Sunday, 6 September 2009

Things To Do On The Gold Coast


By Damian Papworth

I had to get up early this morning and get down to Coolangatta Beach. One of my surfboard hire clients was checking out early and needed 1 minimal and 1 short board picked up before they left. So up I got, arriving in Cooly before 7am.

On the Australian Gold Coast, Coolangatta is roughly a 30 minute drive headed south out of Surfer's Paradise, both places being world-renowned thanks to the impressive surf conditions they present. Surfer's Paradise, located at the northern tip really does have some of the most spectacular of the Goldy's beach breaks thanks to the shifting sand-based ocean floor, which gives a lot of swell.

Unlike Surfer's Paradise, Coolongatta farther south, is renowned for its point breaks at sites such as Greenmount, Kirra and Snapper Rocks. Though they lack the significant swell of the northern beaches, these point breaks surely offer the best waves in the region. The waves simply do not stop bending around the points on the good days. When fatigued and tired, a surfer can simply kick off a wave instead of it abruptly ending.

That's not the case this morning however. Upon arrival, the waves stood at less than one foot tall and nice and clean, though without a hint of wind. Having scooped the surfboard rentals I stopped in for a bite to eat at a pleasant little cafe with the idea of observing what our beaches are like when there is no surfing to be done.

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.

In the water, there are a couple of Polynesian style surfers out, with those big stand up boards and paddle, enjoying the tame conditions with a couple of long boarders. Also, there were a handful of swimmers swimming between the flags, trying to catch a little breaker on the shore edge.

At Coolangatta beach, the water is met by about 50 meters of clean golden sand. There are already a couple of groups of girls out in their bikinis, improving their tans. Ha, this early it must be their last day of vacation here and they want to get that last bit of sun before they go home.

Along the bike and running paths designated in the park, tiny groups of cyclists and runners whiz by as they carry out their morning fitness program. Way out at sea a pod of whales is playfully splashing around as they follow their migration path, to the great amusement of the beach-bound passersby.

I observe this all from a chic little cafe, where a pretty waitress serves me my latte and eggs benedict. As a local, sometimes it is time well spent just to sit back, recognize and soak up the things that so many other people travel the world to come here and enjoy. I hope you manage to share the beauty of our home one day too. Life really doesn't get much better than this.

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