8 days in the East - Trip Report

[Neha]

Awesome report, cant wait to read the rest. Pictures are excellent.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Thanks Neha and Fencergirl. Finished work for the day so can get back to it!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 11

There were even more wooden sculptures outside than our visit two years ago.
These were here but still love them.






DH informs me black and red ants fight each other







These cute little birds reminded me of our Noisy Miners






The Flower Dome was closed for maintenance as we knew but Cloud Dome was open, our favourite last time and I knew DD would really love it – and she did. She was also excited it was cool inside which really seemed to invigorate us and with a second wind we spent some considerable time exploring the dome, winding our way around the base and down from top to bottom. An assortment of pics follow (I will try to be restrained as not everyone loves flowers!) This was another SIA freebie voucher.

 

[Neha]

Very pretty, we are going to Singapore in March, cant decide if we should go to the gardens or not? we have little kids, not sure if it will keep their attention or if they will start the 'im hot, im tired' bit. Did yousee many little ones there? mine are 7, 5 and 3. Cant wait to see the Disney part of your post too!

 

[Vaishnavi jai]

Part 11

There were even more wooden sculptures outside than our visit two years ago.
These were here but still love them.

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DH informs me black and red ants fight each other

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These cute little birds reminded me of our Noisy Miners

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The Flower Dome was closed for maintenance as we knew but Cloud Dome was open, our favourite last time and I knew DD would really love it – and she did. She was also excited it was cool inside which really seemed to invigorate us and with a second wind we spent some considerable time exploring the dome, winding our way around the base and down from top to bottom. An assortment of pics follow (I will try to be restrained as not everyone loves flowers!) This was another SIA freebie voucher.

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loving your detailed trip report and can't wait to get to the end btw awesome pics

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Neha if you include a visit to the children's playground as part of the visit they will enjoy it. It had water fountains, an exploratory trail which we didn't follow but looked like it had fun things along it and the whole area was playing Disney tunes (NOOO not more Frozen..and the Lion King eg) - I have 2 pics I think I took which I will post. You can catch a train around the different parts of the garden during the day to reduce tired feet - we were a bit late in the day to catch it. They would also would probably enjoy the Cloud Dome with its mist and waterfall and high walkways if they aren't scared of heights, you would probably just get through it a bit faster. There were families there with children of all ages who seemed to be enjoying it.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 12
Welcome to Cloud Forests, which only now cover 1% of the globe.



Walking around the base of the mountain to reach the elevator

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 13

Some strange looking Lego-pitcher plants here! Watch out for the deadly Lego-spider.










Up on the topmost level, real pitcher plants

 

[PrincessInOz]

Awesome pictures of the Cloud Dome flowers. As I'm one of those that loves looking at flower pictures, the more the merrier!!

These cute little birds reminded me of our Noisy Miners

That's because they are the Common Myna or also sometimes called the Indian Myna. I thought they were also present in Queensland? They are certainly fairly common down in Melbourne.

another SIA freebie voucher.

Bonus!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

PIO people keep telling me we have the two types of miner birds here (local Miner and imported Myna) and that the imported one is out competing the local so most often the ones you see are the imported version. I was also told they are very hard to tell apart. I now went and looked them up as you say, and this is obvious in their colouring. They look like totally different birds in colour, beak shape, eye surround colouring etc. So I can now with confidence say we only have the Aussie Noisy Miners at our place and tbh I can't say that I have noticed anything other than local Noisy Miners anywhere else in Brissie (parks etc) I have been but then I haven't been looking out for the other type of Myna particularly - now I will.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 14

No idea what this plant might be?







There are lots of types of moss and succulents in Cloud Forests




Looking down



and similarly onto the Lego plant display













Workers weeding etc - need to have a head for heights

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 15

Triffids!






More of this plant



I love the shadow pictures painted onto the open glassed areas



Spot the bat






You can just see the waterpark area of the Children's Garden outside



Inside the centre of the dome with a geological feature

 

[Zosha]

Those flowers are absolutely spectacular! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Thanks Zosha. The domes are well worth seeing, it's just a pity Flower Dome was closed when we were there but they only close for one day each every few months

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 16



Delicate little flowers






Inside the exhibition on climate change



Back down



Lots of sculptures and carvings in the Secret Garden






Love the dragon especially

 

[PrincessInOz]

Loving the flowers and sculptures.

I have no idea what that plant is either! I hope someone knows and can enlighten us.
Hmm....you're going to have to go stalking your myna birds!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 17

Exploring some of the external spaces heading towards Supertree Grove and getting lost.

Didn’t know they got otters here? These signs were all along the waterfront areas in the gardens.



Children's Playground. Behind these chaps was the discovery trail that looked like it had lots of fun things to do along the way



Part of the waterpark nearby - serenaded by Disney tunes - cue Let it Be of course and Hakuna Matata among others.



Another view of the waterplay area thanks to the internet. There was also somewhere a great kids playground with a tree house etc.



We pressed on with "that" song in our head (almost but not quite as bad as "It's a small world after all...")

The Arid Garden



Lizard



Waterlilly Pond






Kingfisher Lake

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Duplicate post

 

[PrincessInOz]

Otters??? In Singapore?
Nice waterpark.

You're getting a lot of sightseeing in...and I hope it was a restful day.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Part 18

By the time we reached Supertree Grove by a circuitous route we were totally pooped. We plopped in some handy chairs - well I plopped on the lawn for a bit, and watched the sunset. I would have liked to have explored the colonial garden we missed last time but my battery was flat. There were some eateries behind the lawn area and we decided it would be easiest to eat here since we were too tired to explore further afield and we wanted to watch Rhapsody in the Gardens held here a bit later after dark.

Some views of Supertree Grove and its trees and the above ground walkway - never made it up there this trip either - so that's still on an unfinished business list.






DD's arty shot



All pooped out



Chasing bubbles




We randomly picked on of the 4 places to eat, called Hill St café. We all ended up choosing the Hainanese chicken rice as we knew we liked this. Prices were quite expensive which we kind of expected for the location and the food was pretty average. I wasn’t sure I even wanted to eat, blaming tiredness, but thought something light might be nice and knew (or thought I knew) I’d be hungry later otherwise. It was odd as the broth was only luke warm and the chicken was cold which was unexpected but the rice was steaming hot. If we hadn’t all eaten the same and I wasn’t already not feeling quite “right” I would have blamed this meal for the gastro that struck later that evening. I am still waiting for mine to come out in this pic.




While we were eating it grew dark and we did not have too long to wait for the show. It was odd as around us there were several groups with a girl all dressed up in some outrageous ball gown or odd outfit being photographed in 101 different poses. When the show was about to start they packed up and moved on. If I had been PIO I would have asked if I could have taken a photo of them!




This pic is similar but shows the wheel in the background



Rhapsody plays orchestral music while the trees are lit in changing colours and rhythms to match the music. The composition was different to our last visit and we all found it as beautiful as DH and I had last time. This time included a great Star Wars feature and a collection of Disney tunes which was very apt given our destination in a few days’ time.