Between Parks and Axes
Journey Through Time 🕰️ Fun and Adventures in Gold Coast
Gold Coast is essentially one big amusement park surrounded by a stunning beach. When I arrived, I realized there was no point fighting it - you just have to surrender to the childlike experience.
So I did what I always do in places like this - I took everything one step further. I found myself running like a little girl in the theme park, waiting excitedly in line to meet Batman (yes, I actually helped him catch the Joker!).
Something about this city - maybe the "vacation style" atmosphere - makes me want to say "yes" to every crazy thing I see. And that's exactly what I did.
📍 Gold Coast, Australia | 12/07/2023
Axe Throwing
How to Throw an Axe: A Day in Gold Coast
I arrived ready to conquer the Gold Coast. By the first evening, I had already checked off two attractions here – Sky Point Tower and Infinity Attraction (which I'll tell you about later), because I saw there are so many things to do here, and I only have five days.
The main attractions here are theme parks. It's something that takes a whole day and lots of energy, so when I organized my schedule, I left room for one park each day.
The atmosphere here really reminds me of Eilat – just more expensive and upscale. Yes, there's a promenade with stalls selling henna tattoos and colorful hair braiding, multiple motorcycle rental shops, plenty of sea attractions, an amazing beach, and perfect daytime weather (when the sun disappears, it gets really cold).
But unlike Eilat, real estate here is really (!) expensive. People who live here probably have a yacht or two in their garage, and even a private helicopter, which shows that everything is more expensive here, even basic products at the supermarket.
I considered renting a motorcycle for my time here, because I definitely miss my motorcycle a lot, but driving here is on the left side of the road, and I've never done that before. Maybe I did drive a little in Thailand... but that's Thailand, so there aren't traffic laws. For some reason, it scared me here.
It's also easy to get around with the light rail. Only for the theme parks far from the city did I have a problem getting there, so I found round-trip transportation for $30.
I read (a lot) about the combined tickets for the theme parks. There are many parks, and all kinds of tickets. There are the cheaper parks, which are DreamWorld and a relatively small water park, which are probably more for children.
There's also Warner Bros Movie World, combined with the Wet N' Wild water park – clearly these are the good parks. I also consulted with locals who recommended them to me, in addition to SeaWorld.
I said I had already been to SeaWorld in Sydney, and they explained that it's really not the same thing. Here it's not an aquarium – but actually a park with roller coasters and animal shows. Sounds cool.
I chose the ticket that combines the cool parks and SeaWorld for five days. Instead of a tourist bus, there's a tourist ferry here, which stops at interesting sites until it reaches SeaWorld, for $195 for all four. The ferry was an excellent decision!
The guide explained about each stop, maybe I'll visit there again later this week, because at the entrance they told me the ticket is valid for two days within a week. Amazing!
I arrived at SeaWorld and it was really fun! I hadn't been to an amusement park for a long time, and it's not like I lack feeling childish in my daily life – it was just pure fun. The dolphin and seal shows were fascinating. I liked that their purpose is to get us to protect the animals by recycling our waste.
For the big roller coasters, the lines were long, but I found something to do. I'm reading the book "Almost Thirty" by Gal Ylon – the one I wanted to read for a long time, and it was part of my birthday wish list. Last week in Melbourne, I decided I'm buying it and starting to read. That's it.
So I bought it, and it took me a little time until I started reading, but lately, I've been reading quite a lot – and I've already gone through 60%. (How cool is a digital book.) I'm slowly checking things off my birthday list, and yesterday I almost checked off one of the big things on it. Maybe it will still happen later this week.
In the evening, exhausted from the park, I managed to squeeze in another attraction I had been waiting for a long time: Axe Throwing. It's a very popular attraction in Australia, and it's something I saw on the internet from the first day I arrived. There are several companies that operate it, and in every city, there are multiple locations. I decided that tonight is the night.
I bought a ticket for $30 for half an hour when the operator said there were no other people right now, so he'll let me stay longer. In the end, I stayed for an hour and a half (!) until the place was full and they needed my station.
There are three types of axes. You go through a safety and technique briefing and start throwing, hoping to hit the center of the target. It was one of the most fun things I've done in my life! If we're talking about unleashed power, then you need to use a lot of force with some of the axes, and every hit on the target is especially satisfying. By the end of the hour and a half, I could barely feel my hands, but it was worth every moment!
📍 Gold Coast, Australia | 13/07/2023
Warner Bros Movie World
When I Helped Batman Catch the Joker
Yesterday I was at Warner Bros Movie World theme park. The moment you enter, you feel like you're in a movie. My favorite characters are everywhere, familiar sounds all around, lots of merchandise, of course, but what stands out the most are the roller coasters that are insane in their size (and speed).
I'm walking around in a park designed like a film set from scenes I've already seen many times, and I'm thinking only about my big brother – how much I wish he was here with me.
The place is full of people, small and big. Even before arriving, I thought about purchasing a skip-the-line ticket online, because time equals money. Only it's apparently worth a lot of money: $150 to be exact. I realized that was too much, and decided to just go.
At the entrance, I was surprised to find that there's an option to purchase a one-time 'skip the line' if the line is long, and it ranges between $25-$ 30. Exactly what I wanted! Beyond that, when you download the park's app (this has become the "price" of the 21st century), there's a feature for 'reserving a time' for free.
You can book a time for one ride at a time. Sometimes it's for twenty minutes later, sometimes for an hour and a half later – but instead of standing in line, you can fit in another ride or two, and then just arrive with the barcode and enter.
An amazing and efficient solution – you only need to be very efficient with time planning. There are rides that suddenly close for maintenance or close at 2 PM, despite the park being open until 5.
At the entrance to each line, there's a sign with the waiting time. I decided that for the longest ones, it's worth paying, so I paid for two roller coasters, a total of $55. I booked two more times, until everything became "sold out," and for the rest I waited like everyone else – even in a line where the entrance sign said 75 minutes.
I think it took a bit less than that, but I don't really have a way to know – because in that exact line, they instructed us to leave bags in lockers and take everything out of our pockets. Standing in line for an hour, people without phones, just staring. It was hard, but totally worth it.
It was Superman's roller coaster, which moves at a hysterical speed on the track. So much so that the next day I woke up with tight muscles, especially in my neck, and I realized it was from all the roller coasters and the craziness I went through there.
With all the love for Superman, it's clear that Batman is the star of this park, and much more popular and beloved. There's an exhibition inside the park of props from all Batman movies throughout the years – all the costumes, cars, masks, everything.
In the park, there are also shows, mainly for children, performed by actors, and all that went through my mind when I saw them was: Are they happy about portraying famous characters? Or perhaps they see themselves as less successful actors, since they work in an amusement park and not on the big screen?
I sat down to eat on one of the free benches, in a corner next to a building. While I was eating my avocado bagel, two actors with robber masks came from afar, looking backward all the time, as if in escape, and entered the building through a door next to me.
A minute later, the Joker follows them, also looking backward, and just before he enters the building, he says out loud: "Oh no! Oh no!"
I look to see what he's talking about, and Batman emerges from behind him in the distance. He approached the building, and I shouted at him: "They're in there!" Like a 5-year-old girl who wants to help the hero catch the bad guys.
He responds confidently: "I'll catch them, don't worry." And I melt. Giggling with excitement and unable to calm down.
Whether they feel like good actors or less – I hope they know that they simply make people happy. And that's what matters.
Two days, two completely different experiences, but one thing in common - in both, I felt like I had become a little girl again. There's something liberating about surrendering to it completely.
Without feeling embarrassed, without thinking "but I'm too old for this." Just immersing myself in the experience. Maybe that's what I love most about this journey - the moments when I simply forget who I'm supposed to be and just enjoy who I can be.
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