Gold Coast
Next stop was Australia’s Gold Coast. The beaches were clean, the waves were strong (fun) and the food was great!
Gold Coast is about an hour drive from Brisbane south. Our stop was for 2 nights in the Sheraton Mirage Resort & Spa Gold Coast on Main Beach. We enjoyed our stay and the quiet. The unfortunate construction of this hotel is quiet a pain. The hotel has about 3 floors and is very long, if you stay on the second or first floor you need to find your way to the third floor and to the main lobby to exit or to get to the garage (even though there are at least two entrance/exits for the garage). The staff were decent and the room was clean. On my next stay I would stay closer to Surfer’s Paradise (if not right on it). We mostly spent all of our time on the beach or in the mall on Surfer’s Paradise.
Gold Coast waves!
There is a nice mall next to our hotel. We ate in two places in that mall: one was a conveyor sushi spot, it did not have a great selection, they did not even have spicy mayo. The quality of the sushi was also disappointing.
Good place to eat
The second place we ate in was wonderful. Omeros Brothers Seafood had huge dishes and it all tasted very good. The service was lacking, and this was the only location in Australia that had a tip section in the check for the waitress. She kept forgetting our order and the food took quite a while, but when it finally made it out, it was worth the wait and the questionable service.
At Omeros Bros
My husband’s meal
In the mall on Surfer’s Paradise we spent a lot of time, especially in the evenings. The Woolworths in the mall is decent and has a very wide selection of food, tea, and sweet treats. We also took old timey photos in the mall (they had a Victorian, Gangster, and Western theme. It was fun dressing up and having many many photos taken of us (almost like on a set of a movie). The staff helps with putting on the costume, directs the poses, and take the pictures. The costumes are not new and are in oldish condition, but they say they wash them regularly. But they come out fun in the photos. We (as horrible as it is to admit) ate in the KFC and it was bad, as great as it was in Spain, here it is quite oily and makes you feel awful (bloated) afterwards.
During the time we were there they had many sand sculptures that were done by sand artists from all over, and they were sponsored by DreamWorks. They did such a great job, they had many sculptures featuring Shrek, Puss in Boots, Madagascar animals and others. It really was a treat to see. In one tent they even had a free sand sculpting experience.
Waves!
We spent a good deal of time playing in the waves. They are strong and high and only between two flags that are set up can you swim safely. It was very fun and a return to childhood. They do not have any beach towels (it is a public beach), unless you have your own or bring from the hotel. Also it is a very, very open beach so if you burn, it would be wise to have a beach umbrella. The waves alone are worth the trip. The beach is very safe. We had 2 cameras, our wallets, and cash that we left on the beach without really watching, and when we came back nothing was missing (but it is smart to look out from time to time, to see that everything is there).
Fully chocolate cow
We drove out about 2.5 hours till our plane, 1 hour went to the drive, about half an hour to giving our rental back and getting to the national part of the airport. You have to take an airport bus to transfer there. We checked in to Qantas and went to the food court (you can take water, sun tanning lotion in regular sizes on to the plane, thank God!). My husband indulged in Hungry Jack’s (which is the Australian Burger King). And I had street food of Vietnam (summer rolls for my meal). During the flight Qantas provided light food and drinks.
Till next post, in northern Australia!
The Land Down Under! Australia Part 1: Brisbane
The Land Down Under! Australia Part 3: Cairns
The Land Down Under! Australia Part 4: Melbourne
The Land Down Under! Australia part 5: Sydney
