Our 2-day Brisbane stop over was for the decades-long dream to visit Sea World! Famous world over for its parks,
How to reach the Sea World? Well, we took the public transport. On hindsight, it was a bad idea. We took the Airport Express from Central Station to Helensvale – turned out to be more than an hour’s ride. At the station, simply follow the crowd and you will reach the bus stop for Sea World! Yes, everyone is here to go to that one place only 😀 At the bus stop, you will find two rows — A & B — both have buses for the Gold Coast attractions and Sea World (last stop). We took Bus # 704 which takes about 30 mins to reach there.
Thus you see, the whole commute, with waiting time, can easily go to 2 ½ hours. You can buy only one ticket which is valid on both modes, till the destination. The bus ride is however nice, going past stunning beaches and the main town.
Sea World – The dream come true!
Target to reach early, before 10 am if you can, in order to see some of the feeding activities (starts before 10 am). The ticket counters, in the early hours, don’t take long.
- Head straight to the polar bear enclosure at the end and be amazed by the beautiful animals lazing around in the frozen enclosure and swimming too, in gay abandon.
- We then ran to the penguins enclosure next door for one of the most sought after presentation – feeding the Penguins Chicks. It is one of the cutest sights to see scores of Fairy Penguins swim to attendants who feed them small fishes.
- We followed this with feeding the Rays – another do-not-miss show! You can buy fishes to feed them, or just stand next to the pool when they come in to be fed. Stroking these huge but lovely gliding creatures when they go past get squeals of delight from kids and adults alike.
Strongly suggest you do not miss any of the shows – all of them are not only amazing, but also educational. Plus, the fantastic job being done by the trainers and caretakers there is inspiring!
- Next we went to check out the corals and starfishes etc. What I loved about the place is the touch and feel experience — there are sea anemones, sea cucumbers, star fishes etc. – all of whom can be gently touched and stroked. Brought out the kid in me for sure, stroked every single one.
- We walked around the underground viewing areas admiring sharks, hammerheads, rays and turtles, before running off to see the Affinity Dolphin Show – one of the premium shows there. If there is one show that you should not miss, it is this one. Ensure that you reach early and get a front row seat in the middle. The show is mind blowing, with Dolphins jumping and performing tricks in perfect synchronization with the trainers. There is no doubt that these are one of the most intelligent creatures, adorable and friendly who need to be protected at all cost. One can only imagine the months and years of training the caretakers have given to ensure a flawless show like this.
When in Sea World, how can you not get wet? Really wet!! The Castaway Bay has Battle Boats – ‘pirate ships’ with water-canons moving round a pool, defenders in the shore, the water-canons fighting them. It is super fun — complete strangers fighting to get each other completely wet. One is completely wet at the end of it all, especially those people in the ‘ships’. And if this is not enough, go to the Reef at Castaway Bay and let madness of the fountains and interactive splash zones overtake you.
Seal Guardians Show is one of the cuter ones you should not miss. Amongst the rides, the Storm Coaster is simply awesome! We had to leave a few shows, as it is almost impossible to see all of them in one day. Kids would love the adventure playground – Sky Adventures and Sky Fortress. A day well spent, we were dead tired by 4 pm when we left the place.
Information to help you plan the Sea World tour:
- Timings: Opens 9:30 am, closes at 5:30 pm
- Info: https://seaworld.com.au/
- Tickets: Single Day Pass at $79 Adult and $60 for Children. If you are staying there for more days, pick up the multi day / weekly / fortnightly or monthly passes valid in all the parks there — Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World and Wet’n’Wild Water World. We sadly did not have the time to visit the others…
- No dearth of places to eat there
- Drinking water is not free but you can buy a Sipper with unlimited water / drinks offers. Wish they had public water facilities.
- Carry towels and dry clothes – and of course a good camera.
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Plan your Australia holiday with help from our detailed posts at — Ring In The New Year With A Holiday in Australia