Gold Coast – The best tips for Australia’s bathing and surfing paradise

Gold Coast is actually a city in Australia. But for tourists and locals it is one thing above all: a popular destination for bathing and surfing vacationers.

Originally there were many small towns in this area on the east coast of Australia. Over time, however, these grew together more and more until they formed a big city, which was then named Gold Coast. 600,000 people live in the city, which is famous for its golden sandy beaches. They are 60 kilometers long and so attractive that tourism has long since become an important branch of the economy.

Surfer’s Paradise

The most famous part of the Gold Coast has what made it famous in its name: Surfers Paradise. The fact that there are fewer waves on the coast and that many surfers prefer other places (e.g. Byron Bay, 100 kilometers further south) does not change the fact that Surfers Paradise is a beach paradise with boutiques, bars, beach volleyball courts, clubs and hotels . Today, the beach is considered one of the most famous in the world, similar to Bondi Beach in Sydney.

The district has been called Surfers Paradise since 1933, after a hotel of the same name. Today, Surfers Paradise hosts many events next to its beach, from regular surfing competitions to Schoolies Week in early December, when thousands of college students celebrate the end of their exams, to car racing on the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit.

Q1 Tower at Surfer’s Paradise

Farther from the beach, skyscrapers soar into the sky and form an impressive skyline. The highest is the 323 meter high Queensland Number One Tower, or Q1 Tower for short, which is one of the tallest residential skyscrapers in the world. There are 526 apartments in the “tower”, most of them once cost little less than one million dollars, the most expensive was sold for twelve million dollars. However, it is still 900 square meters and offers a swimming pool in addition to a panoramic view from the 74th floor.

National parks around Gold Coast

The Gold Coast is not only attractive as a destination for bathing, sunbathing and surfing vacationers. The backcountry is the quiet counterpart and lures with lots of nature, including Lamington National Park and Springbrook National Park. Lamington is the largest subtropical jungle in Australia with hundreds of waterfalls, rainforests and all kinds of exotic bird species.

Equally magnificent, Springbrook National Park is famous for its Natural Bridge, a rock arch that spans Cave Creek. It was not created by a human architect, but by a waterfall.

Also worth seeing is the Springbrook Plateau area, which has several waterfalls and many hiking trails. Both national parks are part of the Unesco World Heritage Site “Australia’s Gondwana Rainforests”.

Gold Coast – Arrive by plane or train

Gold Coast is located approximately 100 kilometers from Brisbane, one of the largest cities on the fifth continent, and is therefore well connected to the country’s airport network. There is also an airport in the Coolangatta district, which is mainly connected to Australian airports. But now there are also flights to and from Japan and New Zealand. Coolganatta is also connected to the Queensland rail network.

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