One last stop before heading back to the Homestead: Surfers Paradise.

Where we spent our first day riding the coasters at Australia’s number one theme park: Warner Brothers Movieworld.

To be honest, some of us sat out a few of them because they’re a bit scary but others can’t get enough of being spun, shook, inverted and flung. As these three also tend to take the majority of our photographs, today’s happenings are sparsely documented

but I’ll try to paint a picture with words.

There’s lots of character appearances; we saw, among others, Tweety Bird, Batman, Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz,and,my favourite, Shaggy and Velma (in the Mystery Machine) from Scooby Doo. Having said that,I struggle a little with the character appearance aspect but perhaps, taking in my advanced years, that is probably as it should be.

Overhead, in all directions,the sky is filled with twisted,twirling rails on which all manner of vehicles-of-sorts woosh-rumble-swish along, their occupants emitting gut-wrenching screams throughout.

And, as this is the peak season, there are people…oh so many people. Smiling, belly laughing, shrieking, yelling, arguing, crying…it’s all happening.

It was a fun day.

But…if this is Australia’s number one, that’s a little sad because it’s missing a fair amount of TLC. The grounds are untidy – it all needs a good mow, weed and edge trim, and the paint is faded with the corners dinged, dented and scraped. And the food – the very pricey,flung together food – least said, soonest mended.

However, the staff: they’re amazing!

They seem, each and every one of them, to be so happy to be there, doing their job, cheerfully helping old ladies who should know better to get out of their safety belts and harnesses, and bellowing their pre-ride instructions because, for some odd reason, the only ride I encountered (and I did miss a couple) that had a proper, recorded, amplified instruction video had no volume. It was like watching Tipping Point in Christchurch Hospital Out Patients.

Village Roadshow Themeparks, owners of Australia’s number one themepark, Movieworld: you’re having a laugh. Spend a bit of that money you’re grabbing, hand over fist, to give this place the bit of magic it deserves.

This very sincere plea comes from the bottom – or is that top – of my heart

I’m not quite sure which way’s up right now