G'day mate! Experience Australia Day 4

Gold Coast - Dream World

Next day was spent at Dream World.

Dream World is also another favourite theme park in Australia like the Movie World. It is also my favourite among the three that we've gone on this trip! There are fun and exciting thrill rides as well as many animal attractions like Tiger Island and Kangaroo and Koala Bear Sanctuary.

We were able to enter Dream World before the opening hour (10 am) because we're part of a tour group.

The Koala Bear Ambassadors whom we met near the entrance of Dream World:



Some cute shops near the entrance, selling mainly souvenirs or kids' stuff. This first shop sells lotsa pink and princessy stuff for young girls. I think there's princess clothes or tinkerbell clothes for parent to dress up their daughters.







A seemingly real-life crocodile:













Flow Rider. Pple can surf, skate, snowboard or bodyboard. It seems qt tough to manoeuver with the strong (simulated) waves.





Nickelodeon Central. Kids will definitely love this section, with their favorite characters like SpongeBob Square Pants, Dora the Explorer, the Rugrats etc.









One of the main attractions of Dream World was the Big 6 thrill rides, which include the Cyclone (tallest high-speed gravity rollercoaster in the Southern Hemisphere), Tower of Terror (to me it's the worst and most terrifying ride ever. it accelerates to a massive 160 kph within seven seconds before it climbs to almost 38 storeys high. this is followed by a backward free-fall back to zero ground within 11 seconds!), Giant Drop (120m free fall), the Claw (360 degree spin, reach zero gravity and 9 storey high swing), Wipeout (fastest vertical thrill ride in the world) and lastly Mick Doohan's Motocoaster (motorcycle thrill ride)

Mick Doohan's Motocoaster. It was the first ride we took. It was so fun that we took it twice in a row, and even came back to take it one more time at the end of the day! I think it was really different than the other rides, and possibly cant find it elsewhere. It was thrilling, yet did not make one feel nauseaus like some other rides that make you spin around.



The Claw. We took it after the Motocoaster. Boy, is it thrilling. It swings like a pendulum, but up to 75 km per hour, 9 storeys high and almost 360 degree turn! Furthermore, we took the ride bare-footed and i can see my feet in the sky when the ride takes us to the highest point! Looking back, i doubt i've the courage to take it again, hahaha..







Wipeout. I planned to take it later in the day, but in the end felt too naseaus/sick and didn't after so many rides haha:





We went on to the Gold Rush area, which has a Wild Wild West concept.



Some funny poses:







Thunder River Rapids Ride. It's a family ride suitable for all ages. One lady who was seated across me during the ride was really unlucky and got quite wet, whereas the rest of us remained dry throughout the ride haha.





I went on to take the Giant Drop.



The Giant Drop is the tallest, free-falling ride in the world at 120m (39 storeys) high. The free fall time was actually only 5 sec!! It is definitely a ride i will never forget, particularly the adrenaline rush when it starts to drop after almost 90 sec of climb and 30 sec of waiting high up in the air. The scenery was amazing too.







We went on to see the animals.

First stop was Tiger Island.





VERY cute baby tiger!! This one is about 2-3 months old only, and is under the meticulous care of the animal handlers.





This is probably the best tiger picture that i like the most. It gives a warm feeling whenever i look at it, with the closeness between human and tiger aptly depicted:



The stars of the Tiger Island.

In the specifically designed habitat of Tiger Island, the tigers and their handlers co-exist peacefully without the constraints of cages.

Dreamworld’s tigers are trained (never ‘tamed’) by establishing from birth a strong bond, based on trust, respect and affection, between the handlers and tigers. The tigers live in a stress free environment receiving a highly specialised diet, veterinary care and the necessary stimulation from interaction with their handlers.









Mohan (meaning Charming). The king of Tiger Island. Born in the United States and transferred to Dreamworld as one of the original inhabitants of Tiger Island in 1995. It is a Bengal tiger, white in colour with light stripes.





There are Tiger Island presentations twice a day, where the animal handlers would provide interesting info. about the tigers and the importance of wildlife preservation, not forgetting the display of some amazing stunts that you wont expect a tiger to be trained to do.

One interesting thing to note is that participation in these daily presentations is always on the tigers’ terms – Dreamworld’s tigers are never forced to partake in the presentations.

One stunt that they do is to launch themselves on their handlers' shoulders, in an upright position.







Being rewarded with some milk after the stunt:



They also jumped between massive logs:











And climbed onto trees:



Leaping stunt:



Close-up pictures of the tigers:

Sultan



Sita (mix between white and dark orange tigers)



Taj (another white tiger; son of Mohan)



Kato (youngest tiger on the island)



In the wild, tigers face a grim future. Tigers are one of the most endangered species on the planet according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES).

There are less than 1800 Bengal tigers and 400 Sumatran tigers remaining in the wild and their survival is constantly threatened by hunting and habitat destruction. With three subspecies already extinct, the plight of the tiger is a serious problem largely caused by humans in three major ways: hunting, poaching and destruction of the habitat.

At the current rate of poaching and habitat loss, it is estimated that tigers in the wild could completely disappear within the next ten years. It is therefore very important to actively engage people in wildlife preservation to ensure the survival of this endangered species.

A Dreamworld Tiger Fund had been set up to raise money for projects that help saving tigers in the wild, and is designed to collect money through a number of activities performed by the tigers at Dreamworld (in effect, tigers saving their own species with human intervention).

These activities include the sales from Tiger walks & photos, merchandise sales, donation box for visitors to make contributions to the Tiger Fund, participation in television productions, and lastly, direct donations to the Fund. You can send your cheque to the following address to help save these animals in the wild from becoming extinct:

Dreamworld Tiger Conservation Fund
Tiger Island, Dreamworld
Dreamworld Parkway
Coomera, QLD, 4209

(Disclaimer: This is purely an individual effort to promote awareness of preservation of the tiger species. Pls. pass on this info/message to others to help these beautiful creatures)

Moving on, we entered the Wiggle World (more for kids actually).







The Australian Wildlife. This is one of the largest native wildlife parks in South East Queensland with more than 800 native animals including the second largest koala population in the world.

The first area we entered was the Outback Dwellers', which refer to the Bilbies, Red Kangaroos, Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombats, Emus, Dingoes, Snakes and other creepy reptiles including black-headed pythons, geckos, frill-neck lizards, bearded dragons and other arid lizards.

A visitor dropped his camera into the enclosed area of a rather creepy reptile. I guess he was not that suay cos the reptile wasnt that interested in the metallic thing and pretty much left it alone.



I hate creepy reptiles, but i must admit, this is one beautiful animal. The pose is wonderful.



Emus. They're distant relatives of ostriches?:



Not sure what snake, but it's really huge:



Another creepy lizard.



Dingoes resting under the shade:



This poor bird was injured and is not able to fly anymore.



The Daintree Rainforest area. Visitors can immerse in the Tropical north Queensland Rainforest. We even ate next to the bird sanctuary.







Crocodiles. There's a crocodile presentation in the afternoon. A pity there was no crocodile feeding for that day.





This crocodile was motionless throughout the short presentation of about 15 min. It looks like it is ready for a sudden attack. Scary.





The Koala Country. This is one place that i've been looking forward to visit.

Besides observing the koala bears in their natural eucalypt environment, you can also cuddle and take pictures with them (at a slightly hefty price of $19.90). There're also kangaroos who are freely roaming in the area, allowing visitors to interact with them, take pictures and feed them.

















We also entered this massive free flying aviary, with many rainbow korikeets and parents flying free in this enclosed area.

There is also a Nocturnal House, a live, walk through exibit. There were squirrels and feathertail gliders, barn owls, tawny frog mouths, the Rufous Bettong & other Australia's night dwellers. (not providing photos here as it was difficult to take them with little light).

This marks the end of our visit.

Stay tuned for updates on Sea World for tmr's tour.