Me and Belinda Riding the Waves at Dreamworld

Belinda and I have been chatting on Twitter and on this blog ever since the Best Job in the World campaign began in January. I’ve been wanting to meet her since then and was hoping we’d meet when I made the trip down South but she has a very sweet and protective fiance who wasn’t too keen on the idea. But really, I’m a 5ft 4″ Asian girl that weighs less than 120 lbs. How much of a threat could I really be? Eventually he gave in and Belinda and I spent a day at Dreamworld where she used to work.

Unfortunately, due to the time of year (school holidays) we weren’t able to go on very many rides and the line-ups were pretty insane. But, the ones we did go on were really good! The Tower of Terror is Belinda’s favourite and it’s up there on my list as well along with Wipeout and The Claw.

The line-up for The Tower of Terror was especially brutal because it only seats 12 people at a time and there were a lot of glitches and delays that day. We waited for over an hour in front of a group of very drunken girls who were lacking basic motor skills (they kept elbowing and falling on us). When we finally got to the ride, there was a glitch and we were stuck in the seats for a while, and then it started raining so the ride was closed down for another 45 minutes. We did end up going back and getting a ride in. It may only be 20 seconds, but it’s quite the thrill.

Tips for Travellers

1. Dreamworld can be very expensive compared to your Playland or other themepark back home. It’s $69 AU for a daypass so unless you really really REALLY want to go, you could probably get a better bang for your buck elsewhere.
2. If you are travelling to Dreamworld by train, look on the back of your ticket. It may have a coupon for an adult pass at children’s price.
3. Buy your pass before you go. You can get your ticket at the Coomera (pronounced “koom-ra”) train station while you’re waiting for the shuttle to the park. If you get your ticket at the entrance, you could be waiting in line for well over a half hour.
4. Check the weather before leaving because if it’s a rainy day, you won’t be able to go on some of the rides like the Tower of Terror (which is definitely worth a go).
5. However, if it’s only slightly cloudy, it might be an ideal day to go because the weather scares most people off and according to staff members, the morning clouds usually go away by the afternoon.
6. Do NOT go to Dreamworld when students are on holiday. Seriously. This could be the worst decision ever and you could be waiting all day just to ride two rides. I’m not joking.
7. Start with the Giant Drop. For those of you who know Playland, it’s like the Hellevator but nearly twice as high. Then you can see the whole park and scout where you want to go next while getting a bit of a thrill. It’s scarier than the Hellevator.
8. Must dos: The Giant Drop, The Claw, Wipeout (which takes 40 people at a time so wait times are short), Tower of Terror,  Mick Doohan’s Motocoaster, Wildlife Exhibit, Log Ride (if you don’t mind getting incredibly soaked).
9. If you want to get an extra splash on the Log Ride or Thunder River Rapids Ride, go after 10:30am because that’s when the water gets pumped for the day. If you go before then, you won’t get as wet.
10. Bring a packed lunch. Everyone else does. Like all themeparks, the food is both overpriced and not so good.
11. If you are over 5ft 10″, you may have trouble getting on a lot of the rides (ex. Mick Doohan’s Motocoaster and The Claw). Lineups can be very long and it sucks if you get all the way to the ride only to find out you can’t go on it. There are tester seats for most of the rides just outside the line-up areas. If you’re unsure about whether you can ride, try the tester seats first.

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Highlights of Dreamworld

1. Getting to know Belinda in person!
2. The MASSIVE crocodiles! I wish we had been able to catch the crocodile show because they feed them then, but we were still in line at The Tower of Terror.
3. Seeing kangaroos having what looked like a three-way.
4. Seeing the “fugly kangaroo”. I feel so bad for the guy. He’s really unattractive…
5. That first thrill of being on a new ride and not knowing what to expect.

For weeks I’ve been trying to find this thing called Vegemite. I tried London Drugs, Superstore, Safeway, Save-On-Foods, Shoppers Drug Mart, Zellers, T&T…nada. Superstore and Safeway carry Marmite, but I didn’t find either Vegemite or Marmite in any of the other places.

Karen suggested on my blog (the Tim Tams blog entry) that I should try looking for it at Australia Fare on West 4th — a store devoted to all things Australian. Turns out they closed down last Fall. It’s a pity since business would likely have picked up during this campaign for the Best Job in the World. Anyways, the lady who answered Australia Fare’s phone number said IGA carries Vegemite so off I went!

When I was at IGA, I first checked the jam and peanut butter aisle since that’s where I’ve always found Marmite in the other stores. When they didn’t have it there, I thought that it must be misplaced somewhere and searched the entire store. I finally found Marmite in the baking supply aisle, but no Vegemite.

Well, this got me thinking… If Marmite was found in the baking aisle here, maybe it was in the baking aisle at other stores too! So when I went to Save-On that night to get cake, I took a look in their baking aisle and lo and behold right beside the bouillon and herbs was VEGEMITE!!

I *gasped* so loudly and reached for it so fast that I not only hit my hand on the shelf, but when I turned around all three people who had been on the other end of the aisle were less than a meter away quite literally looking over my shoulder to see what I had just found! It was a very exciting moment.

I couldn’t help but wonder though why Marmite was usually found in the jam & peanut butter aisle with other spreadables, while Vegemite was found with bouillon, herbs, and other condensed super salty things that are meant to be diluted to make soup… :S

Today I decided to finally open the bottle and try some of this beloved Australian spread. One big tip for anyone who has never tried Vegemite: DON’T SMELL IT! Oi… I really didn’t want to try it after that. But after spending about $7 on this tiny little bottle and so much time trying to find it, I had to! On a sidenote: does anyone know why Vegemite is nearly twice the price of Marmite? Just wondering.

Vegemite with Cheese — 1st attempt

Vegemite: Proudly made in Australia since 1923

Vegemite with Cheese — second attempt

Belinda had posted a little recipe on my Tim Tams blog entry for Vegemite on toast with butter and cheese. It’s supposed to be a good way to ease into the stuff. I buttered my slice of bread, put a very thin layer of Vegemite, covered it with a handful of marble cheese, and put it into the sandwich maker. In a couple of minutes, I took out the open-faced cheesy Vegemite on buttered toast. *deep breath in* Bite. Not that bad! Not bad at all actually! It was a little saltier than a usual open-faced cheese sandwich and had an odd after-taste I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but otherwise mostly the same. It was good!

I thought that I might not have put on enough Vegemite or over-did the cheese. So, I tried another one but with a full spoonful of Vegemite and only a bit of cheese. That one was… not so good (way too salty!). I couldn’t finish it.

Then I thought, “well, I might as well try it with everything!” So I looked through the kitchen and found: turkey deli meat, horseradish sauce, peanut butter, lettuce, strawberry jam, and Frank’s Chile and Lime sauce. This time I used just enough Vegemite to spread a super thin layer across the bread slice. Here are the results:

Anny’s Vegemite Taste Test

Vegemite in Six Ways

Vegemite + Turkey Deli Meat
Boring and unexpectedly heavy. It needs something fresher to balance it out.

Vegemite + Horseradish Sauce
OK, but the horseradish sauce is much better on its own. Very tangy.

Vegemite + Peanut Butter
Surprisingly good! It’s similar to the peanut satay dipping sauce you get at Thai restaurants. I’d try this one again.

Vegemite + Lettuce
I can understand why people who like Vegemite would like this combination — the freshness of the lettuce balances out the unique Vegemite flavour. It’s not terrible, but it wasn’t my favourite combination.

Vegemite + Strawberry Jam
This was just plain odd. There’s no other way to describe it. It starts out sweet and cool and then the Vegemite and jam mix to make a lukewarm strange taste that I really don’t know how to describe. It’s not horrible. Just really really weird.

Vegemite + Frank’s Chile and Lime Sauce
I’m so glad I left this one until last. This was the most DISGUSTING thing ever!! I actually spat it out! I like hot sauce. I like spicy food. I like lime. But spicy + limey + salty + heavy + Vegemite-y is just REVOLTING. ? period! I downed the rest of my water and stuffed a piece of chocolate in my mouth right after spitting that bite out. BLEH!

Conclusion

If you’ve never tried Vegemite and really want to, your first taste should be with a heap of cheese and grilled on toast.

If you insist on trying Vegemite with weird things in your kitchen, mix it with peanut butter and eat it as a dip with breaded shrimp, spring rolls, or something similar.

If you don’t really REALLY want to try Vegemite, don’t. Just give yourself a whiff of it if you’re ever curious and that curiousity will go away just like that *snaps fingers*.

Some Tweets I’ve Received About Vegemite

In response to “Are you supposed to keep Vegemite in the fridge after opening?“
@DaBigCheese says “After opening — throw it out!”

In response to “I’m staring at the bottle of Vegemite and still too afraid to try it after all the horrible reviews I’ve heard these past 2 weeks :S“
@Shawnwelch says “just have a stash of tim tams on standby ”

In response to “Have a *good* Vegemite recipe to share? Please send it to anny@annychih.com Thanks!“
@niltiac says “Vegemite is lovely but it’s definitely a savoury food. I love it on toast with butter or avocado.”

@beckbligh says “don’t be afraid…highly recommend it in a sandwich with iceberg lettuce.”

In response to “Have a *good* Vegemite recipe to share? Please send it to anny@annychih.com Thanks!” and “I just tried Vegemite 7 different ways. I feel like barfing…“
@danthompson_TN says “Oooff, I was going to say earlier that I don’t think there IS a good recipe for vegemite, didnt realize you were going 2 eat some!

In response to “Vegemite review to come“
@jason_baker says “I read what it is on wikipedia… I’m already disgusted!

General comments about Vegemite:
@kirstywrites says “The trick to vegemite is to spread it thinly … it’s really not THAT bad lol It’s just different and has a bit of a bite”

@misteranswer says “Vegemite is tangy and zingy. It has a good kick to it! It will appeal to your Chinese palate.” — yeah… not so much.