NEW DEVELOPMENTS
Celebrate The 110th Harley Davidson Anniversary with New Overnight Motorcycle Tours
This year marks the 110th anniversary of Harley Davidson Motorcycles. To help celebrate this special event Wildfire Tours Pty Ltd are offering an exciting new range of overnight tours to various South East Queensland destinations. Cruise through the beautiful hinterland or head up the coast on the back of a gleaming Harley Davidson stopping for morning tea and lunch at some of Sth East Queensland’s best local cafes before spending the evening enjoying local hospitality and a comfortable bed in some of our most picturesque destinations. The following morning, and after a hearty breakfast, saddle-up and prepare to be spellbound as your rider skilfully sweeps you along country roads offering an all-round amazing experience. With our cool mornings and crisp clear days this is the best time of year to enjoy the Harley Davidson experience. These tours are all about enjoyment, not endurance, and are suitable for all ages from 8 years. For a short time only discounts are offered to groups of 2 or more, conditions apply.
www.wildfiretours.com
Fire 4 Hire Launches on the Gold Coast
Gold Coast visitors have a novel, new way to enhance their travel/tour experience. Fire 4 Hire boast a fleet of four authentic fire trucks, each seating up to 10 passengers, which will conduct both daytime and sunset tours of the City. Guests on the day time tours will be driven through the streets of Broadbeach, Surfers Paradise, Main Beach and up to the Spit, where guests will be able to experience the operation of a fire hose and have time to stroll out the Seaway and look back upon the Surfers Paradise skyline. Fire 4 Hire will also be conducting sunset tours where guests will be transported from Surfers Paradise via Broadbeach to the picturesque Burleigh Headland. The experience includes complimentary drinks (wines, beer and non-alcoholic varieties) as the sun settles across the Hinterland and the lights of the glitter strip come to life. Others services of Fire 4 Hire include hens and bucks parties/ birthday parties, school formals, airport, hotel and theme park transfers, special events/ concerts and corporate functions.
www.fire4hire.com.au
Sin & Tonic: Adult Cabaret with a Twist at Draculas
After three decades of serving up their unique brand of ‘Thrillertainment’, Dracula’s Cabaret on the Gold Coast is taking a gamble and throwing the black dice again… and it’s landing straight sixes. Dracula’s is tearing away the family friendly bubble-wrap to reclaim the adult cabaret and dining market on the Gold Coast. The new show Sin & Tonic shakes off the shackles of political correctness and instead offers up a sizzling night of vampire themed burlesque, thrilling aerial circus and unrestrained comic insanity. It is an 18+ ‘Spanktacular’ adult dinner cabaret and is not suitable for children. Dracula’s new evening format is similar to that of post-war Berlin theatre. The entertainment is sliced up into smaller bite-sized clusters of daring variety acts and is broken up with live jazz, mad waiters and a DJ that literally flies around the theatre. Sizzling whip-tease and sexy burlesque will have your heart-beat racing, while circus carnival acts take the entertainment from the stage and suspend it above the audience. The effect is gob smacking.
www.draculas.com.au
Design Teams Bring World of Experience to the Gold Coast
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has announced the three teams which will compete for the opportunity to design the Gold Coast’s landmark cultural precinct. “They include Japan’s largest architectural firm, a strong local and international consortium, and a team with some of Australia’s most notable cultural projects in their portfolio,” he said. An expert jury has shortlisted the three teams from a field of 75 entries from across every continent. Each shortlisted team will be awarded $250,000 to participate in an intensive 12-week Stage Two design period. Mayor Tate said the teams would earn ‘every cent’ of the fee, as they were being asked to deliver comprehensive designs which would require engineering, planning, landscaping, acoustics, digital, cultural, theatre design and a range of other investigations.
www.youtube.com/cityofgoldcoast
Adam Scott Inspires Gold Coast Golf Tournament Inquiry
Adam Scott’s victory at the US Masters in April is creating record inquiry for participation in this year’s Mitsubishi Motors World Masters Golf Championship to be held in Scott’s hometown, the Gold Coast. Peter McCarthy, managing director of event hosts, Go Golfing, is expecting more than 1000 golfers from around the world to participate in the week-long amateur event, now in its 18th year. “There has been huge overseas and local inquiry since Adam Scott’s win at Augusta,” he said this week. “Many keen golfers want to experience the courses in the region where Adam Scott learnt to play, so this year’s event will be very special.” The Mitsubishi Motors World Masters Golf Championship, the biggest tournament for club golfers in Asia-Pacific, will be held at four Gold Coast courses from October 20 to 26. Open to male and female golfers over 35 with an official handicap, the competition is played in stableford format in 20 divisions based on age and handicap. A-grade golfers are eligible to compete for the best gross or stroke score. More than $120,000 in prizes, including a new Mitsubishi car and overseas golf tours, are among lucky draw prizes guaranteed to be won. The private and exclusive Arundel Hills Country Club, arguably one of the Gold Coast’s premier and most challenging layouts, joins other host venues – the Greg Norman-designed The Glades, Jack Nicklaus-designed Lakelands and the new Australian PGA host course, RACV Royal Pines.
http://gogolfing.net.au/tournament/139
Greek Street Food Revolution Begins In Surfers Paradise
Greek street food giant Pita Pan has handpicked the sunny Gold Coast to launch its flagship store introducing Australia to the European gastro phenomenon for the very first time. Direct from Greece, the cheeky and bold brand has packed up its world famous pitas and flown south for the winter to bring the heartbeat of Athenian style souvlaki to the heart of Surfers Paradise. The original Greek, quick service souvlaki chain continues its international growth and celebrates 20 years of operation with the landmark expansion into the Australasian market offering an authentic culinary experience that is set to leave Aussies singing OPA in the streets. With it’s stunning beach front location in the prestigious Soul building, Pita Pan is mixing prime real estate with the finest, authentic ingredients to dish up the kind of dining experience that will cement it’s popularity in a brand new market.
www.pitapan.com.au
‘The Commando’ Steve Willis Heads to the Gold Coast Hinterland
From July – October 2013 ‘The Commando’ will visit Binna Burra Lodge in the Gold Coast Hinterland to run his 3 day/3 night ‘Commandofit’ training camps. Set high in the hills of Lamington National Park, this beautiful natural setting is only 90 minutes from Brisbane and 40 minutes from the Gold Coast. For 5 years, participants have been flying in to take part in this gruelling challenge, packed with a variety of activities from abseiling to nutrition classes. Steve Willis (The Commando) spends quality time developing, training and challenging each individual. These programs are suitable for beginners to intermediary, or anyone wishing to live a fitter, healthier lifestyle.
www.binnaburralodge.com.au
Stinson Story Inspires Epic Endurance Trek
As growing numbers of Australians are inspired to walk the famous Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea to honour our Aussie diggers, the opportunity to retrace other heroic steps in the Gold Coast hinterland has seen the O’Reilly’s Stinson Walk take on its own status as an epic endurance trek. The iconic O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat will host a number of guided walks to the Stinson crash site this year between July and August led by third generation family member and Stinson veteran, Tim O’Reilly and O’Reilly’s Guide and expert bushwalker, Matt Kelly. The story provides the sort of inspiration that motivates so many to honour the heroism of Australian soldiers and more and more people are taking on the physical challenge, all with a sense of history and purpose.
www.oreillys.com.au
Sea World and UQ Team-up on Innovative Dugong Research
Zoologists and immunologists from the University of Queensland (UQ) have again teamed up with Sea World and Sydney Aquarium to undertake a thorough assessment of the health and reproductive status of wild dugongs in Moreton Bay for the second time this year. Researchers will be collecting blood to look at basic haematology, blood biochemistry, immune function and also screen for disease. The team will also be undertaking extensive medical examinations to assess the body conditions of the animals, including girth and weight measurements. This research is vital in giving researchers an indication of the dugongs’ health and if there are any problems facing the dugong population. The plan is to capture up to 20 dugongs in Moreton Bay over 9 days with a team of 16 skilled personnel taking approximately 30-40 minutes to sample each animal.
www.seaworld.com.au
Southport Cemetery Tour with Lantern Ghost Tours
Visit the place everyone is dying to get into, the Southport General Cemetery. Discover why Joab was struck down by lightening, the mysterious “Mr Brown” found dead at the cemetery gates and Australia’s very own mermaid. Stumble across unmarked graves, bodysnatchers and murderers. The ground is bursting with 5,000 stories waiting to be told. Be warned, it is bad luck to visit a cemetery at night…and the coast’s oldest ghost is still on the prowl.
www.lanternghosttours.com
Carrara Markets Provides Swinging Good Time
A new indoor mini golf course at Carrara Markets will provide fun and entertainment for the whole family, rain, hail, or shine. The mini golf development, created by King Tutt’s Putt Putt, features two 18-hole mini golf courses, one indoor and one outdoor, that will operate seven days a week and is expected to attract both locals and tourists to the popular Carrara site. The outdoor section of King Tutt’s Putt Putt, titled Tutt’s Asian Travels, was opened earlier this year and has already proven to be a huge hit with adults and children alike. The 500 square metre indoor course is called Tutt’s Time Travels and is an amazing journey through time with plenty of surprises along the way for players. Tutt’s Time Travels features three main themes including medieval times, pirate town and Jurassic Park. Entry fees: Adult $15, Kids $10, Family $35 and Students and Pensioners $12.
www.carraramarkets.com.au
Dinner and a Night in ‘Cooly’ for under $125 Per Person
As the winter chill sets in, Outrigger Twin Towns Resort has turned up the heat with a sizzling new dine and stay package to celebrate the $20 million makeover of the adjoining Twin Towns Services Club. Outrigger Twin Towns Resort is offering overnight accommodation in a hotel studio room and dinner for two in Signatures restaurant for just $245, or $265 for an upgrade to a deluxe hotel room. The dine and stay packages are available on Friday and Saturday evenings and are ideal to combine with a concert at Twin Towns Showroom, which draws top acts from around the world. Some of the performers heading to Twin Towns include country music greats Adam Brand, Troy Cassar-Daley and Adam Harvey; Aussie rockers, Jimmy Barnes, Moving Pictures and Renee Geyer; and one of America’s most enduring singer-songwriters, Don McLean, of American Pie and Vincent-fame.
www.outrigger.com.au
WHAT’S ON
Swell Sculpture Festival (13-22 September)
Swell Sculpture Festival is a free outdoor exhibition that creates visual splendour amongst the natural coastal setting at Currumbin Beach. Over 10 days, visitors can experience the sculptures, enjoy twilight walks, and informative artists talks, discover new perspectives at the Public Art Forum, wander through the Swell Smalls Gallery or participate in artist master classes and children.
www.swellsculpture.com.au
Surfers Paradise Annual Kids Weekend (21-22 September 2013)
Surfers Paradise will transform into a kids wonderland with roaming whimsical characters, kid themed entertainment and interactive workshops for the free, annual Kids Weekend event. Kids of all ages can take part in a number of free activities held for the entire family in Surfers Paradise across two exciting days in the September school holidays on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 of September this year. A star studded line up of smash hit kid entertainers will brighten up the stages on the Surfers Paradise Foreshore, turning the area into a colourful kids’ hub with live music and hands-on activities down by the beach. Free performances and family workshops will get kids dancing, laughing and learning as they revel in the free festivities throughout the two day family friendly event. Families can settle into the sand or grab a comfy beanbag under the stars and watch a family friendly movie at the Surfers Paradise Beach cinema.
www.surfersparadise.com
Gold Coast Sevens – Fever Pitch (12-13 October)
Sevens Rugby comes alive on the Gold Coast I October. The HSBC Sevens World Series kicks off with the “Gold Coast Sevens – Fever Pitch” tournament which is set to thrill over two days of action both on and off the field. Sixteen teams from around the globe will battle it out in a carnival of fun, fast and furious entertainment.
www.goldcoastfeverpitch.com.au
A Day on the Green with Bernard Fanning (3 November)
With a #1 debut for this new album ‘Departures’, Bernard Fanning is one again at the forefront of Australian music. Bernard, who hails from Brisbane originally, is set to bring his acclaimed ‘Tea & Sympathy’ and ‘Departures’ albums to the stage against the back-drop of the beautiful vineyards of Sirromet Winery on Sunday 3 November, 2013. ‘Departures’, which debuted at #1 on the ARIA chard, is his first since Powderfinger called it a day and is the highly anticipated follow up to his 5 x Platinum solo debut ‘Tea & Sympathy’. In addition to special guests Sarah Blasko and Bob Evans, A Day on the Green at Sirromet Winery is set to be a great day of Australian music.
www.sirromet.com