots of moolah.

Oh and you should definitely go Free & Easy. Australia is easy to plan for itinerary. If you're driving it makes it even easier. When I mentioned tour packages - I'm referring to some packages which includes whale watching and cruise ride combo or, even theme park packages.

[Shorty]

How old are your kids? Travel on your own since no language barrier.

 

One week is good enough, the usual theme parks, farm, shopping, markets.

so all those parks, farms n shopping ard the same area? fm pics i see like it's a stretch of beach that are the most frequented place.

 

Movie World, Sea World a must go for the kids! As an adult I really liked it myself too.

 

Are there better places than Currumbin Wildlife? Personal opinion is that there is nothing much to see at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. What about Australia Zoo opened by the late Steve Erwin?

 

Other must do activities includes hot air balloon, whale watching.

 

Check out their tour packages when you're there.Will save you lots of moolah.

Oh and you should definitely go Free & Easy. Australia is easy to plan for itinerary. If you're driving it makes it even easier. When I mentioned tour packages - I'm referring to some packages which includes whale watching and cruise ride combo or, even theme park packages.

hot air balloon out. me n my wife both scared of heights. hehe. is it easy to drive there? will the traffic b as bad as singapore? for now the places i can tink of are the movie world n sea world as u mentioned. other then that, i have to research.

Edited December 12, 2014 by Shorty

[BabyBlade]

so all those parks, farms n shopping ard the same area? fm pics i see like it's a stretch of beach that are the most frequented place.

hot air balloon out. me n my wife both scared of heights. hehe. is it easy to drive there? will the traffic b as bad as singapore? for now the places i can tink of are the movie world n sea world as u mentioned. other then that, i have to research.

 

Hotair balloon was an amazing experience for me actually. I am afraid of heights too but it really isn't THAT scary when you're on it. It's really slow, stable and gives you a good sunrise view. Felt a sense of calmness and serenity up there.

 

I didn't drive when I was there. Went there for the first time and was afraid I would end up lost and all. I took the public bus, tour bus and friends drove as well. Observed the road signs a lot and behavior of the drivers there. Road signs are clear. Surfers Paradise means Surfers Paradise, there is no Surfers Paradise Avenue 2, Surfers Paradise North 4 etc, at least from my knowledge.

 

Drivers are extremely courteous, signal their intentions 90% of the time, does not road hog at all.

 

Update the GPS mapping if you're there though. I'm not sure if the tram services have already started at Surfers Paradise now, but when I was there roadworks were still being carried out.

 

More than willing to share with you my itinerary if you need one to have a rough idea.

[Jman888]

so all those parks, farms n shopping ard the same area? fm pics i see like it's a stretch of beach that are the most frequented place.

 

hot air balloon out. me n my wife both scared of heights. hehe. is it easy to drive there? will the traffic b as bad as singapore? for now the places i can tink of are the movie world n sea world as u mentioned. other then that, i have to research.

 

Dun worry about the traffic, quite light and easy to drive around, the attractions are not near each other but it is not difficult to locate with map and GPS.

 

Walking along whole stretch of surfers paradise on day time and night time will take a while if you shop and eat, you probably go back again and again so try to stay around that area.

[Extremme]

Dun worry about the traffic, quite light and easy to drive around, the attractions are not near each other but it is not difficult to allocate with map and GPS.

 

Walking along whole stretch of surfers paradise on day time and night time will take a while if you shop and eat, you probably go back again and again so try to stay around that area.

 

Yes I second that. If you can survive Singapore road, Gold Coast is easy. The traffic is much lesser than Singapore and their is relatively slow. Just follow GPS and as usual, exercise caution no matter where you are. Don't follow GPS blindly but look out for signboards.

 

I am sure you will enjoy driving there.

Edited December 12, 2014 by Extremme

[Dleodleo]

hi guys. if i am to go gold coast with kids, which r the places to go? how many days will b enough? n is it better to arrange the trip myself or go with tour?

 

Hi,

 

I went last June with my 2 kids (6 and 11 years old then). We went 8 days and we went on free and easy. We stayed in apartment in surfer paradise and took bus to all the theme parks and paradise country farm.

so all those parks, farms n shopping ard the same area? fm pics i see like it's a stretch of beach that are the most frequented place.

hot air balloon out. me n my wife both scared of heights. hehe. is it easy to drive there? will the traffic b as bad as singapore? for now the places i can tink of are the movie world n sea world as u mentioned. other then that, i have to research.

 

If you are going to movie world and sea world, perhaps you want to consider buying the VIP pass at my fun. You have unlimited entry for 3 parks - movie world, sea world and wet and wild at AUD109 per person.

 

If you have 4 person, you can wait for their buy 3 get 1 free promotion.

 

For more info : http://myfun.com.au/theme-parks-passes

[BabyBlade]

 

Hi,

 

I went last June with my 2 kids (6 and 11 years old then). We went 8 days and we went on free and easy. We stayed in apartment in surfer paradise and took bus to all the theme parks and paradise country farm.

 

If you are going to movie world and sea world, perhaps you want to consider buying the VIP pass at my fun. You have unlimited entry for 3 parks - movie world, sea world and wet and wild at AUD109 per person.

 

If you have 4 person, you can wait for their buy 3 get 1 free promotion.

 

For more info : http://myfun.com.au/theme-parks-passes

 

And also gotta take note, some passes requires you to use it within a certain period, or need to be used up in consecutive three days or so.

[Strudel-]

Very nice photos.

 

For those that planning to come to Brisbane of Gold Coast, there are some local events which might interest you. Below are some indicative dates and info (what to google for) for your planning.

 

1) Ekka Show Day (mid Aug) - This is a Brisbane only carnival which runs almost 2weeks. The carnival show cases local produce, competitions for produce, animal/livestocks and stun shows.

 

http://www.ekka.com.au/

 

 

2) Toowoomba Carnival of Flower (mid late Sep) - For flowers and garden lovers. Theres a parade on the day itself and you can visit contestants' garden during the festival. The gardens of the top 3 are normally quite impressive...

 

http://www.tcof.com.au/

 

 

3) Different race/country of origin days (e.g. greek festival, Buddha festival etc) - check www.visitbrisbane.com.au

 

 

4) Christmas Lighting Competition (Christmas period) - Locals will decorate their houses for Christmas and like the flower carnival, winners are normally pretty impressive.

 

 

5) Brisbane River Fire (Aug/Sep?)- Fireworks and carnival along Southbank and Brisbane city

 

 

The top 2 are recommended and also local weekend markets selling local produce depending on where you staying. Both Brisbane and Gold Coast have them (but pretty much everywhere have them). These weekend markets have pretty good food and coffee too.

 

As mentioned the SeaWorld/MovieWorld/WetnWild pass can be had for cheaper if you plan to go all 2 or 3 of them. This is the case as well for Dreamworld/White Water World. Dream World and White Water World's probably not good for families with young kids as the rides are more for teenagers/adults.

[Hiphiphoray]

Hot Air Balloon got age limited.

 

I think cannot be younger than 8 or 9 years old.

 

So please do check before booking for kids.