Architectural diversity Qld style

Final postcard from Brisbane.  First a couple of stunners.  

It's all about the covered balcony/veranda.  

Sorry, it's bin night.

Qld architecture at it's best.  I love it.  But I must leave it tomorrow. 

On the way to today's exciting destination, the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, we drove down the Gold Coast highway, which took us past some more dubious architectural decisions. 

Just before you reach the Gold Coast, the highway takes you past all the theme parks with their twisting tubes and towers.  For about 5 km the view from the highway looks like a demented spider has made it's home, spinning plastic structures designed to be slid down at the steepest, scariest angle possible.  

Of course you have to pay outrageous amounts of money to risk your life in this manner.  Apparently it's fun and completely worth it.  

First, on the left is Dreamworld, with it's Waterworld tube towers sticking out at the front.   Because just being Dreamworld clearly wasn't enough for the profiteers so they added the water park about 8 years ago.  Behind this is Dreamworld proper, where there are enormous mad towers you can drop and fall from, should you be bonkers (or young) enough.  Today the car park was chockers, even though it's drizzling and only NSW are still on holidays. 

Next you pass MovieWorld on the right, sadly lacking in brightly coloured plastic tubestock, but gamely trying it on with a couple of towers.  Further up is Wet n Wild, which just keeps getting bigger and bigger, with more and more enormous waterslides at steeper and steeper angles.  There's even a giant funnel that looks like something from a sci fi movie, meant to transport you to another dimension.  Who knows, perhaps it does?  

And about 20km further on there's Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.  Certainly a more low key amusement park.  A big park, with random sprinklings of native Australian animals.  A few visible, most hiding.

Much to my surprise, we had loads of fun.  Fed kangaroos, counted crocodiles, spotted Tassie devils, wombats and echidnas.

We visited the hospital where a poor kookaburra with a broken wing was being operated on by a young veterinarian.  In a glass surgery so we could all watch.  Talk about nerves of steel.

The already full kangaroos being force fed some more pellets.

The highlight was the train that took us right around the park, closely followed by kangaroo feeding.

And the f**king gift shop.