The Artistry Of Sand Sculpting

We took the opportunity to visit the Sand Sculpting Championships held on the Gold Coast recently.

Whilst it was certainly not what I had expected, it was enjoyable and I'm glad we made the effort to go.

The sculptures are all done up along the esplanade, not down on the beach as one might think they would be.

After witnessing the weather there though I now completely understand why they choose to sculpt away from the waters' edge.

Truly amazing work and it was quite unbelievable to think that these are made of sand.

And sand alone! It's all in the type of sand and how it is compacted that allows the sand to be sculpted in this way.

The finished sculptures are lightly sprayed with a fixative to give them some longevity.

A few simple tents lined the walkway, one of which held a space for the kids to have a go at sculpting for themselves.

After reading the step by step process of what is in involved in true sand sculpting, they all set about working on their own creations.

Little Surfer Dude, completed several variations of the one theme during the time we spent here.

Sculpting a turtle was the example used for the explanations, Fairy Princess was methodical and precise in working on her sculpture.

For some time we struggled to work out what Lego Lover was creating. For awhile there I thought it was Fred, from The Life of Fred series lol. His attention to detail never ceases to amaze me, he was the last one working on his piece and would've continued to add more touches if he wasn't lured away by the promise of ice cream!

Definitely something to visit again.

Hinze Dam Picnic & Playground Area

The main picnic and playground area at Hinze Dam is below the dam wall level, so unfortunately you don't get to sit and look over the water's of the dam whilst you picnic. Today though there was definitely water to see, with the spillway booming with the flow of water.

Whilst the area is not large, it is fairly well designed and at this point very well maintained. The playground is pretty standard fair and most little ones will be happy spending some time on it.

The small toilet block is right behind the playground which makes for easy access and no road walking for kids.

Across the car park are sheltered barbecue's and a couple of sheltered picnic tables. A small grassy area meanders down closer to the waters edge.

This swing was of course the highlight of the playground for the bigger two and my guess is it would be for any slightly older child.

It brought back many memories from our trip last year, when we found a swing just like this one down near Bateman's Bay.

 

Little Surfer Dude decided that the regular playground was more to his liking, the extreme - o - meter on this ride was notched just a little high for him!

Whilst it was later in the afternoon during our visit, I got the feeling that this area probably doesn't get overly busy. I am sure we will return here again soon.

Check out the other side of the dam wall at this post.

Exploring Hinze Dam

After all of the recent rain it was the perfect time to visit Hinze Dam, the spillway is well and truly spilling over!

This is our first visit to Hinze Dam as a family and the first time the children have seen a dam wall on any such scale.

Inside the visitor centre there is a collection of displays, many focus on the recent rising of the dam wall.

 

Everyone found this interesting, step closer to the map and it shows the river dammed, step away and you can see how the river looked prior to building the dam wall.

The cycle of water within the dam catchment, as she peddled it turned revealing the cycle.

The visitor centre also houses a small cafe, we didn't purchase anything so I'm not too sure if they do full meals or only snacks. The seating area, however has a glorious view overlooking the Waterside Picnic area and the dam.

 

 

Heading down towards the water you can't help but be enthralled by the modern architecture of the visitor centre.

The large circular grassed area, what they designate as a picnic area, is perfect for cartwheels! Not sure how perfect it is for picnics? No trees, tables, chairs, BBQ's or the like!

This area was quarried for the materials needed to raise the dam wall.

Lots of lovely spots for family snapshots.

 

Closer to the waters edge stands this small enclosure with limited seating space. It is very much in keeping with the design of the visitor centre.

And boasts beautiful views of the dam and surrounding landscape.

 

Heading back towards the visitor centre we needed to cross back over the grassed picnic area. Little Surfer Dude realised he could get a bit of an echo happening from the visitor centre.

We drove the few hundred metres down to the spillway lookout. That's one pretty spectacular water slide and super noisy too boot!

I couldn't resist one last shot of these guys, can't believe how grown up they are looking.