Gold Coast - day 7

22 June 2018 - Friday

It was the last day of our vacation.

Xena and I were hanging out at the balcony in the morning, enjoying the awesome view. 

Viv, meanwhile, was busy working. On vacation. No wonder Xena had the expression she did.

Once Viv was done, we took Xena to the Kids Activity Centre. Normally, I'm not a fan of leaving kids at such places, but it turns out she LOVED it. The babysitters were really affectionate and Xena didn't want to leave when we went to pick her up! She told us she had done all kinds of activities -- drawn and coloured aliens, solved puzzles and word searches, stuck stickers on paper, and oh, rejected the snacks they had offered.

I had found some miscellaneous must-see places on Tripadvisor, and we had been slotting them in as and when we had time. We spent the late morning at Macintosh Island park, where we saw the very amazing sight of free-roaming peacocks everywhere! 

Xena was fascinated to see a peacock from such close quarters. 

There were all kinds of other birds as well, and they all seemed to be peacefully coexisting. 

Posing with the peacock

We stalked the peacocks as they roamed around the park.

Two ducks came over to see what the fuss was all about. 

The birds were the main attraction, but the park also has children's playgrounds, barbecue areas, water features and a foot bridge that leads across the Nerang River to the Main Beach parade. A must-visit place for everyone, especially children. 

Afterwards, we drove to the nearest Hungry Jacks for lunch (because one cannot not eat a veggie burger and a frozen Coke on their last day in Australia) and then set off to see another miscellaneous place -- the Black Swan Lake in Bundall. This was yet another discovery I had made, thanks to TripAdvisor.

It took us a while to find the place. We had to ask around to finally get there. As we parked, I looked out and got a shock to see the state of the 'lake'. It didn't look like the 2-75-hectare freshwater lake, home to 40 species of wild birds. It looked kinda ‘incomplete’. Like half a lake or something. 

See what I mean?

As we walked closer to the lake, our feet started sinking into the damp soil, and we stopped, worried that if we walked in any further, it would be like going into quicksand.

Xena poses with the lake.

There was no sign of any black swans, but there were plenty of other birds, including some very beautiful purple marsh hens. The lake had been kinda disappointing, so we took some photos and were about to turn back when... 

...we saw two large black swans gliding straight towards us! 

We were fascinated by their shiny black feathers and extremely graceful long necks. Surprise surprise, there was even a little duckling (known as a cygnet) tucked in between them! It had a little black beak instead of red like its parents had.

Here's a video of the graceful swan family. 

The swans came out of the water and headed straight for the car park where some food had been scattered by one of the workers at the nearby turf club. 

Soon, many other birds had joined them.

Xena watches the feasting birds.

The very hungry swans

We were busy taking photographs when a lady who was strolling near the lake approached us and asked us if we were photographers. We told her we were just tourists. She said she was surprised that we even knew of this place! 

She told us that the lake was getting filled in by the local Gold Coast council to make a car park for the turf club next door, and that local residents like her were trying to contest it. 

This sign made more sense now!

The lady was very knowledgeable about the local birds and even showed us a nest where an egg had recently hatched. It was tucked away, completely out of sight.

The kind lady spent about 45 minutes telling us all about the birds and the lake and we really appreciated it. We wished her luck for the campaign and left. Recently, I googled to see what's happening now and from this Feb 2018 article, it looks like the lake was getting filled up, even if it took police presence to get it done.

Since it was our last day in Gold Coast and we only had one evening, we asked Xena what she wanted to do. "Build sand castles at the beach!" Came her immediate reply. 

The girl sure digs digging! (When she was younger, she wanted to be a paleontologist.) 

Making do with the limited tools she had

We saw surfers heading back after a busy evening.

Last view from our hotel balcony before we flew off the next morning

I can safely say that of all the Australian cities I have visited (Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Gold Coast), Gold Coast is my absolute favourite. I hope to be back there some day, but not too soon. Because the world is too big and there are many new places waiting for us.