This is a guest post.
The Gold Coast is a Metropolitan area in Queensland which has the second highest population, behind Brisbane. First inhabited in 1823, it became known as a holiday get away destination, for the wealthy of Brisbane, in 1875. By the 1920’s it was becoming established as a surfer’s paradise, but did not really become a major tourist destination until 1980. It continues to grow in size today, as it is the sixth largest city in Australia.
Australia’s Gold Coast
The area referred to as the Gold Coast, includes the towns occupying the coastal beaches and stretches back to what is called the hinterland. The coast and the hinterland were once separated by swamp, but are now separated by a network of man made waterways, having nine times the number of canals as Venice, Italy. The artificial islands created by the canal network are occupied by up-market housing.
What is known as the Gold Coast hinterland is a section of mountains that help form the Great Dividing Range and includes the Lamington National Park, a World Heritage Site recognized for its outstanding geological features. With its scenic shield volcanic craters and rainforest, the hinterland has become popular with tourists for day trips away from the beaches.
With the diversity that the Gold Coast has to offer, from world class beaches to picturesque rainforests, it has now become the largest tourist attraction in Queensland and the fifth largest in Australia. With all the diversity available in the region there are a lot of different activities available for the tourists, but perhaps the top five of these are:
The Hinterland
There are a lot of activities available in the Hinterland. A good place to start would be Tamborine Mountain where there is a great visitor information center and the Adventure Parc. This ‘Tarzan and Jane’ inspired adventure area has no fewer than 76 assorted challenges with ropes and bridges. Another popular place in the hinterland is O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat with its treetop walkway. There are also winery walks. These walking tours visit some of the local wineries and can also include a brewery and cheese factory.
Warner Bros. Movie World
The Gold Coast is the third biggest movie production center in Australia and the largest in Queensland. It is also home to the only movie related theme park in Australia so Australia’s ‘Disneyland’ equivalent deserves special mention. The park is situated next to active movie studies that as well as being known for several major movies and series in the ‘West’ also produce several movies for Bollywood. The park is essentially an amusement park with the majority of rides being movie orientated such as Batwing Space Shot and Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster. It also provides for some great picture ops with Batman, Bugs Bunny, Marilyn Monroe and many others.
The Q1 Building
This is the tallest residential tower in the world and houses the only observation deck in Australia with panoramic views of the beach. The Q1 stands out as Gold Coast’s number one landmark, reaching above the high rise skyline and offers views that emphasize the size of the coastline as it stretches as far as the eye can see in both directions. This is a popular tourist attraction with most visitors arriving during the daylight hours but some visitors like to visit during bad weather in order to witness the lightning striking the 97.7 m spire.
Gold Coast Amusement Parks
A good amusement park is always good for attracting tourists and even apart from Movie World there are still several to visit in Gold Coast. There is White Water World Theme Park with its Nickelodeon Pipeline Plunge and The Wedgie. Wet ‘n’ Water Theme Water Park with over 35 attractions including Kamikaze and the Black Hole. There is Sea World that, as well as rides, has shows featuring Penguins, Dolphins and Sealions.
For those that prefer more leisurely activities there is the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary that houses the largest collection of wildlife, native to Australia, in the world with more than 1400 birds and animals. The sanctuary offers visitors the opportunity to get up close to many of these amazing creatures.
Gold Coast Beaches
When thinking of Australia, many people will think of surfing and beaches and in this respect, the Gold Coast will not disappoint. In all, the Gold Coast has 35 miles of coastline that include some world class beaches. Surfer’s paradise was the original tourist destination, from which Gold Coast built up from and still caters to 41% of its tourism. Broadbeach is home to many of Gold Coast’s theme parks and golf courses. Main beach is a stylish beachside area that features Al Fresco dining and unique boutique shopping.
It doesn’t matter where you are traveling in Australia and what you want to see. You can always find the cheapest place to stay on au.hotelscan.com by comparing prices of different booking services.
Bio: This post is written by Sonia J. She’s a blogger who writes for different sites and loves traveling and writing about it!