Blogs from Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, Oceania

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Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Gold Coast » Surfers Paradise October 15th 2016

So flying out of Sydney I arrived in The Gold Coast about 80km south of Brisbane. I made my way out the doors and hopped onto the local bus for the final 20km or so to the city of Surfer's Paradise. Now what I had in my mind - palm fringed beaches, hippie/surfer vibe, and laid back style of life ala my favorite surf village Itacare, Brazil- and what was reality were two different things. Showing up into town I had basically arrived into Miami Beach. Glitz, glamour, and sky high prices to match the sky high luxury apartments lining the beach. To make matters worse, every amateur rugby player in the country had converged onto The Gold Coast for an end of the season blowout. I was surrounded by 18-20 year old meatheads. Umm...check please. ... read more
gold coast
hard rock
brizzy

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Gold Coast » Surfers Paradise November 8th 2015

Saturday morning we got up and made all our travel arrangements for the month. Sigh of relief. Sydney next weekend (opera house, harbor bridge, Manly beach) and Cairns/the reef the weekend after that (+/- the rainforest and aboriginal walk). I scoped it out online and found us some decent flights and we found decent hotels (NO Jetstar!!!) Not much is driveable. Size-wise, it's similar to being in the US. We're visiting the equivalent of Atlanta and Chicago from DC (distance, not activities haha) For the weekend, the Mater hospital (where Jim works on Wednesdays) was having a big conference on the Gold Coast. It mainly targeted general practitioners, and the goal was to teach them more in different topics. Lots of lectures and hands on. Skin was just one of the topics, but that's the one ... read more
Swimming aquarium
Forecast
Lagoons

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Gold Coast » Surfers Paradise July 5th 2015

HIYA!! We're back. So Surfers Paradise is where we left you on our adventure. We booked somewhere to stay using Air B'n'B as we did in Byron. Unfortunately this place did not live up to the same standards as Byron. We had 2 weeks booked here, so we took our big boy pills and got in with it. Surfers was everything we expected and perhaps a little bit more. High rise buildings, surfers, bars, tacky stuff, sunshine and a glorious stretch of beach all at our doorstep. We needed work and ASAP, luckily Sam & Kerry were doing some work from home data entry work which kept us ticking over. I managed to get a role in a call centre and decided after 1 day, I would rather be eaten by a shark than continue with ... read more
Brisbane
View from the penthouse!
Surfers Paradise

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Gold Coast » Surfers Paradise March 5th 2015

1/3 - So after not being able to get our theme park tickets last night we got up early this morning to sort them out. We got the tickets and then went straight to Movie World; the girls drove but there's only two seats in the car so I had to get a shuttle bus. Movie world was like a mini universal studios but the theme is Warner Bros movies like Batman, Superman, Scooby Doo, Looney Tunes etc. There were a few rollercoasters, a rapid ride, a interactive ride where you have to shoot things, some shows to watch and a parade. My favourite ride was the Superman rollercoaster because it was a lot like The Hulk ride in Florida because it stops you and then shoots off really fast! It was so hot today that ... read more
Superman ride
Me and Fliss
Us on the ride

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Gold Coast » Surfers Paradise August 4th 2014

On my way at last!! Started in Sydney 10 days ago First stop in National park Boti Boti for 3 nights... read more

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Gold Coast » Surfers Paradise April 21st 2014

It's a beautiful Easter Monday morning. I am sitting here gazing across the Broadwater, humming with boats of all descriptions. I will miss this view when I start my new adventure cycling across the Asian continent from Shanghai, China to Istanbul, Turkey. I am uncertain of what I will see. Photos of earlier journeys show soaring mountain peaks, snow coverage of the high alps, lunar landscapes in Central Asia and exotic markets and food along the 12,000 km Marco Polo route. It is three weeks from today that I fly on QANTAS to Shanghai. A couple of days to get settled, piece the bike together, a little sightseeing and meeting my traveling companions. I have been training now for many weeks, practicing bike mechanics and erecting my tent, whilst seeking the relevant visas for these remote ... read more
Broadwater craft

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Gold Coast » Surfers Paradise November 9th 2013

The next morning we had to wake up early again. But this time it was in order to get us ready for our surf-class. We had pre-booked a beginners class at Cheyenne Horan surf school which turned out to be just around the block so it was in a perfect walking distant. The class was between 10 am to 12 pm and the price was 49 AUD per person. Surfing was so hard! Especially in the beginning, luckily you got the hang of it after a while and then it got a lot easier, but it was still super hard. After our lesson had ended we ate lunch at a beach restaurant, then we got back into the water and “surfed” for two more hours. We got tired and decided to go for a swim instead ... read more

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Gold Coast » Surfers Paradise September 14th 2013

Oops, another long time with no blog.. Sorry!! I've been having too much fun with so much going on. Where do I start? Well I arrived at Lizzie and Tom's safely. Their flat is lovely. Was a bit hectic to begin with as all of Tom's family arrived that night too, was a house full! Was lovely to see them all though as they're a good laugh. Tried to stay out of the way though as I didn't want to intrude on family time. Spent the next couple of days chilling, visiting the beach and helping Lizzie with the last wedding bits. Her hen night was fun, met a lot of her friends who are awesome. Had a nice meal and then went to a seedy club! Didn't stay there too long though. Think we're all ... read more

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Gold Coast » Surfers Paradise February 11th 2013

Sat 9th Feb.... my 50th birthday and it was our last few days of luxury staying with Richard Christine in their beautiful house in Tallai overlooking Surfers Paradise. Annie and I spent the day on the beach and in the evening we were taken out for dinner by Rich, Christine, Robert and Erica to a restaurant on the seafront called Sax which overlooks the marina. http://saksrestaurantandbar.com.au/ It was a great evening with great food, drink and company. Certainly a birthday I will remember for a long, long time. Thank you all!!! The following day we went out on Rich's speedboat. We met up with Axle Lou and two of their friends in his boat and spent a fab day racing around the coast, swimming on a secluded beach and lunch on Couran Point Beach Reserve. http://www.couranpoint.com.au/ ... read more
Sax Restaurant, Surfers Paradise
Sax Restaurant, Surfers Paradise
Sax Restaurant, Surfers Paradise

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Gold Coast » Surfers Paradise February 4th 2013

We left New Zealand early on Sat 2nd Feb and took the 3hr flight to Coolangatta airport which is situated on the Gold Coast, Queensland, The Sunshine State... Strange arriving in Australia and not feeling jet lagged! There had been a cyclone in Queensland a few days earlier and people further up the coast had died so it was a relief to find minmal damage around the Gold Coast although the sea and rivers were brown from the debris after the storm ... so the 'Muddy Coast' would have been a more appropiate name. Rich was waiting to meet us and took us to his and Christine's fantastic house overlooking Surfers Paradise. They had spent some considerable time making the place right after the cyclone but there were still a few trees that had fallen down ... read more
Rich & Christine's place
The view from the decking
Great place for a jaccuzi




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