8 years ago, Shane and I lived on the Gold Coast in Queensland. That being our first experience in Australia, we have very fond memories and were looking forward to spending some time there again during our current stay in Australia. The anticipation of this trip had been mounting as we looked forward to catching up with old friends as well as sharing our old life with our two kids. We were so excited to show Alexis and Reid where we lived, where we worked and what life was like for us so many years ago.

We flew from Melbourne to the Gold Coast airport and the strangely familiar humidity immediately hit us as we stepped out of the plane onto the tarmac. We picked up our rental car and made our way to a holiday park in Tweed Heads. Alexis was excited to have landed in Queensland and then, having driven only two minutes from the airport, we were in New South Wales. For Shane and I, it took us a day to figure out that there was also an hour time change between states (Queensland doesn’t have daylight savings).

We stayed in a cabin in a holiday park that had a billabong, inhabited by sting rays and other sorts of pond life and a trampoline in the centre. For the sake of the kids, I did swim in the scary, dark water to the trampolines, praying that nothing would touch me and that I would make it without panicking! The park also had several water slides, a pool, a jumping pillow and a fantastic camp kitchen with seating overlooking the billabong. This place was a gem, great amenities, close to the airport and set in among the beautiful water ways that make up this part of the coast.

We spent our first afternoon at the holiday park, taking advantage of the wonderful amenities, more specifically, the much anticipated water slides. The kids had an absolute blast as they were able to go on any and all of the slides by themselves. Later that evening, we made use of the camp kitchen for dinner. While many of the Aussies around us were cooking the standard sausage and bread, Shane had the grill filled with steak, shrimp and roast potatoes. Needless to say, we had a feast that night.

The next day, we were excited to visit the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. Years earlier, Shane and I had been there and we were looking forward to sharing it with our kids this time around. Some of the highlights of the day were the birds of prey show, holding a possum and a baby crocodile, feeding the kangaroos and riding on the train through the park.

The following day, we left the holiday park and took a drive along the scenic coast from Tweed Heads to admire the stunning coastline.

We eventually made our way to Brisbane, where we spent the next two days with Alisa and James VanHekken. Alisa was presenting in Brisbane for the week, which is why we decided to come to Queensland at this time, in the first place! How very exciting that Alisa’s work would bring her to this side of the world while we happen to be living here! We spent some time on the South Bank in Brisbane together, enjoy food and fellowship together, admiring how lovely and livable Brisbane is.

The following day, all six of us piled into our rental car and attempted to find our way to the Port of Brisbane to board a boat that would take us to Moreton Island. With James as our navigator and the help of a map on a pathetic mobile phone, and Shane driving, we miraculously made it to the boat on time. While on the boat, we introduced James and Alisa to the iconic sausage roll and meat pie in attempt to share some Aussie culture with them.

The boat brought us to Moreton Island, a place to enjoy the beautiful beaches and turquoise water that is Australia. We spent the day enjoying the pristine, white sand beaches and snorkeling around the shipwrecks that were only a couple hundred metres off shore. We also enjoyed watching tourists that appeared to be snorkeling and kayaking for, perhaps, the first time, seemingly ill-prepared for a day on the beach. We also found some sea stars which the kids desperately wanted to bring home as pets. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the boat on our way back to the mainland which seemed to be a perfect way to end such a fantastic day out.

The next day, we left Alisa and James in Brisbane and made our way back to the Gold Coast. We settled into our apartment at the Chevron Renaissance Towers in Surfers Paradise. We were very excited about staying here due to the fact that we used to live in this exact building eight years ago with Jeff and Tracey Leung. It was just as we remembered it, right down to the pay phone and the smells in the lobby!

We spent a couple of days enjoying Surfers, wandering around, reminiscing about days gone by, using the hotel’s fabulous outdoor pool and catching up with old friends.

That evening, we met up with Lisa and her daughter, Stella (who we had never met), and had dinner together and a swim in the pool at the Chevron Renaissance. Shane worked with Lisa at Flight Centre Broadbeach when we lived here years ago. During that time, we had spent a lot of time with her and her family, one of the best times being the Easter weekend on a house boat.

We also caught up with Nathan and his family, who used to be Shane’s boss at Flight Centre Broadbeach. Nathan and Cindy’s two children had never met our kids. However, over 6 years ago, we had sent them a birth announcement when Alexis was born and their daughter Anais, showed us that she still has it hanging in her room to this day. The kids became fast friends and had a blast together. We spent some time together at their house, enjoying a meal, a swim and a cuddle with their many pets. Reid was especially interested in the blue tongue lizard that frequently visits their home.

The next day, we went to Sea World in Southport. The highlights of the day were the dolphin show, the seal lion show and feeding the string rays. We also enjoyed the shark viewing and the fairy penguins. The kids learned a lot about the work that Sea World does in rescuing injured animals as well as what we can do to help. It was a great day out.

That evening, we left Surfers Paradise to stay with Hamish and Aileen in Hope Island. It was so exciting to see them again and reintroduce our kids to each other. Their two children are about the same age as Alexis and Reid and got on really well together. We enjoyed catching up that evening and as an added surprise, Sally came over for dinner as well! It really felt as if no time had passed at all, except now there were four noisy kids in the background!

The following days, we went to Movie World and Wet n Wild, the infamous theme parks on the Gold Coast. To my surprise, the parks turned out to be better than expected. The kids had a fantastic time on the rides and in the waterpark. While at Movie World, we met up with Duane and Liz Mootoo and their kids, and enjoyed catching up with them.

At the end of the week, I went back to Brisbane to see Alisa and James again before they flew back to the States. Alisa had spent the week presenting in Townsville and Brisbane and was scheduled to leave on Saturday morning. So, leaving Shane and the kids in the Gold Coast, I spend the evening with Alisa and James, enjoying St. Patrick’s Day along the waterfront at Eagle Street Pier in Brisbane, as well as taking the City Hopper water taxi along the river and ending up in South Bank. What a great way to end our time in Queensland.

After saying goodbye to Alisa and James, I returned to the Gold Coast and spent our last day with Hamish and Aileen, enjoying their beautiful home on the canal, swimming in the pool and soaking up the sun. That evening, all 9 of us (including Sally!) went to Springbrook National Park to view the glow worms at the Natural Bridge at night. The kids had a great time using their torches to light the way and then discovered the hundreds of glow worms on the cave walls, which looked like tiny little fairy lights above our heads. What an incredible sight!

As we made our way to the airport to return to Melbourne, we couldn’t help but feel sad that we had to leave so soon. We had such wonderful memories of the Gold Coast and felt like we made many more on this trip. It was so wonderful to see and catch up with old friends as if no time had passed at all! The Gold Coast has always had a special place in our hearts and it always will.