Currumbin Sanctuary
by CandS
Another cute lorikeet! :) If you don't like to have birds on your head/arms/shoulders etc then don't pick up any of the food while at this place...you will surely have birds everywhere if they see you have food. :) It's fun though to have piles of birds climbing all over you - until they start fighting...haha... ;)
Purlingbrook Falls
by tiabunna
These 110 metre falls are one of the real highlights of this section of Springbrook National Park. A short and easy walking track from the carpark at the Gwongorella Picnic Area makes them accessible to just about anyone. Gwongorella also is easy to find: just following the road from the Coast will almost take you there, but fortunately the good people of National Parks have provided large maps to guide you in various places – Gowngorella is marked with the red box saying ‘you are here’ (which may be difficult to read on screen), however I have marked the route with red dots.
Flying in
by tiabunna
Chances are that most people will fly into the Gold Coast. The airport formerly was known as Coolangatta because that is the nearest of the original beachside villages to which it was built. Over the years, the amount of airport traffic has grown enormously.
The airport now is served by the Australian domestic airlines VirginBlue, Jetstar, and Tiger. There also are international services to SE Asia, provided by Air Asia and by Air New Zealand to (you guessed it) New Zealand. I’d show my age if I mentioned that, back in the 1950s when we took our annual holidays at the Coast, I would get a buzz from watching the twice-weekly DC3 service passing through!
The downside of the growth in traffic is that the current airport terminal building was not designed for the passenger numbers it now faces. When we flew through in early 2009 it was looking dowdy, feeling crowded, and generally about the least appealing of all Australia’s major airport terminals. Good news is at hand though, as a major rebuilding programme is currently under way: the works are evident and no doubt the terminal will soon be far more pleasant to visit (website on the project given below).
As your flight takes you in or out of Coolangatta airport, you might care to consider one curious little item. The airport is the only one anywhere in Australia to have the main runway crossing a state border: one end is in Queensland and the other in New South Wales. I suspect it may well be the only airport in the world where a runway crosses a political border, come to a point!
Many!!
by AussieKitten
There are quite a few places I enjoy eating at, such as: Montezuma's (Mexican), Frenchy's (Seafood), Captain's Table (Seafood), Bavarian Haus (German), Grumpy's Wharf (Seafood), Oscar's (A La Carte)...
Each place has its own unique atmosphere, be it situated in a marina, overlooking the Pacific, German live music and dancing, tropical oasis setting or an Aztec-Mexican look. I tend to eat a LOT of seafood while there, but some of the dishes that stand out are: malibu flambe lobster, coconut king prawns, mango prawns, chihuahua mexican assortment, seafood baskets, apple strudel...
Hit the (forgotten) Hinterlands!!
by xuessium
People always think of the beach and the theme parks when it comes to The Gold Coast. The hinterlands are usually & unfairly forgotten! It would really be a pity to miss them!
Took a Scenic Hinterland day tour (can't remember the name of the company now) to O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington & Mt Tamborine National Parks. (Then it only cost me A$30)
The itinerary took the group to an Alpaca Farm (Alpacas are Llama-looking creatures, reared for their wool) where we had morning tea, then a lovely stop at Kamarun Lookout to take in the beauty of Lamington National Park.
This was followed by a 160m suspension wooden bridge Treetop walk 45m above ground upon reaching O'Reilly's, where at one point you could climb up even further to reach the apex of the forest. Folks having no wish to sing "Top Of The World", could stay in the lovely gardens of the Guesthouse and hand-feed noisy Crimson Rosellas and King Parrots.
Lunch was at a lovely cafe in Eagle Heights village.
The afternoon saw time spent in a rainforest walk through Joalah National Park (part of Mount Tamborine National Park) where you'll get a chance to come real close to beautiful compact-sized Curtis Fall.
On the way back to the city, the tour stopped at a viewpoint where you can catch a panaromic view of The Gold Coast in the distance.