Throwback: Plan my own trip: Gold Coast, Australia

Throwback 2012 - Gold Coast, Australia

21/9/2012 - 29/9/2012

Asik cerita business je....kali ni Fa cite pasal reality plak.
Jom throwback Gold Coast 2012 sempena 3rd Anniversary kitaorg.

Rindunye kat Gold Coast... Theme travel kali ni nk have fun. So mmg looking forward nk pergi Movie World, Sea World and Wet & Wild theme park. Tak perlu kot Dreamworld sbb Movie World dh ckp cover all the fun =). We plan our itinerary on our own based on peoples blog. Aussie ni still boleh pergi sendiri utk jimat dan sng utk plan our own sweet time.

Preparation

1) Flight
Booked in March 2012. Nak jimat....Fa book AirAsia. Knowing the 8 hours journey will be tiring...so Fa book for hot seat. Mahal sikit asalkan selesa. Hot seat + meals + luggage = RM1077 p/pax. Ok sgt dah tu. hihihiii. Alhamdulillah perjalan semua OK.

2) Apply for Visa
Visa application to Australia Fendy yang uruskan. Semua application & payment online. Nama Fa straight away approved. Tp nama Fendy 2-3 hari jugak nak approve. Sbb anam dia ada Ahmad ke? ntah le. tp semua berjalan lancar. =)

3) Rent a car
Since we plan for driving so we rent a car with Hertz. Choose for compact car. Mmg sng and smooth. Semua online je. Kena ada credit card and license. Jgn lupa bw the same credit card kat sana. Since Fa tak drive, fa tinggalkan lesen fa kat umah. Hmmm not really wise...sbb diaorg mintak gak. incase anything happend, husband tak boleh drive, I can drive.

Hertz counter dlm airport tu sendiri. Tggu je counter buka kul 9.00pg, terus isi borang and bg confirmation email untuk diaorg process. Opt for Insurance? Mmg susah nk decide ini. Insurance dia mmg mahal. (tak ingat berapa) Hatta sikit calar pon u are oblige to pay (2 times the price sbb xde insurance). Ayooo mmg susah nk decide. But in the end, we did not opt for insurance. Sbb dah over budget. So we promise our self...memandu secara berhemah. hahaha Kat Malaysia pon kita drive elok2 kan.. =)

Ada juga option utk Fuel pre-purchase. Maksudnya, you no need to return the car with fuel. empty pon takpe...so option ni sgt berguna untuk last day. Ini la silap kami.... We did not opt this..so last day tu kelam kabut cr petrol station untuk isi full tank. Kira-kira balik....lg mahal dr option yg dia offer tu. haaa kan dh rugi.

Bila dpt kereta tu...pastikan segala calar or dented yg ada dh record dlm list dia. Takut nnt dia kate kita yg buat segala cacat kereta tu. Kereta tu dia park luar airport je. So cari la sendirik. xde org guide ye.
hihii mmg happy la ngn kereta dia bg ni. semua ok. Dented sikit tp dh ada dlm record diaorg. Ok je semua =)

Dapat kereta toyota =)

4) Hotel
Since we all a member for Swiss Garden Vacation club http://www.sgivacationclub.com. Under this time sharing basis, so we stay kat Mercure Gold Coast Resort, Carrara, Queensland, Australia http://www.intervalworld.com/web/cs?a=1503&resortCode=PME&parentResortCode=PME#.UuSijxCwodU
for 7 days. Mmg sharing basis mcm tu. So....mmg kitaorg xperlu bayar apa2 utk sini.
Hotel ni about 15 mins driving to Movie world dan dekat ngn highway. Hihiii mmg sng.

If you all nk cr hotel lain, kat surfers paradise la yg paling popular. Ramai duduk situ.

5) Pre-purchase tix
Ni pun sgt penting. Since mmg nk pergi semua taman tema yg ada, Fa tros jd member hahaha. Opt for VIP pass utk dptkan unlimited entry to Movie world, Sea World and Wet & wild theme park. Valid dr July -June next year. Hahaha kan best tu. Tgk kt sini http://myfun.com.au/movie-world. Beli online so kt sne nnt tak perlu beratur panjang2 tau.

Movie world
Warner Bross theme world ni byk extreme rides macam roller coaster and etc. Byk character WB mcm Batman, Green Latern, Superman, Justice League dan macam2 lg. Lemah jantung jgn naik extreme ride tau. hihii naik la ketapi tut tut kikiki

Sea World.
Sini for animal loving. Byk aquarium so byk la fish, jaws, polar bear, dolphine, panguin dan macam2 lg. Ada juga rides so we all still having fun.

Wet & Wild
Yeah....sini mmg mcm sunway Lagoon. Pakaian....hmm no Tshirt. So Fa pakai jersey. kikiii lepas je. Husband pki sama and shorts. Xde hal =)

Our Itinerary

Tips: Check la school holiday kat sana jugak. Sbb Fa lupa nk check...we are a bit unlucky. Date travel exactly school holiday sna. waaaaa so we foresee lotsss lotss of crowd for each ride kt sne. waaa sedey2

Fri - 21/9
Flight to Gold Coast 9.25pm

Sat - 22/9
7.25am - Arrive
8.30am - Pick up car.
10.00am - Surfers Paradise, shopping for foods
Since we are on budget...kita shopping for stock la.We head to nearest shopping complex: Pacific Fair Shopping Centre. Beli Roti, Susu, Serial Cornflakes for breakfast, jajan2. wahaha heaven btol shopping kat Coles. Than ni paling penting...sign up for a week data plan! Pergi je mana2 communication centre...so we opt for $12 sim card+ 1 week unlimited data plan. Mmg cheap & good. Pakai kt iphone so sng nk guna GPS. Download la GPS utk australia. Memudahkan perjalanan dan attraction tips! Sng nak update facebook jugak. fuhhh suka btol ade simcard ni =)

On our way to Hotel, singgah ke Harbour Town Shopping centre. Its like JPO kat Malaysia. Byk barang2 berjenama yg murah kat sini. Shopping time!

2.00pm - Check in Hotel. Location hotel ni mmg jauh sikit dr town. Tp dekat ngn segala theme park yg we all looking forward nk pergi.

Sun - 23/9 : Brisbane
Haa kan senang plan travel sendiri. Jgn harap plan ni ade dlm mana2 travel agent ok. Nk g tgk zoo Koala paling besar kat sini dan nk jln2 town Brisbane. wiiiiwiwiwiiii. Sekali lagi GPS ni sgt la membantu kikiii
8.00am - Drive to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Queensland
12.30pm - Wheel of Brisbane, Russell Street, South Brisbane
1.45pm: South Bank Lifestyle Market, Little Stanley Street, Queen Street.
till 6.00pm jln2 Brisbane

                           

Beli Kangaroo food $10, than sng nk pegang kangaroo ni. 

Kangaroo dlm satu padang besar, so pergi la cari mana2 kangaroo yg korang nak pegang. Hihiii semua jinak2. Dlm pic ni baby kangaroo. Bulu baby kangaroo is softer than adult kangaroo.

  

Koala ni suke tdo. Bunyik tak gerak pon tak. Ni la sesatunye Koala yg jaga haritu kot. hihiii. Kalu tak bayo...jgn harap le dpt pegang Koala. Mmg dr awal lg nk g Australia nk pegang Koala. haaa dpt jugak =) Pegang dia pon kena ada cara. Nnt keeper tu ajar. Pic ngan Koala ni $16 with print out.

yeyy sampai Brisbane.

Ni la Pasar Malam diaorg kikiii

                 

Lapar...kita lunch kebab $18 each. Dessert kena try ni...Churros. perghhh sedap btol dpt deep coklat. Ala...mcm cakoi kikikii. Harga tak ingat plak. Lps tu kitaorg hangout kat shopping mall je.

FYI: org Australia ni ttp kedai kul 5-6 ptg. So the only happening place is at Surfers Paradise. 

Mon - 24/9
Wet & Wild (whole day)
1st time guna VIP card ni...diaorg akan snap pic onsite (huduhnye la muke aku masa tu) dan bg card. Simpan elok2 card tu sbb nnt nk guna utk park lain2. Lps ni, nak msk park lain, just tag je. xperlu lg beratur beli tix.
tips: kena sewa locker utk letak brg. $10. It is best kalau boleh beli dr awal water proof plastics. letak duit dlm poket je. sng nnt nk beli mknn on site...xpyh buka locker lg.

Wet & wild theme park

Tues- 25/9
Sea World (whole day)

                          

Dont miss all the show!  

      

                 
Sbb sea world ni mcm sikit je...lps seaworld kitaorg g Surfers Paradise beach dan mkn kebab. yeyy

Wed - 26/9
Movie World (whole day)

So i wish i can meet all of these char in there!

Tips: bwk duit je...xperlu sewa locker. sbb back pack langsung xboleh naik rides. 

Lucky ada Malaysian-chinese tlg kitaorg jaga bag. hihhi sbb anak dia naik ride ngn kitaorg so kitaorg jaga anak dia....dia jaga bag kitaorg. dlm bag tu ade air ngn map je =). Locker each ride lain2. and max time for each locker was only 1hr. So if u nak naik ride kat tempat lain..kena sewa another locker. takkan $10 every locker. oh noo..

       

Thrill ride. I love thrill ride =)

Scooby Doo show =)

Since school holiday....mmg ramai la manusia kt sini. Beratur sampi lenguh kaki n bazir masa beratur je.

So we decided untuk sambung Movie world esok. Hahah best tol VIP card. 

Thur - 27/9
Pagi2 pergi Movie World terus. Kali ni mmg tak bwk bag langsung. Nak naik rides byk2. Alhamdulillah...puas hati naik roller coaster byk2 kali. kikiii Berbaloi dah duit kitaorg.

Rezeki pg...dpt jmp idola kitaorg. Abg batman. Smlm tgk show dia je...

2.00pm: Drive to Sufers Paradise and ready for Whale Watching tours. Whale watching ni pon mmg dh ready dr Malaysia. Survey mana2 tour yg murah. So I hope, I watch the whale jump mcm dlm pic =)
(Huh mana ada....) At least dpt jumpa whales yg surface. ewww batu karang dia kt dagu tu agak gross sikit. kikiii. Tips: bwk la minyak angin or asam if you all tak tahan mabuk. Ada mamat gagah pon muntah2 dlm boat kitaorg ni. so xboleh nk jangka. Alhamdulillah Fa and husband OK. duduk tgh2 instead of blkg boleh kurangkan rs terumbang ambing and mabuk. Xsmpat nk amek gamba whale sbb cpt sgt dia tenggelam balik.

                                            

          Nice ya =)

Gold Coast City behind us

Tour abis dlm kul 5 ptg. Lps tu kitaorg ronda2 lg surfers paradise yg pjg ni. Try pancake house diaorg yg famous tu. Shopping for souvenir dan makan kebab lg. Kebab ni tho mahal...tp sgt sedap. Nama dia Jack's (opposite McD)

Friday - 28/9
Kami ingat jln2 shopping je....Free & Easy. Tp bahaya amat kalau pergi Surfers Paradise lg. buat apa nk shopping lg kat Harbour Town Shopping centre. Ngabehkan duit. Kitaorg nk travel jauh sikit. After study mlm smlm....we decided to travel south. Just to see the famous light house Cape Byron Lighthouse at New South Whales. About 2 hrs journey dr Gold Coast but it was worth it! Sangat Cantik tempat ni. Angin dia sgt kuat. Kalau kurus ni boleh terbang...hihiii

      

Ada byk campsite kt sini. Camp with caravan. 

 Subhanallah...cantik sgt2

Seriously....lay on the ground tgh2 panas ni... *_*

Tips: you boleh drive naik atas ni (nearer to light house) and park at $7. Or...doa byk2 and get lucky. Alhamdulillah, jz b4 this signage ada 3 spot parking free. mmg 4 kereta la paling banyak boleh masuk. Kami dpt park situ and walk a bit ke atas. Dont park illegal...nnt kene saman.

Odw balik...isi full tank dulu sbb nk pulangkan kereta esok. FYI, harga minyak di setiap petrol station berlainan...so pepandai la pilih yg paling mura. huhuuu Tak macam Malaysia...dah la sama mura...subsidi lagi. Tu pon ade aje si bongok seludup dan jual illegal kt Thailand huh.

Sat - 29/9
6.00am - check out
7.30am - pulangkan kereta. Tak perlu risau tggu kaunter buka 8.30pg sbb kunci kereta boleh drop off je. Alhamdulillah keta xde calar2 so balik nnt kita tggu dia tolak credit card utk tol kat brisbane hrtu.
p/s: Fa dpt toll charge dia lps 2bln blk Msia. so tak perlu terkejut bila dpt statement nnt =)

We had a wonderful journey. Hope boleh pergi lagi sana =) Harapnya pergi bertiga la pulak...

Thanks for reading