East Side! (Gold Coast)

[The Gold Coast is on the eastern side of Australia, just south of Brisbane, between Sydney and Cairns.]

The 2K open water swim was definitely a highlight of my Gold Coast trip last weekend, but that wasn’t all I did.

Sitting on the border between New South Wales and Queensland, the town of Coolangatta, where our hostel was located, didn’t have a whole lot. Its “mall” was composed of two supermarkets and a PayLess Shoestore.

Nearby Surfers Paradise, however, had much more to offer young and spontaneous girls like us. We spent most of our weekend there. Streets were filled with cafes, restaurants, bars, and clubs. There was plenty of shopping and the beach was just across the street. My only complaint was that the name of the town was so misleading – there is no surfing in Surfers Paradise.

Club #4 of the 5-stop club crawl we attended Friday and Saturday nights

Not to worry though, because we made the wise decision to attempt surfing in Coolangatta on Sunday afternoon. In addition to having two never-touched-a-surf-board-before newbies on our team, the current was strong, the waves were big, and our arms were tired from the swim race that we completed a mere 3 hours prior. As expected, success was minimal. But don’t get me wrong – lying on a surfboard and drifting towards Fiji was still quite fun.

The best ride I had all weekend :)

We also spent a day touring the inlands of Springbrook, complete with a fruit-tasting at Fruit World (my personal paradise) and a viewing of several more waterfalls I can’t remember the name of.

I ate heaps of dragonfruit, jackfruit, all sorts of papaya, starfruit, and custard apple!

Unfortunately, we did not make it to Byron Bay. Known for its beautiful beaches, snorkeling, and surfing, that is one beach town that will have to wait for next time.