A Few Days At the Beach, Aussie Style

Sleepy Koala At Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

We were looking for some r&r so we went to the coast, the Gold Coast, that is. South of Brisbane are a string of seaside towns that offer many delights-sun, sand, cute critters, food, and a lot more.

We drove out of town on Friday afternoon, along with most of Brisbane, it seemed. Lots of traffic, but some cars exited at the theme parks: Dreamworld, Warner Brothers World, Sea World, etc. I'm sure some people would be going to the Australian Outback Spectacular-think Medieval Times experience but with Aussie Cowboys.

Some cars kept on the M1 to Surfers Paradise, the "Miami Beach" of Australia. We continued to the Queensland/New South Wales state line to the towns of Coolangatta and Tweed Heads. The state boundary runs through the center of town, right out into the water at Point Danger.

State line boundary marker

 Point Danger was named by Captain James Cook in the 1700s and remains a rocky outpost today.

Point Danger

  We stayed at the Outrigger Twin Towns Resort, one of the larger properties in Coolangatta. It was a nice hotel and we had a Deluxe Ocean View Room. An earlier post shows the photo from the balcony with the ocean view. The hotel attracts a family-oriented crowd, lots of multi-generational groups. No tour groups here.There is also a building with holiday apartments of 1 to 3 bedrooms, so that larger families have more space and full kitchens.

Of course, people come for the beach and we enjoyed our time on it. Each town has a surf lifesaving club and swimming areas are designated on all the beaches with life guards on duty during the day. You swim in between the flags and have to watch for the rips that might drag you out to sea. The water was cool, but people were swimming. This area is also famous for surfing, but this time of the year there weren't many large waves.

We had many options for food within walking distance of the hotel. All along the beach front are many small cafes and restaurants, as well as shops. We had Italian, Greek, Indian, and burgers and sandwiches over the three days we were there.

Greek Salad

A highlight of the weekend was our trip to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary just north of Coolangatta. Founded in 1947 with a focus on Australian wildlife, it is a lovely oasis with shady walking paths and over 1400 birds, reptiles, and mammals. There are many opportunities to see the animals up close-even holding koalas and baby crocs. We watched the different shows and almost did the Eco Green Challenge ropes course. Almost.

Part of the ropes course

The last day we said goodbye to our quiet beach town and headed up to Surfers Paradise. This is the largest city on the Gold Coast and has the high rises to prove it. For interesting background on this place, you could read Bill Bryson's Australia which tells how this city reinvented itself to attract tourists. I think they created a monster.....

We went up to the observation deck at the Skypoint building-the tallest residential building in the world, they say. Amazing views of the coast, inland, and the sea. After a cappuccino and muffin in comfy chairs next to the windows we got back in the car and headed back to Brisbane. A lovely weekend retreat, for sure.