The Gold Coast

I’m probably a little more kind to Queensland since I lived there for quite a few years

I’ll start south at the NSW border and move north!  First up, the Gold Coast.

The Gold Coast?  Flashy, expensive, over-the-top, glitz and glamour.  But an absolute riot!  Imagine Las Vegas on slightly less steroids.

Getting there?  Fly in to Brisbane and catch the train down.  Not kidding, that really is the easiest and most convenient (and cheapest) option.  Get a taxi (or hire a car) from the train station when you get there.  You can always also hire a car from Brisbane airport as well if that suits you better.

I lived there for a few years and it’s changed a lot.  The coast used to be full of beach bum surfer guys wearing boardshorts, wifebeaters and a pair of thongs carrying a surfboard under one arm.  It’s now full of Prada wearing, cafe latte sipping yuppies with their crackberry attached to their ears.  A sign of the times I suppose.  It’s not all bad though.

The Gold Coast still has some of the best surfing in the country.  Kirra, Duranbah, Southport Spit.  All still go off!  If you’re there in early March, the Quiksilver/Roxy Pro passes through town as a part of the ASP World Tour.  You’ll get to see the best surfers in the world do their thing.

And there’s nothing really wrong with the glitz and glamour by the way!  Just be aware of it since it can be a bit “in your face”.  It’s not understated luxury, it’s generally very gaudy, “look I have Louis Vuitton logos plastered over every single thing I own” type luxury.  To each their own though I suppose.  I find it tacky.

Best places to stay?  Anywhere in Main Beach, Surfers Paradise or Broadbeach.  They’re the most centrally located suburbs for all the tourist stuff.  Either way, you have a quick walk to the beach, the shops are nearby, and you’re located near the nightlife!

What to do?  There’s SeaWorld, DreamWorld, Wet n Wild, Warner Brothers Movie World, Currumbin Bird Sanctuary, cruising up the Broadwater, jetboating, parasailing, playing golf…It’s a tourist mecca.  If you can think it up, you can probably find someone to organise it.

My suggestions?  Do a day trip out to the mountains and go bushwalking!  Put on a pair of walking shoes and walk along the beach from Burleigh Heads all the way up to Southport (and back if you have the energy).  Stop along the way and check out the shops and parks along the beachfront.  Sticking to Surfers Paradise is boring.  There’s much more to the Gold Coast than the theme parks and the shops in Surfers.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that of course, I certainly can’t deny having done that stuff in the past.

Queensland is relaxed, although on the Gold Coast dress standards for going out are maybe a little higher than you might expect.

Things to avoid?  My advice is don’t go in late November or early December.  This clashes with “Schoolies Week“.  “Schoolies Week” (which actually runs over a few weeks since different states finish on different dates) is the annual pilgrimage of teenaged recently graduated high school students to the Gold Coast for the country’s biggest school break-up party.  There’s always problems with drugs, violence and excessive drunken behaviour.  If that’s your thing, then go for it.  The locals try to use the first week of Schoolies to get out of town since that’s the worst time.

It really is a great place to go for a holiday if you’re after a really full-on experience though.  There are resorts where you can go to relax, but lets be honest?  If you’re going to the Gold Coast, you’re really going for a party!