The eastern coast of Australia is home to some of the most pristine and gorgeous tracts of land on the planet, graced with spectacular beaches and looming ridges that dazzle visitors to these shores. The most popular-and for good reason-of all the wonderful destinations along Australia’s Pacific coast would have to be Gold Coast City and the broader Gold Coast area.
Located on the southeastern coastal strip of the state of Queensland, the Gold Coast is a short drive south of the capital city of Brisbane. Gold Coast City itself is the largest non-capital city in Australia, and the tourism industry is booming at an extraordinary rate in this swanky and hip town.
One of the most stunning attributes of the Gold Coast is the subtle yet excellent fusion of modern, urban life with pristine natural surroundings, achieved in such a way that few if any other places in the world can claim. The center of town and the most developed area is the narrow stretch of city located right on the waterfront, and there are plenty of high-rise apartment condos and many more features of a modern cityscape; then, there are natural spaces located a little farther inland such as the pristine and biodiverse rainforest and many remote beach areas that are fodder for backpackers, nature lovers, and anybody looking to get back in touch with the great outdoors.
A truly remarkable quality of this area is its winding grid of man-made canals and waterways, which were built as a way to ease development in what was historically a low-lying marshy area. In their totality, these canals stretch out over a distance that is over nine times longer than the world-famous canals of Venice, which is a fair amount of waterways when you think about it. One of the benefits of this feautre has been that lots of properties are located on the waterfront even if they are not right on the beach, and this has helped boost the Gold Coast’s allure.
The excellent surfing conditions to be found in the Gold Coast are perhaps its biggest claim to fame: at the national and global level, the surf breaks here are prized like few others. At spots like Kirra, Burleigh Heads or Surfers Paradise there is just about always going to be a perfect wave right about to break not far from shore, at almost any time of the year.
In keeping with the strong beach culture of the Gold Coast, there is a wonderfully efficient and excellently equipped Shark Control Program in place that has helped keep coastal swimmers free of shark attacks for a very long time indeed, at over fifty years by now. These vigilant eyes help keep locals and tourists happy and relaxed, just the way anybody should feel on a nice vacation.
The local landmarks in the Gold Coast include the Q1 tower, which provides the second-tallest observation spot in the southern hemisphere (approximately 230 meters, or 754 feet high), and Lamington National Park, listed by the UN as a World Heritage Site. It goes without saying that every inch of beach along the Gold Coast is a landmark unto itself
In sum, this is a place with a little something for everybody, and a whole lot more, too! Apparently the 10 million annual tourists that visit the Gold Coast think that way as well, with many of them being Australians themselves…real evidence that this destination is one you can’t afford to miss out on.
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