Gold Coast Beaches
On all Gold Coast Beaches you'll see the wind-surfers, jet skiers, paragliders in action just about all day long. The mood of the changes throughout the day. At the crack of dawn you might see Yoga devotees greeting the sunrise, as others practise Tai-Chi, while my wife, Leonie, and I join others for a brisk walk to get the blood racing. We pass surf fishers with their long rods casting for a haul of fresh fish, as the vibrant eastern sunrise lights up our day. A bit further along we'll pass the Surf Lifesaving Team early morning shift as they set up their equipment, and the local surf team launch their seven man boat for a training row out to sea before heading off to work.
Salty haired surfies yawn and stretch as they alight from their Kombie Vans and start another twelve hour day of surfing their cares away. As the sun climbs further out of the sea's horizon, early morning swimmers plunge into the waves to get their daily 'health fix' before heading off to work. Looking north towards the Gold Coast Seaway we see the big game fishing boats heading out for a day's fun for their clients. The Gold Coast is fully awake as Leonie and I leave the beach for breakfast at one of the many beachside eateries. By the time the OJ hits the back of your throath you feel so good, so vital, so alive - I tell you this place is like the best Vitamin Pill ever invested. By 9.00am'ish families hit the beach and settle between the Red & Yellow Flags erected for safety by the Surf Patrol. By 10'ish the late night revellers arrive to worship the sun and recover for their next night out on the town.
By lunchtime Mum usually heads off to a local Take-Away for her army of starving kids, who can bearly stop moving for the 'food-stop' as there is some much "To Do." Sundown transforms the beach yet again - the tempo slows as though it has sapped the energy of all its day time players; but not so. Out come the beach walkers again, casually dressed as they make their way towards a favourite dining spot. On the shoreline the surf fishers are at it again, as are those hunting for worm bate for the next day. So if you see people walking alone the water's edge with a short rope dragging a lump of dead fish over the sand ... them suddenly bending towards the sand and pulling out what looks like a long showlace ... that 'showlace' is a sea worm. It is attracted to the dead fish ... pops its head out of the sand ... and as they say, it becomes tomorrow's fish bate . So now you Know! Thought I'd pop that in, just in case you lay awake at night, going crazy wondering what they were doing, OK. Finally the beach goes to sleep. The fisher-folk finally pack up and head back for a beautiful fish dinner in one of the magnificent hi-rise apartment buildings that light up the skyline as the Gold Coast welcomes the night. Surf Life Saving The Gold Coast City Council employs full time professional lifeguards whose ranks are ably supported by a large volunteer surf lifesavers. These are the young men and women you see competing at surf carnivals and gaining recognition around the world.
... Phew.. that was close!
For the full 12 months of the year this service patrol and keeps safe 20 of the Gold Coast's beaches. As the holiday season approaches their patrols increase to 32 from October to April and to a peak 41 patrols for the school holiday periods. The Gold Coast has the highest concentration of Surf Life Saving and surfboard riding clubs in Australia and this beach culture takes young kids (called 'nippers') from a tender age to old age as part of a life saving 'volunteer' organisation that has served both local and visitors alike very well. With fantastic weather for almost 300 days each year, and with an average temperature of 28C, it isn't hard to work out why the Gold Coast is Australia's premier holiday destination. So what's our favourite Gold Coast Beach, after all our holiday years? They all are. It just depends on what stage your family is at. They all have differing qualities. We are going to try and give you a feel for each one, so you can make up your own mind.
Broadbeachgold coast, |
