We flew to Australia on the country’s national carrier, Qantas Airlines. Hard to explain, but as soon as we boarded the flight filled with extended families of Aussies, I could just feel a joyful presence in the air. And, upon arrival I could sense a distinct degree of calmness when communicating with the locals. The Aussies go about their daily life with glowing smiles on their faces and a bright light in their heart.
We left the USA during the heat of a very divisive Presidential election process, whereby, it was quite difficult to avoid the nonstop conflicting and contradictory TV news & social media coverage. As a result, people just seemed to be on edge. I could sense the smiles and souls being ripped from the bodies of my fellow Americans having to endure all the heated political talk. The emotional trauma I witnessed during our brief stay in America was immediately erased now that we were living on the complete opposite side of the world.
We thought we were living in the ultimate beach paradise in Maui with the abundance of beaches surrounding the island. Well, the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia takes beach life to another level. The Gold Coast, just south of Brisbane stretches approximately 40 miles along the eastern coast of Australia. It is a popular destination for tourists and locals, and is known for its beaches, surf breaks, and relaxed Australian beach lifestyle.
This Gold Coast coastline is dotted with over 20 spectacular sweeping white sandy beaches. We hunkered down for one full month over Christmas & New Years at an Airbnb in the small and quaint little residential beach town of Currumbin. Over the course of the month Barbie and I visited about a dozen different beaches and they rank up there with the highly regarded Hawaiian beaches. In fact, after nine (9) full years of travel and visiting a majority of the best beach locations in the world, I have to make a bold statement and say that both the Australian and Hawaiian beaches are the best in the entire world.
Some of the best beaches on the Gold Coast from North to South include:
- Surfers Paradise Beach:
- Broadbeach
- Mermaid Beach
- Nobby Beach
- Burleigh Heads Beach
- Palm Beach
- Currumbin Beach
- Kirra Beach
- Coolangatta Beach
- Rainbow Bay Beach
- Kingscliff Beach
- Cabarita Beach
In years past, we have also stayed in the coastal area of Burleigh Heads which is very popular with locals and has a happening scene of bustling cafes, shops, restaurants and nightlife. Burleigh Heads has a real youthful vibe and is a very desirable beach town. In addition to the main Burleigh Heads beach directly in town, it also has nice surrounding beaches. Nearby, Echo Beach & Tallebudgera Creek can be reached via two nice coastal walking tracks along a small but very cool little National Park headland.
On this stay, we headed a bit further south from Burleigh Heads and rented an Airbnb in the small town of Currumbin. Barbie and I both liked this area of the Gold Coast the best as it has the most relaxed atmosphere, a large sweeping white sand beach and a more residential feeling. The adjacent town of Tugun would also be a good choice to hunker down.
Although not on the Gold Coast, but just an hour drive south is Byron Bay in the state of New South Wales (NSW). Byron Bay is one of my favorite beach towns in Australia with it’s young vibrant vibe.
The Gold Coast of Australia is just such a mellow, clean & pleasant place to live. After our extended stay on the Gold Coast, we spent a couple of weeks in the Tropical North of Cairns. Home to one of natures wonders of the world……The Great Barrier Reef. Barbie and I both loved our stay in Australia. We just enjoyed being surrounded by the local Aussies. Their kindness, friendly demeanor and accents that I cannot stop Barbie from imitating to this day.
It is now back to SE Asia where we have to put our spoken English away once again and retrain ourselves to speak with our eyes, facial expressions, body language and hand gestures.
G’day Mate.
Big Doug & Barbie Drop Out of Society 