Just south of Brisbane lies a sprawling metropolitan area known for its world class surfing beaches, high-rise dominated beach skylines and party style nightlife. The Gold Coast reaches all the way from South Brisbane to the NSW border and with a population of 600,000 is actually the sixth largest city in Australia. Surfers Paradise is one of the better known suburbs, and that’s where we have stationed ourselves for two weeks.
We had been warned that Surfers had a mixed reputation due to its “spring break” appeal. But to be honest, I like a bit of life in a holiday destination – I’m not quite over the hill yet and I like to be in the thick of the action. Da Yoof are attracted to the area because of its fantastic beaches and the fact that it’s packed with bars and nightclubs. But it’s not school holidays, and although Fridays and Saturdays are noticeably busier than the rest of the week, this is a great place to spend a couple of weeks. There’s tons of places to eat, loads of shops to wander about, decent public transport to get you up and down the coast between suburbs, and of course the star of the show – those long endless expanses of white sand.
We decided to cram the whole two weeks worth of school into the first five days, so that we could have a half-term style break to enjoy all that the area has to offer. So our first five days really just involved a fair bit of hard graft (by the kids of course. I just sit there and look pretty) peppered with trips to the beach and the hotel swimming pool to break it up. We explored the restaurants and shops, found time to try out some gel blasters (Hunters new favourite thing) and explore the street markets.
Hunter even finally managed to find himself an authentic Aussie roo-skin hat to complete his surf bum image.
Bam’s highlight was probably the visit to the local cat cafe to hang out with a pack of lazy over-indulged felines for half an hour. I guess I get the appeal of these for people who don’t have access to “therapeutic” pets. However I must admit I find it a fairly bizarre environment. Some of the people it attracts are, shall we say, slightly odd. The strangely wheezy, overweight middle-aged man in the ill fitting t-shirt who knew all the cats by name (while conversing with them in some kind of skin-crawling baby talk) was perhaps the most bizarre patron that day. He was perfectly harmless (I hope), but the sustained bouts of uncomfortable eye contact made me slightly wary. My other issue is that if you want to have a drink or some food here (on top of the extortionate entry price) you have to do so while repeatedly blowing away the airborne hair balls which constantly drift by like miniature furry tumbleweeds. Nah you’re ok, I’ll have a sandwich later thanks. Anyhoo, Bam loved it, and that’s good enough for me.
After we had finally completed our marathon school session on Friday afternoon, we prepared ourselves for the onslaught of fun. Next week we are going to tackle the various theme parks this area is known for, as well as squeezing in several surfing lessons. But this weekend we were going to take in some of the natural beauty spots the Gold Coast has to offer.
On Saturday we decided to head south and check out a part of the Hinterland I had heard about, deep in the Currumbin Valley Nature Reserve.
Cougal Cascades, in the Springbrook national park, is a fantastic series of tumbling waterfalls and rock pool swimming holes hidden inside the rainforests of the Hinterland. It was incredible to watch the scenery suddenly change as we drove inland from the familiar roads of the urbanised coastal towns. All of a sudden you find yourself on winding mountainous roads, overhanging on all sides in lush tropical vegetation.
From the car park you have an easy half kilometre walk along a tarmac trail which leads you all the way to the heritage sawmill site. Along the way you have several sneak peeks of the babbling waters in the valley beneath, and from the half way viewing platform you get an overhead view of the final rock face as it cascades into the pool below.
Accessing the riverbed fifty feet below is somewhat of a more makeshift affair however. We walked to the end of the path expecting there to be a set of stairs somewhere along the way, but it turns out you just have to pick the point at which you want to access the falls, and walk carefully down the fairly well trodden hillsides. There are wire fences along the side of the path, as if the powers that be do not actually want you to descend the banks at all. But once you have successfully picked your entry point and made your way down, you are free to clamber from one pool to another. The warm waters are perfect for a gentle swim, or you can relax under one of the falls, or even slide down the well worn rock faces in some places. There were even people jumping 20 feet from the cliff edge into the deeper pool, but as always with this kind of place you must be careful. There are hidden rocks lurking just beneath the water in the deepest looking pools, just waiting to break the bones of the over eager. Or worse. There are warning signs on the path above, and it is wise to heed them and tread carefully. Some of the rocks are also extremely slippery, and it’s easy to fall flat on your back if you’re not careful. Guess who managed to achieve exactly that? That’s right, it was of course me. My wife quite often tells me I’m an idiot as I’m lying on the ground having somehow hurt myself again by perhaps pushing the boundaries just a tad too far. Maybe she’s right? Nah, probably not, it’s far more likely that I am actually an intrepid explorer instead!
Having had our fill of this perfect swimming spot, we decided that we needed a beach fix on the way home as it had been at least 24 hours! So we headed to Tallebudgera Beach on the edge of Burleigh Head National Park. It’s quite rare to find calm waters along the Gold Coast for kids to play in safely without being smashed by large and powerful waves. That’s why families flock to this beach at the mouth of the Tallebudgera Creek where the kids can happily frolic in the shallows while the parents watch from the beach. The currents in the deeper channel are not to be underestimated however. The sandy bottom suddenly disappears and the water speeds up significantly, pulling unsuspecting bathers rapidly away (as my kids immediately discovered before thankfully being pulled to safety by a vigilant onlooker!). A perfect end to a lovely day.
Our final day of our first week on the Gold Coast saw us taking a drive back towards Brisbane to once again catch up with my old pal Dave and his family on a day trip to the stunning North Stradbroke Island.
Straddie, as it’s known by the locals, lies in the Moreton Bay area, and is the second largest sand island in the world. Home to around two thousand people, including its indigenous owners the Quandamooka people, this island is just a quick (and very windy) 25 minute ferry ride from the suburbs of Brisbane, and is a true nature lovers paradise.
Dave and Sam had really bigged this place up, and we were expecting great things! And it really didn’t disappoint. We headed straight to Point Lookout to undertake the Gorge Walk. Wow, just wow! The views are quite simply breathtaking. This kilometre long boardwalk really displays exactly how pristine and unspoilt this place really is. During the colder season it is the perfect place to experience humpback whales frolicking in the waters below, but today we were looking for something else. We had been promised turtles, although I wasn’t about to hold my breath, we couldn’t be that lucky surely? But wouldn’t you believe it, within 30 seconds we were all spotting these magnificent animals surfacing one after another in the frothing waters of the gorge below. Australia is home to six of the seven species of marine turtles, and I really couldn’t tell you which ones we were seeing, but apparently Green and Loggerhead are the most common around here. We didn’t unfortunately spot any Dugongs, but on our way around the boardwalk we did spot a few giant rays and several dolphins playing beneath the waves, all while Skippy the bush kangaroo and his pals kept an eye on us from the surrounding bushes.
We needed to catch the bus that was to take us to Cylinder Beach at ten past, otherwise we would have to wait another hour. So, at five minutes past, we cut the wildlife spotting short and made a mad dash to the bus stop. We sent Hunter ahead (as he’s the fittest of us) to persuade the bus driver to wait for the slower stragglers. As it turned out though we were a whole hour early for the bus. It was indeed due at ten past – ten past three! What followed was a fairly comedic exchange between us and the bus driver involving several unsuccessful attempts by Sam to bribe the bus driver to making an extra trip just for us (she doesn’t give up easily that one!). Our new best friend, Rachel the bus driver, suggested we should head to the nearby cove for a swim instead, but it was unfortunately closed. So we headed to the SLSC for a quick bite to eat and a beer over a game of pool while we waited for the bus.
When we eventually arrived at Cylinder Beach we were treated to a perfectly picturesque cove of white sands and warm, azure waters where we wiled away a few hours in the gently crashing waves. This beach has recently twice been voted Queensland’s best beach, and it’s easy to see why.
What a great place to visit. I’m glad we made the drive up there, not only to experience one of the most stunningly beautiful natural environments Queensland has to offer, but to enjoy it with my old pal and his family. Not quite as much hugging involved this time, due to the lack of alcohol involved compared to last weekends shenanigans! Just a perfect day spent with family and friends.
And that’s one week done on the Gold Coast. Next week we have no schoolwork (whoop whoop!). We have only fun things to look forward to.
I’m not sure life gets any better than this…