Brisbane International Airport was our point of entry to the Down Under. Yes, it was my first visit to the Australian continent and I was quite excited to reach a place I had only seen in my school Atlas. It was indeed a lengthy journey, first from Kolkata to Delhi, then to Singapore and finally all the way to Brisbane i.e. touching 4 airports and taking 3 different flights punctuated by long waits in airport lounges. Well, the wait was not over even after landing on Australian soil. We had a nasty shock since neither our guide nor our ‘welcoming wagon’ was anywhere to be seen! Older people traveling with us kept calling up their homes, waking up their sons and relatives in the middle of the night and asking them to contact our travel company. Anyway, all’s well that ends well and after two hours a smiling chauffeur showed up.

It was finally time to bid adieu to the monotony of Brisbane Airport and be on our way to Gold Coast. We were asked not to panic because our Tour Manager was coming in with another set of passengers from Melbourne, and that flight had been delayed. So she could not meet us at Brisbane but would be there in the hotel. Soon, with its load of weary travelers, our coach rolled out. My first impression was that the Australian highway was more or less like that of USA, with a variety of small towns like Logan and stops located all along. It was a silent journey as most were blissfully asleep.

Our destination had a beautiful name − Sea World − our home till the next morning. Thankfully, it was not that crowded and the place looked rather serene and peaceful. However for me, that peace was not a long lasting one. My mother’s favorite Swiss cardigan was nowhere to be seen. She had probably left it in the bus in which we had arrived. Would we be able to get it the next morning? No chance perhaps, as the bus would be picking up other tourists, school children and so on. She went through our luggage thrice. But, no sweater. Seeing her sad face, I wished I could fly to Zurich and get one for her!

It was already afternoon and time to explore the resort in a mono rail. The city scape of Gold Coast is more than impressive, especially for people on their first Australian trip. On a sunny day, the Sea World resort is just like any other normal resort / amusement theme park. In terms of variety, it has numerous creatures on display such as seals, sharks as well as sea lions and polar bears. You realize that Australia is indeed home to different types of animals, reptiles etc., etc. The Jet Stunt Extreme and Dolphin Beach-Affinity are real crowd-pullers for the skills of highly trained stunt men on their specialized water jet-skis and the amazing dolphins, both performing an array of stunts and tricks. It took our guide quite some time to pull us away from the place. What worked was the word “HELICOPTER”

We were taken to a place where we had to line up for a helicopter ride. I was lucky to have occupied the front seat, just beside the pilot. This was my first chopper ride and the experience was simply awesome, as we hovered over parts of the blue Pacific as well as the city. It was an unforgettable experience, looking at the waters from that height. Not one of us wanted to get down but…..

Excitement over, we went back to the hotel for a dinner that I’ll always remember. What a spread! Pity that we all had just one stomach each!!

Next morning just before checking out, my mother had a brainwave. She asked the receptionist if they had found any black sweater anywhere. After about seven minutes he came back saying, “there’s nothing except this one”. And the “this” was the lost cardigan. Her day was made.

My mother was perhaps the happiest person in the bus that morning. Goodbye Sea World, we were on our way to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. It was a bright, sunny day as we all were eager to catch a glimpse of Australian wildlife. It was a very interesting tour, as one had the chance to look at indigenous species such as koalas, wombats, kangaroos and emus, as well as a variety of birds and reptiles. We saw some of the world’s deadliest snakes and watched the keepers handling them so easily. We saw a little kangaroo eat up a ticket someone had carelessly thrown. Our guide was sure that it would have a tummy upset. The sight of sleeping koalas clinging to eucalyptus tree trunks will remain etched in my memory. The bird show and a display of snakes added to our knowledge of the country’s flora and fauna.

Since there has been a good lot of travelling in the last two days, some of the group members wanted to go to the hotel and rest. But, it was not to be since we had one more item to be ticked off our itinerary – a visit to Warner Brother Movie world, located on the outskirts of Gold Coast. Oh God! Not another theme park − I have had enough of those, but no point complaining. So, a very tired group of Indian tourists made their way to the destination. Having seen Disney World at Orlando, Florida, during my trip to the US, this park came as no surprise. However I had to agree that, from stunt cars to DC Comics themed outlets and joy rides, this park had a good assortment of attractions for both the young and the old. A 4D show was quite interesting as well as enjoyable. A parade in the afternoon saw several actors coming out dressed as Superman, Batman and even the Joker and walking amongst the crowd, smiling, waving and also shaking hands.

After about two and a half hours, we walked back to our coach, only to encounter another regular horror − our guide’s seat counting. This is a routine for any tour guide of a conducted tour, in order to ensure that no one gets left behind at a venue. But for us tourists, it is a boring job to register our presence just as we all had done in school. With no more energy left to explore the city on our own, we all checked into Mantra on Views − Gold Coast, which would be our abode for two nights.

The next morning’s wake-up call was at 5 am and it took some effort to pull ourselves out of the bed and get ready. Our main motivation was the promised hot air balloon flights. All sleepy heads boarded the bus and headed for Lamington National Park in the early hours of a weekday. After a drive of about an hour, I was suddenly able to hear a loud but deep whistling sound, coming from just across the approaching tree line. And then I saw them − huge, colorful balloons getting pumped with hot air from huge gas burners emitting that sound. This was a first time for me and I just loved the experience of hovering at a height of 4,700 feet to 5,000 feet above the ground. One more visual treat awaited all of us and our pilot Dean pointed out the city of Gold Coast appearing as a distant bar graph on the sunny horizon on one end and Brisbane appearing amidst a hazy background on the other side. An aerial view of Mount Tambourine and the hill range added the extra spice. Once back on good old earth, some of us helped our balloon team, Paul and Chris, to fold our massive balloon and, believe me, it was a humungous task. But together, we were able to do so and the deflated giant balloon now looked like a big rucksack, though a lot heavier!

After returning, we were given time to explore the place on our own. We could visit the famous Surfers Paradise along the Esplanade or even walk along the Surfers Paradise Boulevard. This is a happening place with its tall hotels and bustling city life. Q1, Soul Surfers Paradise, Circle on Cavill and Hilton Surfers provided me the chance to take some good photos even from my hotel room in the evening, against a very scenic city backdrop. From the beach, one gets to catch a glimpse of the Burleigh Head, Coolangatta and other areas. The lifeguards are also pretty friendly and seem happy to assist you in learning about the city. It was interesting to know that Gold Coast city has a locality named “Miami”! Our hotel was on View Avenue and our dinner spot Taj Palace was right across the street. As, it was our last dinner in Gold Coast, all of us wanted to walk leisurely and take another good look at the place.

Gold Coast has its own bright yellow and blue trams running at very frequent intervals. As I stood on the pavement, waiting to cross, I heard someone say, “Ekhaner Tram Gulo Khoob Shundor” (the trams here are very beautiful). I turned around and found three gentlemen conversing in my mother tongue, Bengali. I walked up to them and naturally we got talking. They were all working in a company in Kolkata, which had brought them here for a conference. On the spot, I got an invitation to their party which was to be attended by a rather well-known actress from Bengal. I was quite tempted to accept but then I suddenly remembered our guide’s words, “Wake Up Call at 4 am”. Since we had to catch a flight, I had no option but to respectfully decline their offer. Yes − they say Gold Coast has an amazing party life, but I was not lucky enough to experience that final “gilded” aspect. Anyway, better luck next time!

Brisbane International Airport was our point of entry to the Down Under. Yes, it was my first visit to the Australian continent and I was quite excited to reach a place I had only seen in my school Atlas. It was indeed a lengthy journey, first from Kolkata to Delhi, then to Singapore and finally all the way to Brisbane i.e. touching 4 airports a