I've been out and about these past few days, exploring the Gold Coast and surroundings. Had some very full days - and evenings - so hence no blog post for a few days. I'll try and get caught up now though.
My friend's place is located right beside Burleigh Headland National Park and so first thing on Sunday morning we went for a walk through the National Park. As I'm sure you've gathered already, lizards of all shapes and sizes are not uncommon in Australia and they are certainly NOT uncommon around this part of Queensland! This little fellow skittled across the path in front of my while I was walking - I'm not sure who was more scared, him or me?
This is looking south down the beach. The breakwall you can see is beside the Tallebudgera Creek which runs in from the ocean and provides a wonderful, protected swimming area. The buildings you can see on the further headland, way off in the distance, are the buildings at Coolangatta. Keep that distance in mind when I tell you about what I did the next day.
Looking north from the same lookout spot along the walk.
And looking straight down --- you know me and my obsession with watching waves crash on rocks.
This afternoon I went back into the Hinterland, this time to Tamborine Mountain. Located in the Hinterland are some of the world's most beautiful rainforests and a skywalk through some of them was the destination. This walk featured a
spectacular elevated walkway through the beautiful middle and upper canopies of the rainforest.
The walk also descends to the rainforest floor, by a tumbling creek and rockpool area.
On the drive back down the mountain we passed an area where (in better weather) hang gliders etc. often use for take-off. Although there were rather ominous looking clouds coming in over the next mountain range it was still a pretty spectacular view out over the valley.
Went back to the beach tonight, just so I could have the sound of the surf in my ears as I was sleeping. This is Burleigh Heads at night.
And this is looking down at Surfers Paradise.
The next morning I walked north along a boardwalk area, from South Burleigh (where my friend lives) to North Burleigh. This is looking north along the Gold Coast, and again, the tall buildings you can see along the end are Surfers Paradise which is about 12 kms away.
And remember I told you to notice how far away Coolangatta looked - well that's because this afternoon I rented a bicycle and my friend and I rode from Burleigh to Coolangatta - a distance of about 15 kms so that was 30 kms round trip!
Along the way we passed over another of the many creeks and rivers that comprise this coastline area - Currumbin Creek. You can see how it is a wonderfully protected swimming area.
This is Currumbin Beach ... and I think by now you're getting the idea that the Gold Coast is just kilometre after kilometre of stunning beaches... in fact the area contains about 50 kms of beach.
These two bronze beauties could also be found on Currumbin Beach.
Coolangatta is the southernmost suburb of the Gold Coast and it's neighbouring "Twin Town", Tweed Heads is in New South Wales. For those of you who like a little bit of trivia, Coolangatta was used as the fictitious town of Porpoise Spit in Muriel's Wedding.
The absolutely crazy thing about these two towns though is that for half a year they are on two different time zones - when New South Wales switches to Daylight Savings Time but Queensland doesn't. So quite literally, the businesses and homes on the left side of the street are one time zone and the businesses and homes on the right side are an hour ahead. So when I took this photo it was 2:00 for the car on the left and 3:00 for the buses on the other side of the street. And the people here live with this for six months of every year!! Imagine if you lived in one and worked in the other!?!?!
(and many people do!)
And yesterday was a good example. We were going out for lunch in a little spot in the Hinterland which is actually in NSW, so we got picked up at 10:45am for a lunch reservation at 1:00pm, and the drive takes about an hour.
And speaking of yesterday, and I bet you can't believe it - I was back on the beach for a walk again yesterday morning. This time I went up to Surfers Paradise and did a little walking around there. Colloquially known as 'Surfers', this suburb has many high-rise apartment buildings and (usually) a wide surf beach. It's a bit hard to explain if you've never seen Surfers beaches before, but there is an incredible amount of damage to the beach as a result of all the rain and violent weather these past couple of months. Surfers beach usually goes straight out from the bottom of the steps, there is no drop-off at all, and it is usually all pristine, white sand, there isn't usually any of the darker mineral sand you can see here.
Q1 (meaning Queensland Number One) is a skyscraper in Surfers Paradise. Q1 is the tallest building in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere when measured to the top of its spire (the third tallest building when measured to roof and highest habitable floor) and the second-tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere.
Lunch today was in a little rural village called Tyalgum. A major natural feature is the valley environment around the village created by the Border Ranges and Mount Warning.
We had lunch at a lovely little cafe in the village and again I had visitors for my meal.
These visitors (rainbow lorikeets) weren't down on the ground with me but they still made for beautiful company while eating.
There's a little bit of doubt about whether these trees have really grown up around the fence or whether it's been put on, but regardless it still looks really neat.
On the drive to and from Tyalgum we drove through some spectacular countryside.
This is sugar cane with some of the Border Ranges in the background.
This is a stunning example of what is known as a traditional "Queenslander" home. Queenslander buildings are primarily of timber construction and can be low or high-set, one to two storeys. They are typically "tripartite" in sectional composition; underfloor (stumps), primary rooms (can be two levels), and roof. All have one or more veranda spaces, a sheltered edge of the building that is typically only part-enclosed and used as another living zone. This consideration for climate is the defining characteristic of the Queenslander type. The raising of the main living spaces off the ground can be seen as both a stylistic and practical device. The vertical "stumps", initially of timber, allow the building to "float" above the terrain. Queenslanders all have this underfloor area that is used to cool the building through ventilation and also for protection of the main structure from termite attack and other pests. The stumps also help to overcome any variations in the terrain that would normally require earthworks to flatten for construction and allow for the natural flow of water across the terrain in the event of excessive rain and downpours. The underfloor space is often high enough for additional uses such as storage, carport or even as extra living area in the cool, dark spaces beneath the building.
I'm back to Brisbane again tomorrow so stay tuned for more 'city' adventures.
