Queensland April 2012
Day 1
Tuesday 10th of April. Off to the airport. Flight with Virgin due to leave Melbourne at 12:15 pm but got delayed by about 25 minutes. Landed at Gold Coast airport at 2:40 pm. Grant met us then took us to Gold Coast Family Car Rentals where we picked up our Hyundai Sonata. An oldie but a goodie it seems. Off to Boulevard Towers and into our apartment on the 9th floor, unit 31. It is on the northeast side with great views of the ocean and coast in both directions. Had a quick lunch then did the shopping at Oasis. Had tea at the Kurrawa Life Saving Club. Fairly sunny and about 24 degrees. Much warmer than Melbourne which had snow on the mountains today.
Day 2
Wednesday 11/4/12. Grace and Brad went for a swim at the beach but it was very windy a strong southerly. Returned to the pool which is quite sheltered. The pool area has been remodelled since our last stay here. Had lunch then Anna went to do some ingredient shopping for dinner to be cooked by Grace. Brad and Grace walked to the bike shop near Pacific Fair but there were no bikes left. Rang another shop who directed us to Ocean Royale to get our bikes which was right behind Boulevard Towers! Oh well. The walk did us good. Brad and Grace rode to Surfers Paradise for coffee and and slice. Grace cooked tea then we went to the Surfers Paradise night market and had an ice cream before heading home.
Day 3
Thursday 12/4/12. Anna and Brad rode to North Burleigh along the bike path before breakfast. Afterwards we all had a swim at the beach. Both beaches near us had strong sweep currents so we adjourned to the pool. It started raining so we had a quiet afternoon in the apartment reading and watching movies. Grace later rode to Pacific Fair to do some shopping. We had tea at Uno Italian restaurant in Broadbeach. Another day about 24 degrees with pretty stiff southerly breeze.
Day 4
Friday 13/4/12. Tossed up between Dreamworld and the beach. Grace tipped the scales to go to the beach because it was sunny at last. Tried Broadbeach again but again, very windy and strong currents along the beach. Because of the strong wind, we thought we'd try a north facing beach, so we drove to Burleigh Heads. Much better. Great surf and much less wind and virtually no sweep. Spent the next three hours there and had lunch except Brad who had eaten way too much the night before. Went back to Boulevard Towers and then did a little shopping to buy our dinner ingredients pork, rissoles and chicken skewers. All of us got a little colour on the beach today but not too much. The rain came down again but Grace and Brad decided to go on a bike ride anyway to North Burleigh after tea. There is a great view from the bluff there.
Day 5
Saturday 14/4/12. A bleak looking morning. Cloudy and occasional showers of rain. We decided to go to Dreamworld. When we got there, the wind had dropped and the temperature was rising. A typical warm humid Queensland day. We were surprised how few people were there. The queues were quite acceptable. Grace tricked Brad onto the Claw for his first ride. It was terrifying. Grace then went on Wipeout. No-one else was game to try it. All of us then tried the Shockwave before Grace went on the Cyclone roller- coaster. After watching the tiger show, all of us then had a go at the Shrek ride which was more scary than it looked from the ground. Grace had to try the Buzz Saw and the Giant Drop while Anna and Brad took time out to look at the animals and had a sedate steam train ride. After lunch Brad and Anna tried out the Avalanche and Grace made her own way around trying out ride after ride. Brad and Anna finished off with the Octopus, then Grace and Brad had a go at the Reef Explorer which again, from the ground looked pretty sedate, but when on the ride it got the adrenaline going. Grace got in some more rides before we headed off at closing time. We had fish and chips in Kurrawa Park for tea.
Day 6
Sunday 15/4/12. As it was Grace's last day, we decided to go to the beach even though the weather was not too good. In fact, it was raining, which made the water feel quite warm. A strong sweep and dumpy waves meant that we didn't stay for long before retreating to the pool and the spa. Brad saved a little girl who's leg got stuck between the ladder rail and pool side by helping her dad. Off to the airport after a heavy downpour. Some arriving flights had been diverted to Brisbane but luckily, Grace's flight left on time. We then drove back home checking out Blue Pacific Apartments where Anna stayed as a teenager before having lunch in the car at a beach side car park as it was still raining. Continued our tour of beach side suburbs to Oasis for supplies then returned to Boulevard Towers. We intended to go for a bike ride before returning them but we got pretty wet in only 200 metres of riding so we had to abort. During a break in the rain, we walked through Kurrawa Park then along the beach to Mermaid Beach and back. Omelet for tea using up the leftovers.
Day 7
Monday 16/4/12. Cleaned up our apartment then checked out and said goodbye to Broadbeach. We wondered how long it would be before we returned to this place. Drove via Main Beach, Sanctuary Cove, Hope Island then Oxenford to Mount Tamborine. We had a look through then ended up at the Botanic Gardens which were beautiful. Off to the Eagle Heights Hotel beer garden for lunch. It is the most impressive beer garden we have ever seen. Great views towards the ocean and the Gold Coast. On the drive home it started raining so we had been lucky with the weather. Headed to Coolangatta and checked in at Mints Points North, 11th floor apartment 68 facing north east. Had a view over Coolangatta Beach towards Green Mount and Rainbow Bay. A fantastic apartment. Clean, well appointed, newly renovated and well furnished. Better than Boulevard Towers. Shopped at Aldi to get some more supplies (after Brad got lost in the underground car parks). Had dinner at home then went for a stroll around the Coolangatta CBD.
Day 8
Tuesday 17/4/12. Still a little wet this morning. Took a chance and went for a walk which turned into a long one. Headed off to Kirra Beach. Then back along the rail trail back to Coolangatta for a quick breakfast. Later walked via the foreshore to Rainbow Bay, Point Danger and to Woolworths in Tweed Heads. Walked back to the apartment (over 7km all up) and the sun came out. It was actually getting quite warm. Dropped off the supplies and headed over to the beach. The surf was pretty tame but we had a bit of fun. Lunch in the apartment then went back to the beach for another swim. The tide had come in so the surf was much better and got some good body surf rides. Checked out the pool and spa on the way back. Had tea at Coolangatta Surf Club (which was a lot better than Kurrawa Surf Club). Another stroll around Coolangatta and an ice-cream before returning home to a good night's sleep.
Day 9
Wednesday 18/4/12. An overcast morning but at least it's not raining. Took the opportunity to have another walk. Headed off towards Jack Ebby Boat Harbour then to the Tweed River cycle path. Discovered a very attractive canal / island suburb and then got lost. Had to ask a passer by the way out and it was just as well as all the roads were dead ends and would have meant more kilometres for us to tread. Found Tweed Marina and then back along the highway to Centro again to buy some ingredients for tea. The sun came out and it was quite warm and humid. Got back to the apartment (another 7km today) and Anna had a quick swim before it started to rain again. The rain looked to be setting in so we decided to go for a drive in the afternoon. Headed off to Fingal Point and then to Kingscliff. We decided to drive the Tweed Coast Tourist Drive towards Pottsville and beyond. Kingscliff was interesting and we had afternoon tea at the Salt resort shops before continuing south. When we got to Mooball we were a bit geographically confused (no map) and started heading to Ballina. Oops. Turned around to head back towards Murwillumbah with the intention of getting onto the Pacific Highway - however we were already west of that as it turned out. Rain getting quite heavy as we crossed a mountain range and eventually came to Murwillumbah and got our bearings again. Followed the Tweed River back home. Had salmon and salad for tea.
Day 10
Thursday 19/4/12. Anna was up early again. Beautiful morning sunny, clear, only a slight breeze and the surf is really pumping. Hundreds of surfers around Snapper Rocks and Rainbow Bay. Walked via the beach path to Rainbow Bay and Point Danger and back along Boundary Street. Had a quick breakfast and on the beach by 10 a.m. Spent a little while at Coolangatta beach but it was a bit rough and a strong sweep so walked over to Green Mount beach which is a little more sheltered. Stayed all morning before returning to the apartment for lunch and then a little bit of shopping before heading back to the beach. The sweep was really strong now but we had a bit of fun body surfing until not long before the lifeguard finished for the day. Later had tea at Crave, a restaurant attached to Coolangatta Hotel. A very pleasant evening. 27 degrees today.
Day 11
Friday 20/4/12. Despite the forecast saying today would be sunny and 27 degrees, the day started out overcast and then went downhill from there. Walked in light showers to Kirra North and returned via the lookout between Kirra and Coolangatta. We thought we would see what the weather would do before going for a swim. Read novels on the balcony and had lunch - a bit of a hotch potch trying to use up the remaining food in the fridge. Weather not getting any better. Still overcast and light showers. We have to go for a swim on our last day so we headed down to the beach and had an hour there and got out just as the rain started getting heavier. Went to fill up the car to prepare for its return tomorrow and found a lookout behind Tweed Heads/Coolangatta with nearly 360 degree view. It started raining and pretty much kept on for the rest of the day. Had tea at George's Paragon. The best value meal and excellent food and service to boot.
Day 12
Saturday 21/4/12. Our last day. Anna got up early to take some dawn photos. We had packed our bags last night so not a lot to do this morning. Headed off the the airport at about 7:20 am. It was pretty busy. Had a while to wait before boarding out plane VH-VUK, Virgin Flight DJ730 to Melbourne. It was scheduled to leave at 9:05 am. When we got on board, the pilot announced that Melbourne was fogged in and not accepting flights. We sat on the plane on the tarmac for nearly two hours before we took off. Got to Tullamarine at about 1:10 pm. Picked up the car from the long term car park and headed off home.
Overview
The weather was not as good this trip as it has been other times. There were only two sunny days the whole time we were there. The others were overcast, raining or showers. The water was warm though at 24 degrees. The best accommodation we've had at the Gold Coast now is Points North at Coolangatta. Anna and Brad think that Coolangatta is better than Broadbeach to stay. It has more interesting topography and it is good being in the middle of things. The surf is not as big as at Broadbeach and less undertow and sweep most of the time and the beach is sheltered from the prevailing wind from the south that is present most days on the Gold Coast. Anyway, another great trip. Wonder how long it will be before we head to the Gold Coast again? Maybe we'll try some other destinations.