Travel: Sea World Adventure Part 2

Sponsored by Sea World Resort

Guest Post by Matthew (aka Be A Fun Dad)

Twelve months of intense study and the moment was here, the Surgical Fellowship Exams.  Family life had suffered during this time; my children locked away from the man in the study, their father; my wife bearing the load.  Getting through had been a real team effort, and we were all exhausted.  The sweet taste of success had made it all worthwhile, but we had, despite our best efforts, drifted apart, and cracks had formed.  As a family we needed to regroup.

I recalled several years ago visiting Sea World Resort for a weekend and having a great time.  Our family was smaller then.  This was the little recharge we needed; this was a celebration!

From the moment of arrival we felt relaxed: the lobby was buzzing with activity; children were not out of place here and that’s a good thing when you’re looking for family time.

The first highlight for the kids was the adjoining family rooms, and setting up their base of operations for the next few days; next item of business, what else but the pool!  Every night at the resort water park there was a spectacular light, sound and water show, aka SpongeBob Light Show, perfect for a warm Queensland nights but be beware your children will be singing the SpongeBob theme song for the rest of the stay.

Sea World Resort allows easy access to Sea World, which of all the major parks is our favourite.   Sure there are rides (as my kids get older the faster the better!), but the true looks of wonder and amazement are reserved for the animals.

The children loved the Stingray Ray Reef where it is possible to touch and feed the rays as they circle their large pool and the rays don’t seem to mind either flapping at the edge as they glide past.  Henry the polar bear cub at Polar Bear Shores was adorable

 A highlight for me was the aquarium at Shark Bay. I could stand there and watch the myriad of ocean creates glide through the water for hours!  I was surprised how long our children were engaged here too.  We spent a good 45 minutes identifying fish (we found Dory!) and other creatures, while watching the drops of rain from a passing shower make circles on the surface of the water from our cosy spot below deck.

At the end of a long day it is great to be able to head back to the resort, sort dinner and relax.  Dinner was taken care of by the Shoreline restaurant, which was a delicious buffet. We would have liked to try the Hatsuhana Japanese Restaurant however it wasn’t open the night we were there.

My overwhelming memory of this short getaway was that although the days were packed full of action and adventure, we had a relaxing time.  There are some times when a holiday caters more to the children and is not so relaxing for the adults.  Not the case here! There is something for everyone, whether relaxing by the pool, taking on a rollercoaster or getting close to nature, Sea World Resort is an ideal family experience.

Sea World Resort – Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

For more details, head over to the Sea World Resort and Sea World website.

Christmas gift idea

As a family, we had such a great time so we purchased VIP tickets to Sea World, Movie World, Wet‘n’Wild as part of a Christmas present for our kids to enjoy over the school holidays up to June 30 2014.

Other

Sea World Adventure Part 1

Disclosure

This post is sponsored by Sea World Resort.  All views are my own. You can read my disclosure policy here.