Gold Coast

The Gold Coast is an hour by car or coach south of Brisbane and the flight from Sydney to Coolangatta Airport takes around an hour. If you base yourself in one spot on the Coast, it can still be rewarding to hire a car for a day and explore the rest of the 70km of seashore and attractions. It will take under an hour in driving time from north to south, but it can be a day full of surprises and pleasure.

The Gold Coast is Australia’s premier international and domestic destination … It has gorgeous, golden beaches, pristine rainforests, theme parks, a vibrant nightlife and exotic cuisine … It has all the ingredients for a feast of fun for solo travellers, couples and families alike … Why, then, did it take me so long to like the place?

Here’s the conundrum: I’ve been to the Gold Coast more than half a dozen times, and every time I’ve had a terrific time. Admittedly, some of those visits were for business or conferences, and when conferences include theme parks, fine restaurants and time for surfing and golf, business can be pretty much pleasure. The other visits were for family holidays, and with good resorts, great beaches, four fantastic fun parks and two kids under ten – well, we had a ball.

After some thought, I’ve decided that my ambivalence for the Gold Coast came from a long held misconception, which was reinforced by first impressions and word of mouth. Most people who have been there will tell you that it’s ugly, that it’s like Miami, that the high-rise and bustle spoils the natural beauty – and all that is true. They often neglect to tell you that they, too, had a terrific time, and there is still much natural beauty. Besides, to be the country’s top holiday destination, it must be doing something right!

There are 35 patrolled, safe, year-round swimming beaches on the Gold Coast, all enjoying a daily average of eight hours of sunshine, 300 days a year. There are also 446km of canals and tidal rivers - nine times longer than the canals of Venice and a darn sight cleaner.

Here's a thumbnail guide to some of the Gold Coast's best beaches:

Surfers Paradise is ideal for families with a delightful swimming beach. The free beach volleyball is fun and cafés are handy. The huge Paradise Centre on Cavill Avenue has games and rides. Every Friday night there are craft markets along the front esplanade.

Broadbeach has a wide pedestrian shopping area just off the beach with children's play equipment and fairground rides. Broadbeach is home to Kurrawa Surf Life Saving Club, host of the annual Australian Surf Life Saving Championships in March. There is also a vibrant café precinct. Just south of the headland at Burleigh Heads is Echo Beach, a great place for a picnic, or head north to the sheltered beach and barbecue area, where you can have lunch under the Norfolk pines. Walking paths guide you around to the headland and most are easy to manage even with small children.

Kirra beach is the Coast's most famous surfing beach and has challenging waves for the experienced surfer, as well as smaller waves closer to shore for beginners.

Coolangatta has some of the Coast's prettiest beaches. Greenmount beach has gentle surf where small children can play safely. Coolangatta's bistros and cafés are nearby. Every second Sunday, market stalls are set up along the beachfront.

Tallebudgera, just north of Palm Beach, has a choice of beaches. Visit the beach on the ocean side to catch a wave, or head around to the still water on the estuary of Tallebudgera Creek.

Two ferry services operate to South Stradbroke Island and a 20-minute ferry trip will take you to some of the Gold Coast's most beautiful and unpopulated beaches. The island has several resorts offering facilities for day-trippers, including water sports and guided environmental tours. South Stradbroke has rainforest and banksia areas, and is home to thousands of wallabies and 120 species of birds. Water taxis are also available to take you to the island and leave from Mariner's Cove next to Marina Mirage.

The Theme Parks on the Gold Coast are simply fabulous and unavoidable if your have children. For a thumbnail guide to Dreamworld, Seaworld, Warner Bros Movie World and Wet ‘n’ Wild Water World - Theme Me Up Scotty.

At Cable Ski World you can try go-carting, cable skiing and slingshot bungee. As well, there are the galleries of Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum, cool action at Frozen World, the 'space capsule' experience of Bungee Rocket, the free-fall swing of Flycoaster and illusions at Scene to Believe.

The Hinterland

Follow the roads inland from the Gold Coast's beaches to what’s known locally as ‘the Green behind the Gold’: tropical rainforests, mountain villages and other hidden treasures. The hinterland is less than an hour from the coast. Much of the area is national park and there are numerous walking tracks for all levels of fitness.

Just a tip on walking through rainforests. Sometimes there may be leeches, which are harmless but annoying. One of my vivid Mt Tamborine memories is of a blood-curdling scream from my good wife at seeing a little, black, wriggly thing dangling off her ankle. The yell sent scrub turkeys scattering for miles. Suggest you wear long trousers as you can tuck them into your socks.

Tamborine Mountain is a plateau with plenty of cosy teahouses and worthwhile art galleries. Tamborine even has its own award-winning winery. Coincidentally, when compiling this section, I came across a Mount Tamborine 1998 Semillon in a bottle shop. It was an excellent wine, both for taste and value. The small print on its elegant label amused me. This cheeky little wine was described as: ‘soft grassy … herbaceous … with a hint of lemon and subtle honey essences … a lively blend … lifted by a golden honey elixir and slightly crisp acidity … a wonderful fresh style with good length’.

Why do people write such dribble? The last sentence could have been describing a fast bowler’s debut in test cricket. What’s wrong with ‘a fruity, dry wine that goes well with seafood’?

Stroll down Gallery Walk, the main road through Eagle Heights for art and craft galleries, antique shops and eating spots. The western side of Tamborine Mountain has great views of the Great Dividing Range or Scenic Rim (the world’s largest volcanic caldera).

You can totally immerse yourself in a rainforest by staying in a guesthouse at O'Reilly's Plateau, part of the World Heritage-listed Lamington National Park. O'Reilly's Rainforest Guesthouse features morning bird walks where native birds feed from your hand, and educational activities for kids. There is also a treetop boardwalk, which is free for day-trippers. Click here for a Heydon Christmas at O’Reillys.

Also in Lamington National Park, Binna Burra is a great place to explore, with easy-to-follow paths for inexperienced bushwalkers. Stay at Binna Burra Mountain Lodge and take part in a variety of organised activities.

The Gold Coast's southern areas also feature beautiful hinterland attractions like the Currumbin Rock Pools - a great spot for families along Currumbin Creek. Nearby Mt Cougal National Park is small and a good spot for families in summer with cascades that make perfect rock slides. The Currumbin Bird Sanctuary is popular with people wanting to cover themselves in parrots.

Entertainment

After a day sun, surf or parrot-covering, there’s a huge choice of nightlife, from comedy to cabaret, fine dining to disco to dance extravaganzas.

For gamblers Conrad Jupiters is a one-stop entertainment complex. Jupiters Casino has more than 1100 gaming machines and 90 table games. There are live stage shows in the Las Vegas-style showroom, Fortunes Nightclub and half a dozen restaurants.

I’m not a big gambler, but I don’t mind the occasional game of blackjack. I remember one occasion when I was organising part of the entertainment for an award night at Jupiters. On the way to my room, around 1:00am, after the show and a flutter, I bumped into one of the singers who enjoyed a drink and a bet. He was at an ATM, one eye closed, clumsily withdrawing a couple of hundred dollars (not for the first time that night). They say a fool and his money are soon parted but, with a drunk fool, time can really fly. The next morning, when I arrived for breakfast, there he was, bleary-eyed, unshaven and grinning. Against the odds, he’d won close to three thousand dollars. There are exceptions to rules.

My only tip for blackjack is to try and choose a table that has an experienced player in the last position. A good player here will study the cards as they go to the other players and then play against the dealer. A novice here may draw a card on 16 and take the ten that would have busted the dealer.

There is live entertainment every night at Twin Town Services Club, Tweed Heads. There are restaurants, hi-tech poker machines and a free bus service. It’s not exactly an up-market venue. I remember ordering a bottle of Penfold’s St Henri, a fine red wine that would have retailed at around $40.00 in a bottle shop. It was on the menu at $7.00 because, as the waiter explained, ‘We ordered badly, no-one’s buying it so we want to dump it. Besides, it’s an old wine.’

There is free, nightly, live entertainment at Southport RSL, the most modern and glitzy club in Australia. Standards are comparable at Surfers Paradise RSL and both offer inexpensive food and drinks at club prices. If you like roasts, many RSL clubs excel, offering well-cooked, tender meat with crisp potatoes and other baked vegetables. I’m yet to find one, however, that serves peas that aren’t watery.

For those who can remember spinning that fantastic black plastic with the hey-diddle-diddle, hole in the middle, you can trace the music from the 1950s to the 1990s at The Base Dinner & Show Club. For non-baby boomer readers, the previous sentence referred to vinyl records, which were … oh, never mind. You’ll find characters, food, drink and stand-up comedy at Crazies Comedy Box in Broadbeach, just behind the casino. For a more refined evening, head for the Gold Coast Arts Centre on the banks of the Nerang River for classical music, theatre and ballet.

Restaurant guides and other local publications are a good source of information if you are looking for places to eat on the Coast. You can pick these up from your accommodation place or local information centres, or simply ask the locals where they like to eat. Here’s an overview to dining in some of the areas:

From Main Beach, head for Tedder Avenue for a vibrant dining area with a cosmopolitan feel. Surfers Paradise has long been popular for families, with many cafés and eateries offering well-priced meals. Casual dining in the Broadbeach Mall reflects the area's relaxed atmosphere. In Burleigh Heads and Coolangatta there’s a range restaurants and cafés, open all day for a relaxed beachside breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Marina Mirage at Southport has a mixture of restaurants offering everything from elegant dining to affordable family meals, all with views of the marina. Sanctuary Cove is a waterfront marine village, 20 minutes north of Surfers Paradise at Hope Island, with more than 80 specialty stores, restaurants, cafés and even its own brewery. Many of the Surf Life Saving Clubs serve affordable meals in their clubhouses. Join the locals for a casual bistro-style meal on the verandah for some of the best views on the Coast.

When it comes to markets, the Gold Coast has a varied selection to choose from including the biggest (and perhaps the best) in the country, Carrara Markets. Crafts, food, leather goods, novelties, books, rides – you name it, it’s there. The Village Square Art and Craft Market at Hope Island is a retail arts and craft village with free craft demonstrations.

Sport on the Gold Coast is huge. The Australian IndyCar Race in October and the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships are only two of the annual highlights. International golf tournaments are an almost weekly occurrence at numerous world-standard courses, many of them incorporated into five-star resorts. With 40 courses of varying challenges, some call it the ‘Golf Coast’.

For those wanting sun, surf and sand, nightlife and good restaurants the Gold Coast has it. For those wanting family fun and theme parks, ditto. For those wanting world-class resorts, well-appointed apartments or a romantic, eco-friendly interlude in the hinterland, they’re also there.

More Information

For more information about Queensland:

• Events And Festivals
• Accommodation
• To See And Do
• Gold Coast Car Hire
• Car Hire Gold Coast
• Brisbane
• Sunshine Coast
• The Great Barrier Reef
• Tropical North Queensland
• From Airlie Beach to Yeppoon

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