HONEYMOON: WET'N'WILD GOLD COAST

Tornado Ride at Wet'N'Wild, Oxenford
Taken with GoPro Hero 4 Silver

Maybe you will say, apaan nih? Honeymoon kok ke waterpark? Bikeeeezzzz.... selain kita anaknya suka pantai dan laut, suka nyari sunset, suka musik, kita juga pecinta theme park dan water park. Setelah sekian bulan ngga traveling, there's no chance for common honeymoon itinerary. We're going to get down and dirty, just how we like it! Wait, what?
Bear with us for a moment, sebelum kita ngobrolin asiknya main air di Gold Coast.. Mari kita flashback sebentar ke hari sebelumnya.

Setting: di Rumah Tante Na, Gold Coast Day 1

Tante Na: "Besok kalian mau ke mana rencananya?"
Dion: "Besok mau ke Movie World, Tante. Lusanya kita ke Wet'N'Wild"
Ayu: "Iya Tante, soalnya kita beli tiket yang 2 consecutive days bisa masuk ke 2 parks gitu. Lebih hemat ternyata" *sambil nyeruput air hujan (more on that later)*
Tante Na: "Oh... Besok tuh hujan, lho"
Dion: "Tau dari mana, Tan?"
Tante Na: "Iya, liat forecast. Nih, coba saya liat ya" *utak utik iPad* lalu, "Tuh, 100% chance of raining jam 3 sore. Kalau hujan kan banyak rides yang tutup"
Dion: "Emang udah pasti hujan?"
Ayu: *masih minumin air hujan*
Tante Na: "Iya, coba aja. Daripada kamu rugi."
Dion: "Yaudah deh, apa kita switch aja ya besok jadinya main ke waterpark?"
Ayu: "Oh ya bisa sih"
Tante Na: "Hujan-hujan main air? Ya ngga papa sih, nanti kalau wes kedinginan, pulang, kemulan"
Ayu & Dion: "Hahahaha.." *dalem hati mikir, emang kalo forecast udah pasti ujan ya di mari?"

Kemudian perbincangan beralih ke air hujan. Iya, Ayu minum air hujan. Ngga, ngga mangap di depan rumah nampung air hujan pakai mulut. Jadi, di sana sudah lumrah banget minum air hujan. Kebanyakan rumah di sana sudah punya talang untuk menampung air hujan dan katanya sih tanpa filter apa-apa. Penasaran dong, kita barusan aja minum tap water, langsung lah minta coba air hujan. Dipikir-pikir, ya paling kalo airnya kotor sakit perut malem ini. Oke, kami minumlah seteguk dulu.

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SEGER BANGET, MAK! Ngga paham kenapa airnya bisa sejernih itu dan seger banget bagaikan minum dari mata air. Mungkin karena udara di sana ngga banyak polusi kali ya? Yang jelas rasanya surprisingly beda dan ngobatin dahaga banget!

Now, back to day 2.

Subuh-subuh kami sengaja jalan kaki ke pantai buat catching sunrise. This going to be our first sunrise at the beach together. Cuaca Gold Coast mostly sunny yah di bulan September, tapi ya gitu, kaya pake AC 16 derajat meskipun di area outdoor. Jarang banget kami keringetan. Nah, subuh-subuh AC-nya jadi 12 derajat kali ya. Dingin banget! Kami keluar udah pake heat-tech uniqlo inner, jaket, shawl, kaos kaki, pokoknya masih dingin.

Jam 5 pagi sudah banyak orang yang nangkring di pantai buat fotoin sunrise. And the wait is so worth it. Cahaya matahari terbit yang keemasan perlahan muncul dari ujung laut. It was majestic. Lots of birds flying around, and you can feel the warm sun rays on your face. It was beautiful if not poetic. Kemudian sinar matahari mulai dipantulkan oleh gedung-gedung apartemen di sepanjang pesisir pantai. Hence the name, Gold Coast. When the sun shines, the coast turn into gold in color.

From the rising of the sun to the setting of the moon.
Taken with Olympus Pen EPL 7.

The most beautiful thing in life is priceless

Look at the golden rays of sun!
Ayu's scarf: Stradivarius, bomber jacket: H&M Men | Dion's shirt & hoodie: H&M Men

Selesai sunrise, kami langsung siap-siap mandi dan berangkat menuju Optus Store di Surfers Paradise. Kisahnya sim card Ayu ngga mau aktif dari kemarin, so we would like to buy another one and return the previous sim card. Kemudian... benar adanya. HUJAN AJA DONG. That being done, we're off to Wet'N'Wild.

Dari hotel (Mantra Legends Surfers Paradise), kami jalan kaki ke halte bus di Remembrance Dr at Bruce Bishop Carpark, Surfers Paradise (sebrangnya The Promenade). Dari halte, tinggal naik bus TX2 untuk diantar sampai di depan gerbang Wet'N'Wild.

Tips untuk melanglang buana di Gold Coast, this is important. Kamu bisa cek jadwal dan rute bus dan tram di Queensland. They also have the app, more handy for gorgeous traveler like you. Bayarnya pakai apa? Pakai kartu. Tadinya mau beli karcis ketengan, tapi begitu diitung-itung, lebih murah pakai go-card versi turis, go explore. Go check this link. Cuma siapin AUD 10, bisa bebas kuralang-kuriling seharian. Don't forget to tap in, tap out! Thank us later hahaha.

10 AUD for Unlimited 1 Day Travel (City Bus & Tram)

Since it was raining, sepi! We learned the next day that if it's sunny, the water park will be crowded. First thing first, sesampainya di sana, kami langsung makan biar ngga kedinginan (masih hujan). Mahal sih, for two burgers one fries and drinks, kira-kira habisnya AUD 30. Tapi kalau dibandingin sama food stalls yang ada di water park di Jakarta mah, rasanya jauh lebih enak. Rata-rata porsi makanan di GC decent, bikin kenyang lama, dan rasanya enak.

Ride pertama kami adalah kids area. Pingin foto-foto dulu sambil pemanasan, bikezzzzz it was cold as hell (if hell is possible of being cold). Dingin banget mak, bayangin udah mah udaranya dingin, ditambah hujan, main air pula. Rasanya kaya dihukum :'(

It felt more like a punishment. Friggin' cold!

Then, we tried the Tornado (first pic), Kamikaze, Mach 5, and Constrictor. Sayang banget karena hujan (atau mungkin karena memang sedang maintenance), banyak extreme rides yang ditutup. Padahal kami (Ayu) adrenaline junkie, jadi agak nyesel sih ke sana ngga nyobain blackhole. Anyways, we had fun though. Habis main, kami mampir ke wave pool dan menghangatkan diri di whirlpool.

Wavepool

Just keep smiling, babe. I know it's cold. Gotta do what you gotta do ;D
Ayu's one piece: Debenhams (lupa merknya)

Cepet! Sebelum ketawan!

Jadi ya mak, di Wet'N'Wild ini mirip-mirip sih sama Waterbom Bali, though they have more extreme rides. What makes it different than any other water park in Indo is... they ban monopod (or as you know as selfie stick) and cameras in almost every ride. That's no fun >( So inside the whirlpool, we tried to snap few pics and of course the guard came and told us not to take pictures. But we are rebels, soo.... HA!

Puas main air dan kapok kedinginan, kami pun beranjak pulang. Ngga mandi, soalnya rame dan yaudalaya, sampe hotel juga bakalan mandi lagi *pemalas*. So we took TX2 bus back to Surfers Paradise. And along the way we visit a meat pie store called Pie Face. Sejujurnya rasa meat pie di Pie Face lebih enak daripada meat pie yang ada di Coles Supermarket *yaiyalah, kan fresh ingredient*.

Penampakan Meat Pie di Pie Face

Spend the night strolling around Cavill Night Market, sayang kami lupa untuk ambil foto di Night Market. Serunya, banyak sekali booth yang menjual berbagai macam jajanan, pajangan, baju, dll. Berhubung kami ngga langsung pulang ke Jakarta dari GC, kami pun memilih candy nougat yang relatif tahan lama sebagai oleh-oleh untuk keluarga di Jakarta.

Di Cavill ada store Cotton On yang gede banget dan lengkap banget!
Ayu's cardigan: Stradivarius, jumpsuit: H&M, slingbag: H&M, flipflop: Rubi

One of the Must Try Item: Doughnut Time

Cavill at night

Happy face, just bought new shoes
Dion's sandals: Teva

One of the cutest moments of our honeymoon was when we're walking down the street to the hotel, Dion was very happy. He stopped for awhile, he smiled, took a deep breath and say, "I'm really happy we're here, right this very moment. I want to soak it all in. Remember this for the rest of my life". Can we get an "awwwwww", please?

Soaking all in