The Gold Coast (yes, it's gold) - Coolangatta, Australia
Coolangatta, Australia
Flying from Cairns back to the Gold Coast and looking out the window hit home why it's called the Gold Coast. The golden sand stretched for miles (or should that be kilometres) and was completely uninterrupted, the sea was turquoise - you could see why this is the Australian's holiday destination.
After landing I said goodbye to Matthew and checked in at my YHA hostel in Coolangatta which was very close to the airport. My room was right next to the pool which was perfect for me, although if I left my door open then sooner or later you would get someone diving in and soaking my bed! The hostel ran a shuttle bus into Tweed Heads a couple of times a day but I decided to go for a nice long walk along the coast...it took me three hours and the town wasn't great, but I enjoyed watching the surf and the people go by. Talking of the people...they are all barbie and ken's! It's crazy! The men are six-packed to the max and the girls are teeny weeny and bronzed - I was amazed and felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb, haha!
Most of the guys and girls in my hostel were 18 year old surfers, but I did meet a few people who were nearer my age and good to chat and have a beer with. One guy 'Julian' from France had just got back from mango picking up North. He told me that a lot of people are allergic to the mango sap when they cut them - they end up like the elephant man with swollen ears & heads and a big rash develops over their body (affectionately called 'Mango Madness'). I have since met a few unfortunate backpackers with this tell-tale rash all up their arms, bless them, I now appreciate mangos on a whole new level! The things us backpackers do for money!!!
Matthew was staying with his friend in Burleigh Heads just up the road so I would sometimes get on the bus to visit him. Burleigh town is a very lovely place right near the beach, with BBQs, cafes (with great iced coffee's!) and a section of beach with lifeguard patrol (it's drummed into you here to swim between the flags!). We went to Tallebudgera Creek to swim which is a lovely and deep, bull sharks have been known to be there but never-mind that! You can get into the water at one end of the creek and the strong current will carry you all the way down, good fun!
Next door to Tallebudgera Creek is Burleigh Heads National Park, this is a small park with a walkway through woodland up to a great lookout point where you can see the tall towers of Surfers Paradise. It's a good place to find big lizards lazing around and there are some cool looking spiders chilling out in their webs.
Another great place to visit if you are in the Gold Coast is David Fleay Wildlife Park, it's kinda difficult to get to by public transport but if you ask the bus driver of the number 4 bus from Burleigh Heads, he will pull in the bus near the entrance. This wildlife park is one of the best I have been to, I saw lots of cool animals but to name my best were the tree kangaroos, dingos, platypus and a very angry cassowary (he was charging us and trying to jump the fence to reach us, actually one of the scariest moments of my life). You could tell they really looked after the animals and the entrance money goes towards much needed research into the natural world.
Z was living in Surfers Paradise not far from me and working at Seaworld taking photos and selling tourist packs. We (Matthew & I) took a trip up there one day and went to the SLSC (Surf Life Saving Club) just around the corner from Seaworld. These clubs are everywhere in Australia and if you sign up as a member then you get really cheap drinks & food. We bought jugs of beer and some tapas style food to share and we only paid $10 each, result!
Matthew and I both worked at a company called NTL about 10 years ago (it's where we met!). While we were there we made some great friends and one of those was an Australian guy called Marty and his wife Sarah. They were now living in Brisbane with their little girl Piper and we decided to all meet up, having not seen each-other in years! Marty picked us up from Burleigh and showed us true Aussie hospitality by having a feast of a BBQ at a lovely spot called 'Manly' just down the road from where he lives. We had such a good laugh with them and they kindly told me that I could come back and stay with them any time. The date was Friday 21st December and according to the Mayan Calendar it was meant to be the end of the world at 9pm that evening, as Marty drove us back a storm broke out and the rain came down and the sky was lit up in the distance by lightening...
that was it though, no end of the world (obviously)...
I was only due to be in the Gold Coast for 10 days as my brother and his wife Anna were coming over from the UK to see me for Christmas & New Year. I was trying to figure out what my next plan of action would be after saying goodbye to them, but there were just too many options - I couldn't settle my thoughts on a country, let alone a specific location. I decided to roll the dice and trust life to show me a way =)
So on Sunday 23rd December I packed my bag and headed out of Coolangatta airport bound for Sydney...