Gold Coast offers much more than beaches
The sprawling city to the south of Brisbane in northeastern Australia is home to nearly half a million people -- many of who are migrants and investors. However, its 38-kilometer-long white ocean beaches are a magnet for holidaymakers.
"Apart from recreation site, the city is also a center of business. It has many high-rise buildings like any other commercial center," said a Brisbane resident.
For example, a new 78-story apartment building opened just a couple of weeks ago. It is the tallest building in the city and boasts a helicopter view from its top floors.
The city, about a one-hour drive south from Brisbane, offers more than beaches for swimming and surfing. It has a rich variety of vacation options, from trekking in its lush rain forest hinterlands to shopping, from dining at its many cosmopolitan restaurants -- there are more than 500 restaurants -- to gambling at the casino, and from golfing -- with 40 golf resorts to choose from -- to watching world-class racing, concerts and theatrical performances.
The Gold Coast has more than two dozen districts, many of which offer impeccable recreation sites.
The Main Beach, for example, offers white beaches for swimming. It has a natural enclosure -- like a huge, natural swimming pool -- where visitors can swim in utmost safety and where the water changes every 24 hours with the ebb and tide of the ocean currents.
A drawback, however, is that it is located too close to the streets, when one might expect a wider expanse of shade trees between the beach and the street.
Surfers Paradise, located a bit further south from Main Beach, is one of the more popular districts, especially for -- as the name implies -- surfers. The waves are just right and one does not have to worry about elbow-room, since the beach extends as far as the eye can see.
Wherever one decides to go, the Gold Coast government sees to it that public needs are well attended to. There are always parking lots at any given recreation site, often without charge. Public barbecue grills, also free of charge, are never too far away. Clean public toilets as well as water taps for swimmers and surfers to rinse off the sand and seawater are also provided.
Other districts include Southport, which is regarded as a business district, Broadbeach, renowned for its dining establishments and nightlife, Northern Gold Coast, a haven for nature-lovers and -adventurers, and Southern Gold Coast, the expanse of which stretches to the border of New South Wales and which is more laid-back than other districts.
Those who shun sun and surf may opt for a stroll in the city. It is never quiet, and cool guys and gals walk with an energetic gait while window-shopping, relaxed in casual dress, some of them even walking barefoot.
Elsewhere, domestic and foreign tourists alike are busy snapping pictures.
If shopping bores you, restaurants and cafes are always just around the corner. And as night falls, the city is basked in the glow of colorful electric advertisements that retain its festive mood.
There is so much on offer, yet locals seem unfazed.
"Many local residents prefer to go to the Sunshine Coast," another Brisbane resident said. "It's less commercialized and it has less high-rise buildings."
The Sunshine Coast is two hours' drive to the north of Brisbane, but you don't necessarily have to go by car, since both the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast are accessible by air. Regular flights can take you there right from Brisbane airport. -- Harry Bhaskara