Hubby and I love a beach vacation, and we’ve tried to pass along our love to the kiddo. We spent nine days in Hawaii when the kiddo was just over a year old, but we haven’t had a successful beach vacation since then. A year after Hawaii, we took a weekend trip to San Diego but it was mid-February, and the weather didn’t cooperate. We spent time on the beach, but we were wearing pants and jackets! Six months later, we planned a beach vacation to Tampa as part of our Stadium Tour, but the red algae bloomed the week we were there! So, after a busy week in Sydney, Hubby, the kiddo, and I flew to Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia for our relaxing beach vacation.
We settled on Gold Coast based on recommendations from Hubby’s Australian co-workers. We had originally planned to stay in Sydney and explore the many beaches in the area, but were talked out of it due to weather concerns. Because Australia was entering Fall, the weather was turning cooler and wouldn’t necessarily be beach weather. We were assured that would not be the case in Gold Coast, and they were right!
We stayed at the Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, a Marriott Bonvoy category -5 hotel that is the Gold Coast’s only beachfront resort (according to their website). The pictures on the website sold me already, so I was thrilled to enter the lobby of the hotel to see that the website did not lie!
Our room wasn’t ready when we arrived, so we ate a poolside lunch and our room was ready when we finished. We quickly changed into swimming suits and went back to the pool, where we spent most of our trip. In addition to the main pool, there was a small kiddie pool that the kiddo liked because he could touch the bottom. We were also big fans of the swim up bar! We got the kiddo a rainbow colored popsicle one day, and he felt pretty special eating his popsicle while sitting in the pool.
Once again, our hotel was in a perfect location and met our needs extraordinarily well. We were upgraded to a one-bedroom suite with a rollaway bed so we had plenty of room to spread out. After a week in a standard room in Sydney, we were thankful for the extra space.
In addition to the upgraded room, we benefited from Hubby’s elite status in a few other ways. We had a complimentary breakfast buffet every morning, and it was a fantastic, full breakfast buffet with Australian, European, Asian, and American breakfast offerings. I had pork buns for breakfast one day! I loved the yogurt bar the most, and could not get enough of the banana and passion fruit coulis. We also had free coffee, tea, and soft drinks all day, and a couple of complimentary adult beverages too!
In addition to the awesome beach access, the hotel was across the street from Marina Mirage, which had a lot of restaurants of various cuisines and pricing levels. Our first night, we made reservations at Fisherman’s Wharf Tavern, a counter-service restaurant that has amazing views, hence the need for reservations. It was packed on a Saturday night, but we sat by the water and watched a gorgeous sunset over Coral Sea while we ate a delicious dinner.
I had green curry, and Hubby had his Australian favorite, Moreton Bay Bugs or just “bugs.” They look and taste like mini lobster tails. We had fun joking with the kiddo that “Daddy eats bugs!” I don’t like seafood, but I tried the bugs, and they were pretty good! The kiddo liked asking, “Do you like BUGS?” and then dissolved into giggles before we could answer.
We also ate at Glass, and Hubby ate bugs again! That restaurant was also on the water, and we could see fish swimming below while we ate. The table sitting next to us dropped food into the water and the fish swarmed. It was gross. We also had dinner at The Terrace Thai and Hog’s, both of which were more casual but perfect after a day at the beach. On our last night, we ate at the hotel restaurant, Terraces, because we had to leave at 4am the next morning to catch our flight!
Because we intended this to be our “beach vacation,” and we didn’t have a car, we only planned one excursion. We knew we definitely wanted to visit the Carrumbin Wildlife Sanctuary because it is one of the few places where you can hold a koala! Score! This was the thing I was most looking forward to on the whole trip.
I can’t say enough amazing things about the Carrumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. We bought tickets online and arrived shortly after it opened. Before we even entered, we stopped at the lorikeet feeding area, where volunteers passed out pie plates with a liquid mixture meant to mimic nectar in the wild. The lorikeets were spooked at first, but after a few minutes, the birds returned to the feeding area. It took a few minutes before I had any birds on my pan, but once one jumped on, more quickly joined. I even had one on my head for a while!
The kiddo loved the lorikeets, and wanted to pet them, which they did not like. He also tried feeding them, but he needed both hands to hold the pan with the weight of the bird, and the lorikeets didn’t seem to like having so many fingers on the pan. Ultimately, he was content to help us and reluctant to leave. I’m not really a bird lover, but I loved their saturated, gorgeous colors.
After 30 minutes or so with the lorikeets, we finally entered the sanctuary and immediately went to the koala photo area. After purchasing our tickets, which included a professionally taken and printed photo, I stood in line while Hubby and the kiddo explored. Finally, it was our turn and Hubby and I took turns holding the koala for two family pictures. The koala was heavier and the fur was coarser than I imagined, but she was even cuter up close, if that is possible. I desperately wanted to snuggle her, but I followed directions and held her like I was supposed to hold her. The koala put her paws on my chest, but Hubby got scratched on the arm a little bit. Oh well – the price you pay for memories! The kiddo was too young to hold the koala, and probably wouldn’t have held her anyway, but he gently pet the koala’s back before we took the pictures.
After the koalas, my day was made, but we still had more to do! One of the volunteers who had been with the lorikeets, Bill, saw us and brought us back to the snake area, and showed us a treehouse with a slide that the kiddo loved!
After playing on the slide for a while, we walked over to see the kangaroos. There were two areas to see the kangaroos – one for the red kangaroos and one for the grey kangaroos. After laying the ground rules with the kiddo (no running, no screaming), we went into the red kangaroo area first.
As we first entered, kangaroos lounged around, posing for pictures and getting pet. In the back of the enclosure, kangaroos who didn’t want to be bothered relaxed in the grassy area, while those who wanted to be fed stayed on the dirt paths, waiting for people to approach with cups of food. The kiddo observed other visitors feeding the kangaroos and quickly wanted Hubby and me to join in the fun. We poured some pellets into our hands, held them out, and before we knew it, we were feeding kangaroos!
Hubby and I were giddy after we fed the red kangaroos, and as we were walking over to the wallaby area, we heard somebody call out, “Hey Ohio!” We turned to see Bill, the volunteer from the lorikeets and the snakes, waving us over. He brought us to the back of the grey kangaroo area, where we were totally alone with a dozen kangaroos. It didn’t take long for others to join us, but for a few minutes, my little family had exclusive access to see, pet, and feed the kangaroos. And, with a little encouragement from our volunteer friend, the kiddo found the courage to feed the kangaroos by himself!
The rest of the day was fairly low-key. We ate lunch (and dodged all the birds trying to eat our food), the kiddo played on the playgrounds, we rode the train, and we saw a few more animals. Soon it was naptime, and we returned to the hotel tired, but full of special, once-in-a-lifetime memories.
Our last day on the Gold Coast was the only day that we had bad weather. The forecast called for rain all day, with severe thunderstorms in the afternoon. But, we were prepared with rain ponchos and umbrellas, and decided we would walk up the road to Sea World Australia. They had several indoor exhibits, and we figured that the animals were in the water anyway, so why not play in the rain?
Even though it was walking distance, we hadn’t planned to go to Sea World because we have SeaWorld in the US, and I have concerns about the treatment of the animals, particularly the orcas. However, I found out that they are not affiliated, and that the owner just took the name in the 1970s because it was not trademarked in Australia.
Like a lot of zoos and aquariums, Sea World had great viewing areas to see their animals, like penguins and polar bears and jellyfish and sharks and other fish. They had an extensive touch pool, and a glass bottom boat for shark viewing too! It was pouring then so we didn’t try it, but I think it would’ve been very cool. There was also a Ray Reef, and visitors fed and pet the rays. In fact, there were a lot of opportunities for animal interactions. We saw a diver feeding fish in the shark tank (from a cage), and I know there were dolphin encounters and seal encounters too. The kiddo is still too young for any of those experiences, but I think someday he would like to do something like that. I’ve swam with the dolphins twice (once in a controlled aquarium-type environment, once in an open water experience which was both awesome and terrifying), and like feeding kangaroos or holding a koala, they are special memories for me. They also had some rides, but kiddo was too small for most of them, and they weren’t all running due to the rain.
The kiddo had a great time at Sea World, but it wasn’t the animals that he loved the most. He loved the Stunt Show with the boats, bikes, and water skiiers and kept asking for more boats after the show ended. He also could’ve spent the entire day watching the helicopters take off and land from the helipad. But, he was also fascinated by the dolphin show, especially when the dolphins jumped and flipped, just like the seals at the Taronga Zoo.
By noon, the rain had progressed from annoying drizzle to complete downpour, and it was expected to only get worse. We opted to walk back before the thunderstorms started, so we had a fairly short visit to Sea World. Still, we were able to see everything and the kiddo was fully engaged despite the rain. I was thrilled that we escaped our hotel room on a rainy day, and I gave myself a little pat on the back for remembering to pack the rain ponchos and travel umbrella.
Aside from all of our family time, Hubby and I each took an early morning to do something alone. Hubby went for a 6am run along the beach one morning, and I woke up even earlier the next morning to watch the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean on Main Beach. Though I had to wake up at 5:15am, and I am not a morning person, I knew I needed to see the sunrise on the east side after seeing the beautiful sunset on the west side of the peninsula.
Walking through the hotel to the beach, I was already thankful that I had decided to watch the sunrise. I was struck by the purple, blue, and gray hues of the sky, and the reflection of the trees in the pool, and the quiet and stillness of the air. I could faintly hear the waves rolling in, but the gentle sound only added to the tranquility of the moment.
When I got to the beach, I was not alone, but there was no human sound. I sat on the grass above the beach for a moment, but I knew I had to take off my sandals and get my feet wet to fully enjoy the sunrise.
So I did.
In this quiet moment so early in the morning, I reflected on this incredible family vacation, and all of the memories we were making. I felt grateful for Hubby and Hubby’s job that allowed us to have this unbelievable opportunity, and thankful we could create these family memories. And even though they weren’t with me in that moment, I felt closer to my boys – my Hubby and my kiddo – than I had in a long time.
Though we didn’t “do” much in the Gold Coast, we have not stopped reminiscing about our time on the Gold Coast. Sometimes it’s the little things, like popsicles in a pool or watching a gorgeous sunrise or eating bugs, that make the best memories.
