Gold Coast

Sorry for going MIA these past two weeks - as you can image, this last month is unbelievably busy. I'm going to split up these next few posts just for your sake so you don't have to read paragraphs on paragraphs.

So, this post is dedicated to my last weekend trip in Australia, the Gold Coast! A few of my friends and I went north a few weekends ago to experience the last bit of Australian summer. Since 1 March, it has been Autumn in Australia, but it felt like summer until around 1 April - the day we left. Since the Gold Coast is up north, it was so warm and beautiful! It was around 85 degrees, which was the perfect temperature to relax on the beach. The town reminded me of Miami, there were large skyscrapers right on the coastline and beaches that lasted for miles.

This city was arguably the most Americanized city I've visited since my time in Australia. It was a clear tourist destination, less locally populated. The main skyscrapers were condos and hotels, not businesses or apartments. Also, the town was very small which reminded of touristy beach towns found along the coast of New Jersey. During this trip, our group mainly just relaxed and enjoyed a low-cost vacation. We had been going away weekend after weekend experiencing new cities, it was nice to travel to a new city but still have a relaxing time. The beaches there all looked relatively similar, which is different than in Syndey. In Sydney, each beach is a different experience with a different atmosphere - while at the Gold Coast, there are literally miles of coastline. The one beach that was my favorite was Burleigh Beach,  the sand was made from seashells near the rock pool! Oh yeah, that's another thing about Australia - there are all these natural rock pools near the beaches. These rocks act as a natural barrier between the ocean and the pool and create this natural ocean water pool. It's safe to say that going back to beaches in the States will be pretty disappointing...

During the trip, we also rented jetskis. I've been jet skiing before, but I've never ACTUALLY gone until then. I went with my friend Andy, and he goes often and we had competitions on who could whip the other off the back. In the wise words of our jet ski instructor, "if you don't fall off you're not going fast enough". I walked away with a few bruises, but it was well worth it.

There weren't many locals at the Gold Coast, but apparently it is referred to as "The Vegas of Brisbane" which is a city about 45 minutes away. It's one of the most popular cities in Queensland, Australia. That's another thing about Australia, there are few cities with dense populations and sparse population in the bush and the outback. For being the same size as the US, Australia has a smaller population than New York state alone - probably because of all the deadly animals! After this weekend, we all settled into a state of slight depression with the realization that we only had three weeks left in Australia (1 1/2 now). The most we can do it take each day on its own and make the most of the rest of our time here.