May 19th: The Gold Coast

Day 46 (Day 21 in Australia)

After several days in The Outback, today was a very different day. First thing this morning, the Fab Four drove to the beach at the Gold Coast. 

The whole beach is actually about 20 miles long and divided into many different beaches by name. We went to Northcliffe Beach and our first sight of it was stunning! In both directions miles of golden sand with hardly any stones or shells.

Very comprehensive info every 100 metres approx

We walked about a mile along the sand in one direction before returning to have breakfast in the Northcliffe Surf Club. Very popular place absolutely full on a Sunday morning. It was a good job Carolyn had reserved a table.

Phil explained that most of the profit from places like this (and in pubs) came from “pokies”, which to us Brits means fruit/slot machines or “one arm bandits’. Gambling, eh? That’s a big debate for another day?

Pokies

After breakfast (or was it brunch?) we drove further along through “Surfer’s Paradise” (actually all the nightclubs are here and are a source of some local angst as large groups of tourists party late in the night), passed the world’s first (only?) 6 star hotel, the Imperial formerly the Palazzo Versace. Everything - literally everything- in the hotel is Versace designed. 

Phil worked there when it first opened in 2000 and had some ‘interesting’ stories to tell about it. Seaworld is also in this area, known as Southport Spit. There were a LOT of VERY expensive properties in this area should you have 20-30 million to spare  I can’t recall if it was pounds or dollars but does it matter?

We turned back and then enjoyed another great stroll through Broadwater Parklands.

There was an annual Heavy Machinery Show in progress. Lots of food stalls of all description and loads of families with kids getting a go behind the wheel of everything you could imagine the council might need in their daily work.

Great idea. A very long queue for this one!

In the afternoon we drive a few miles to meet up with some old family friends of Carolyn and her Mum, Ailsa. Barry and Trish were lovely people and we enjoyed a couple of hours of tea, cake and chat with them.

In the evening we had an excellent takeaway curry. Best onion bhajis ever!