Thrill seeking fun

South Bank market
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We gladly took the sleep in on Thursday as we needed a break from the fast-paced fun we'd been enjoying so far.  It can really take it out of you!  Craig and Julie organised a delicious bbq for our breakfast - bacon, eggs, tomato and pineapple.  Yum!  Julie had bravely driven to the supermarket and back, something she hadn't tried in Oz so far.

Once Craig had been dropped off at work, a late start, Sean jumped in the driver's seat and we headed off down the motorway to the DFO at the airport for some bargain shopping.  On the way to find Adrienne a skirt to travel with,  Sean became frustrated with the Brisbane signs while driving.  First he came across the sign for the exit to the airport in the exit and not before it, then had to be guided by the noses of the girls to get to the DFO, due to the lack of signs.  However, the shopping was successful, although it took a full 2 hour circuit of the huge mall before a purchase was made.  Sean was on the verge of sucicide from abject boredom.  He was cured after a meal from Red Rooster on the way home.

"... being hauled up 120 m into the air, only to be let go..."

Ferry crossing the Brisbane River
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To complete the treatment Adrienne prescribed a dose of DreamWorld for the both of us.  We were up at 7:30 am to get ready to see the theme park.  Craig dropped us off at the train station in Kuraby and the ticket guy got us onto an express train to Coomera Station.  Turns out that the daily pass is the same as a return and it cost us $10.40 pp for zones 5 - 12.  We made it to DreamWorld and forked out $64 each to get in, then another $8 for the locker but it's better than lugging around a bag all day.

Adrienne looking beautiful in the gardens
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We topped up the drink bottle and headed straight to the Giant Drop.  One side of it wasn't working but the other side was and the line wasn't too long.  Soon we were locked securely into a harness and were being hauled up 120 m into the air, only to be let go, to free fall until the brakes cut in and we were deposited safely onto the ground.  We did the Big Five but found that The Claw was the best!!

Check out

Huyeng on the bbq
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http://www.dreamworld.com.au/content/standard3.asp?name=Big5TheClaw

We rode The Claw a couple of times, experienced the Tower of Terror and had a wicked time on the Wipeout.  The tiger exhibition was awesome!!  4:30 pm rolled around and we decided that 6 hours was enough at the park.  The transport to Coomera Station from DreamWorld was crap.  One bus every hour and some of the signs on the bus weren't working, so you didn't know which bus it was until you fought your way to the driver.  To cut things short, it took over 3 hours to get back to Julie and Craig's place.  Apart from the journey back, the whole day was heaps of fun.  One helpful hint: pack your lunch in a cooler bag (a.k.a. Esky or chilly bin) because the food is really expensive.

Mike and Huyeng's house
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To top off the day Julie surprised us with an ice cream cake!  It was so incredibly good, with heaps of flavours and an edible picture of assorted Kiwiana on the top.  Definitely check out the photos because it tasted as good as it looks :-D

The following day was a lax one, starting off with ice cream cake for breakfast.  We all headed into Brisbane to cruise around South Bank for a couple of hours, cumulating in a stroll through the Botanical Gardens.  There was a market on at South Bank, so we looked thorugh that and grabbed a bite to eat. Two items caught our eyes, the first one being these things that are gel filled and you wrap around your neck to keep cool.  The other item was a knob for a gear stick made out of a kangaroo scrotum!!  How do you think it would look in the Ford Courier, Dean?  We were also shocked to see what looked to be a 14 year old girl who was pregnant!

Tiny frog - the coin is 19.4 mm diameter
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We grabbed a ferry ride to the gardens and a few photos before it was time for us to head off to Mike and Huyeng's engagement party.  We grabbed a bus to their place and even managed to get off at the wrong stop.  Well, we thought it was right until we received a text from Mike when we were buying some wine, telling us to get off at another one.  Luckily Mike was happy to come and rescue us with his silver, Audi steed.  The party went down well and there was plenty of booze available but not much consumed (heaps left for the morning...).  The food was good, classic bbq tucker but we did catch Huyeng on the bbq - Mike's still teaching her that the bbq is his domain.

Mike, Huyeng, Adrienne and Sean
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There was a great thunder storm that kept us awake for a wee bit but it was really cool hearing the cracks of thunder, at times right above our heads, and seeing the flashes of lightning.  It didn't keep us from the sandman and next thing we knew it was just before 9 in the morning.  Sean wasn't allowed to polish off the remaining beer but we wrote up our Noosa blog entry, while Mike and Huyeng caught up on their sleep from the night before.  Mike very kindly whipped us up some french toast and then we were off to a park for a wander, with leftovers from the night before.  We grabbed Julie on the way to help us out with the small banquet.  There were a huge number of ants near where our food was and we managed successfully to keep it safe but did manage to see some tiny frogs.  We have a photo of one next to a 5 cent piece (19.41 mm diameter).

Joolz's awesome ice cream cake
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That's the end of our Australian visit - we're heading to Tokyo tomorrow (Monday) on a terribly enthralling 14 hour flight... yes, that was sarcasm about the flight but it means that we get to catch up with Sean's brother and his wife in a few days.  Woo hoo!!