Australia #16 - The Gold Coast - Queensland

At the end of my last post we had just had lunch in Ulmarra (well it was Sunday, so brightonbonnie actually had chocolate torte with whipped cream, while I had passionfruit cheesecake, but both were low-cal!). Due to a 5 kilometer GPS error (more on some issues with my new Garmin in a subsequent post) it takes us a while to find North Star Holiday Resort in Hastings Point, still in New South Wales but just south of the Queensland border, so well-positioned to explore the Gold Coast.

Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast.

It's a very upscale caravan park, and the cabin is the best we’ve had so far, very high-end and roomy. I finally decide to try the barbeque in the kitchen area to do a couple of hamburgers, but it takes a long time to heat up the metal plate, and because I don't think to spray the plate with oil it takes even longer to clean, so the hamburgers turn out fine but are really not worth the trouble, and I don't barbeque again during our trip.

Cabins line the walkway to the pool - our unit wasn't in this area, but very nice all the same!

Part of the very large pool (no - we did not use the slide!)

We stay at North Star a couple of days. It's sunny, hot and humid, around 30 Celsius, and we even get some rain. We are able to have our first proper chill day in a while. For breakfast I fry the halloumi we bought in the Barossa, something I learned to do in Cyprus, the home of halloumi, in the mid-70s. brightonbonnie goes for an excellent pedicure and wax at the Seascape Spa on site, and on the spa's recommendation I drive a short distance to Pottsville to get a very good haircut at Emily’s while discussing our trip and the weather in Australia and Canada.

Back at the park it's into the pool, then laundry time. We finish a relaxing day with the 2015 Moscato we bought at Seppeltsfield Winery in the Barossa, an absolutely wonderful rose from Muscatrouge a Petits Grain grapes, with a hint of fizz – not our usual taste but so good we had to have it!

Coolangotta - view from near where we parked...

with recreational surfers enjoying the day!

Snapper Rocks - on the left, one of the large TV screens.

The next day we get some excellent advice from reception and head north, trying to stick to the coast as much as possible as we cross into Queensland (and by the way, another time change!). Our first stop is Snapper Rocks at Coolangotta. Parking is a challenge but worth it as we have marvelous views and then find the surf competition on one of the best surf beaches in Australia, part of the national championship. To our surprise entry is free, and it's not that crowded as it is initial heats of the women's competition so we get to watch a few runs. We could have stayed all day because the atmosphere was really cool, but we wanted to explore a bit more.

No entry fee, make yourself comfortable where-ever you want!

Spectators near one of the large screens, broadcasting live coverage on one of the sports channels.

Getting up...

Dad with two apprentices? Surfers Paradise on the horizon...

Near the end of the run...

Some photographers with much better kit than I have!

We drive further north to Burleigh Heads for the Queensland Surf Livesaving Competition, but the venue though set up is not operating, and no-one around or any signage to explain why. In lieu we have a picnic on the beach and I get in the water a bit, but not too far out as the sand is unstable and there is a strong offshore current. Walking along the beach 500 meters or so I come to a small elevated headland with observation platforms, and get some great shots of Surfers Paradise.

The beach at Burleigh Heads - that's me in the middle, trying to body surf again! brightonbonnie uses her iPad rather than my camera, and, unlike in Manly, this historic moment is successfully recorded for posterity!

Surfers Paradise is our next stop; we drive most of the length of the beach, with highrises lining the boardwalk. We decide if we ever return to Australia we could also live on the Gold Coast, but we still like Manly and Sydney so it would have to be a month in each location!

Burleigh Heads, looking south from the elevated headland.

Unfortunately we have to head back because we have massages at Seascape Spa booked for late afternoon (New South Wales time - fortunately we didn't adjust our watches when we came north!). The massages are another unexpected surprise at our upscale park, and absolutely necessary after about 40 days on the road in planes, trains and automobiles! So after a couple of days of rest and chilling we are well prepared to head out on the road again for the last leg of our Australian journey, north through Queensland all the way to Cairns.

PS - if you've enjoyed this post please check out the previous 15 posts in this series, and the 3 before that as we started our 90-day roadtrip in Tahiti! Probably a half dozen to go in Oz as we head to Cairns, then on to a month in New Zealand!

PPS - if you've really enjoyed this post please support me by upvoting me at https://steemit.com/minnowsupport/@accelerator/six-of-the-best-map26-minnow-contest-vote-now-win-upvotes - just scroll down until you get to comments, scroll down some more until you find my introductory comment, then upvote it directly (and add a reply if you are so inclined). Thanks in advance...

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!steemitworldmap -28.162756 lat 153.549916 long Snapper Rocks Queensland Australia d3scr