Upon awaking this morning I promptly headed on over to Coolangatta Beach. A surf-rental client was leaving the area very early in the day and needed me to come by and pick up the equipment (a short board and a minimal) they had been using before they went ahead to check out. Hence I went for precisely that purpose, arriving a little earlier than 7am.
Coolangatta is located about 30 minutes south of Surfer's Paradise by car, along the Australian Gold Coast, both places renowned the world over for their phenomenal surf conditions. Surfer's Paradise at the northern end of the Gold Coast has some of the most incredible beach breaks given its shifting sand sea floor, a characteristic that imbues plenty of swell to the waves there.
Coolangatta, on the other hand, is farther to the south and more known for its point breaks, particularly at sites like Kirra, Snapper Rocks and Greenmount. Despite lacking the swell of the waves at Surfer's Paradise, the waves at these breaks are without a doubt the best in the area. On the right day, the waves continue to bend around the point all day long without interruption. After a full and tiring day of surf, a surfer can easily kick off a wave rather than having it end on them.
Not this morning though. This morning on arrival, the waves were less than a foot, clean as they get though with no wind to speak of. Having picked up the rented surfboard, I decided to have breakfast at a lovely little cafe on the beach front and see what happens at our beaches when there is no surf.
In looking around, it pretty quickly became clear why the Gold Coast in Australia's northern State of Queensland, is one of the premier beach holiday destinations in the world. Its only 7am in the morning and there is already so much happening. Obviously the 24 water temperature helps, as does the balmy 26 outside, who wouldn't want to go to the beach.
Enjoying the tame water, a few longboarders and Polynesian-style surfers (the standing-and-paddling kind) were out doing their thing in the ocean. Many beach-goers were already dipping themselves into the water in the areas designated by the flags, riding small breakers right up to the shore's edge.
Coolangatta is graced with an impressive 50 meters of perfectly golden sand as the average beach width, the perfect scenario for the many women working on their tans in their bikinis (even at a little past 7 in the morning!). Comically, I find that the ones out tanning so early are usually the ones wrapping up their vacation, desperate to reach that next shade of bronze before going back to the office job at home.
Other morning activities to be observed are being carried out by the several groups of folks enjoying the running and bike paths that are neatly cut out of the park pastures, where health-conscious people do exercise routines. Also, many simply stop for a minute to observe the whales way out in the ocean splashing and frolicking along their migration route.
I take in this marvelous vista, bustling with activity, as I comfortably sip my coffee and eat my eggs benedict which a pretty waitress kindly has served me. Being a local from the area, it is so gratifying to be able to just sit back and bask in the glory that so many tourists have traveled half a world to see. Hopefully you too will one day discover the beauty of this our home--it really just doesn't get that much better!
Damian Papworth knows that with holidays in the sun, with a warm ocean, golden sand and sun drenched days, no destination beats the Queensland Gold Coast.
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May 08 2010 | Travel | No Comments »
by Damian Papworth
The eastern coast of Australia is home to some of the most pristine and gorgeous tracts of land on the planet, graced with spectacular beaches and looming ridges that dazzle visitors to these shores. The most popular-and for good reason-of all the wonderful destinations along Australia's Pacific coast would have to be Gold Coast City and the broader Gold Coast area.
This strip of beautiful shoreline and hinterland is situated in the southeastern corner of the state of Queensland, and happens to be located a relatively quick drive south of the state capital, Brisbane. The city is the biggest city in the country among the non-capital cities, and this is in large part due to the tremendous rate of growth of the tourism sector in the Gold Coast.
One of the most stunning attributes of the Gold Coast is the subtle yet excellent fusion of modern, urban life with pristine natural surroundings, achieved in such a way that few if any other places in the world can claim. The center of town and the most developed area is the narrow stretch of city located right on the waterfront, and there are plenty of high-rise apartment condos and many more features of a modern cityscape; then, there are natural spaces located a little farther inland such as the pristine and biodiverse rainforest and many remote beach areas that are fodder for backpackers, nature lovers, and anybody looking to get back in touch with the great outdoors.
A truly remarkable quality of this area is its winding grid of man-made canals and waterways, which were built as a way to ease development in what was historically a low-lying marshy area. In their totality, these canals stretch out over a distance that is over nine times longer than the world-famous canals of Venice, which is a fair amount of waterways when you think about it. One of the benefits of this feautre has been that lots of properties are located on the waterfront even if they are not right on the beach, and this has helped boost the Gold Coast's allure.
The Gold Coast is ultimately known as one of the best surf destinations in the country, and in the world for that matter. The surf breaks of greatest renown along the Gold Coast's roughly 35 miles of beaches would have to include Kirra, Surfers Paradise, Burleigh Heads, and Palm Beach, among others. Here, the perfect wave is always just about to roll in.
Given the excellent beach conditions and the temptation to take a dip experienced by everybody, there is a professional and extremely competent Shark Control Program carried out by the state government, and it is credited with sparing beachgoers from shark attacks since the late 1950s...an eternity! Under the watchful gaze of these professionals, tourists and locals alike can take a dip without cause for concern.
Some of the most recognizable places in the Gold Coast are the Q1 building, a soaring tower with an observing deck that is only beaten out in height by one other tower (also in Australia) in all of the southern hemisphere, at about 754 feet tall. Then there is the beauty of Lamington Park, which figures on the World Heritage Site list compiled by the United Nations because of the ecological diversity and spectacular natural vistas. Finally, just about evey beach along the entire length of the Gold Coast-it ought to go without saying-is on its own a landmark worthy of recognition.
All in all, the Gold Coast has plenty to offer people of all tastes-a fact that is well attested to by the 10 million visitors that come to this corner of Queensland every year. The fact that a majority of those people are themselves Australian is further proof of the fact that this is one of the most naturally pleasing and rewarding landscapes in the vast and intriguing country/continent of Australia.
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June 08 2009 | holiday | No Comments »