Southport

Uncle Jim had kept telling me that Norma and Norman were planning a surprise for me for when we arrived. I thought it may have been a visit from my pen pal from many years ago but when he mentioned them having to get tickets I had no idea.

It was a bus trip to Southport Beach and Pier. When Norman and others retired from the workforce their workplace organised day trips every month. The ex employees pay a small fee and are treated to a day out. Lucky for us there were a few spare seats on this trip.

It was great being able to get to the coast and check out an English Beach and to check out the fair grounds that are always right next door. What I wasn't prepared for was the tide as you will see from the pictures .......

Again a heap of pictures to trawl through if you dare !!!

We were dropped off on the other side of the river so there was a short walk to the beach, I was not prepared for what I saw of the beach

Where was the water ????

The tide was out - really would never have guessed !! - when the tide goes out it REALLY goes out, 3 miles in fact WOW, so it was very funny to see people on the "beach" and a pier stuck in the middle of no where !!

Funny seeing cars on the beach

The lifesaver was on duty LOL

Donkey rides on the beach. My mum used to do this as a kid.

Cool exercise machines along the boardwalk.

 

They don't hire umbrellas in the this country they hire wind breaks !!!

Nothing beats an ice cream at the beach from Mr Whippy

Yummy my lime and choc creation topped with a 99 (flake)

All ice creams came with a 99 which to us Aussies is a flake and that was how much they cost !!

We saw the next sign on the beach while heading for the pier and had ourselves a little chuckle. Since the tide was out so far it really was a funny sign. Well for us at the time anyway !!!

Don't think I'll be bathing today !!

We then headed for the pier to check it out and saw that there was a tram line which ran the whole length. They had a café at the end of the pier and also an old style penny arcade with all the old games from way back.  I couldn't help myself and just had to play them.  For 1 Pound they gave you 10 pennies to have a bit of fun.

 

We decided to catch the tram back into town as the pier was so long. We got talking to the owner of the tram and found out that the idea came from a trip to Sydney that he had taken a few years ago and saw the little train that drives people around Darling Harbour. He loved the idea so much he came home and built one from scratch and so the tram on the pier was born. What a great idea Sydney !!

Little round boats for kids to have a go and Jetboat riding for the bigger kids !

Look what we found at the other end of the Pier. A modern Arcade !!

We decided to check out the boats and the restaurant that we could see from the tram and decided to have a ride on the Jet boat. 7 pound 50p for a 15 minute ride along the river. Yep we were in !! Sydney eat your heart out !!! It was a little bit of fun and excitement in our day.

We met up with Norman and Norma for lunch at a pub and checked out the shops then split up again for another look around. I love that there was so much to see and do and it really made me miss the kids and husband that much more. I know that they would have had a blast. Especially the kids with all the arcade games.

It will definitely be on my to do list when I return with the kids and husband. It is a place where anyone can have a great time no matter what their age.

Thanks Southport for showing us a great time and thanks to Norma and Norman and their social group for allowing us to tag along. What great company and a great day. What will be next on our great adventure ?????