Ipswich and the Gold Coast, Oct 2018
👩🦰 4 nights back home to visit the fam bam and we really squeezed it all in! We headed down to Ipswich firstly and some extended family and friends met us at Plantations for a scrumptious dinner! Good food....great prices...even better company. The deep fried Mars Bar with waffles for dessert was the absolute highlight, can you say ‘moreish’, oh my gosh! 🤤
We visited the Nerima Gardens in Queens Park the next day so that Aaron could see them - and apparently so that he could do karate poses on a bridge, because if you don’t, did you even go to the Japanese gardens?
The gardens are just so peaceful and pretty, and there’s also the free Nature Centre which is great for a wander through if you’re a tourist in the area - it features a range of Australian wildlife, lush landscaped gardens and exhibits that represent local bushland and flora communities.
It was time to head out to the Gold Coast, and of course while we there we hit up a bunch of the touristy spots! First stop was Ripley's Believe It Or Not, and although I've visited multiple times it’s always a fun day, particularly when you visit with a big kid like Aaron! We had so much fun running around in all the different exhibitions, it’s a great way to kill a few hours for kids of ALL ages.
From here we stopped off at the Crazy Cat Cafe and hung out with some cute furry feline friends. Some of them were more friendly than others - the ginger cat was particularly grumpy but still so cute 🐱 We’re definitely dog people at heart, but there were so many pretty kitties! Aaron's favourite part was the fact that he could have a drink while we were there though lol!
That evening we hit up Dracula's Cabaret with my parents, easily my fave place on the Gold Coast! I've been to countless shows here and they're always so much fun, with the staff all walking around in character and the venue is fantastic 🧛♂️
The show changes regularly (I think it’s every six months, but don’t quote me on that!) and is made up of a number of short comedy skits, songs, theatre pieces etc. While you watch you’re fed a delicious three-course meal and the drinks menu is extensive. After the show you can stick around and dance, or hit up the gift shop. It’s always an amazing night and I walk away grinning from ear to ear - not just because of the fishbowl cocktails, either! 🍹🍹
You can't visit the Gold Coast without going to at least one theme park! My fave has always been Dreamworld purely for the range of rides, but I'm glad we sat through a 1.5 hour sales pitch instead of paying full price - only 3 or 4 big rides were actually operating, most things were closed for maintenance 😭 I don't think Aaron was all that sad about it though since he's afraid of heights. A disappointing end to a whirlwind trip, but great to catch up with family and show Aaron more of my neck of the woods.