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TRAVEL BLOG ENTRY
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Will and I boarded the train north to the Gold Coast on the morning of the 14th. We were headed to Burleigh Heads, a small surfing community in the middle of the towns along this part of the coast. It was accessible by train and had an apartment we could rent out for a week for a very decent price! We were very excited.
We arrived into Burleigh in the mid afternoon to discover we hit the jackpot with our rental property! It was in a high rise directly on the beach on a slight hill so as to overlook the whole coast line! We had a kitchen, two bedrooms, laundry, and a balcony to take in the view! All for about the same cost as some of the big city hostels! It was great!
We quickly settled in, and then went to explore the town. We rented surfboards for the week at a small shop. Bought some groceries and necessities, and started to relax at this beach paradise.
Our week was spent attempting to surf the big waves, shopping, exploring the different coastal towns, watching the locals lawn bowl, and just relaxing! It was amazing! We cooked a lot of our meals, layed on the beach, and booked some tours to some of the locals sights.
Our first tour was to the Australian Zoo. This is where Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, worked. They still have the croc show, albeit with a different host, and the facilities are amazing. We fed and petted kangaroos, petted koalas, and mingled with all different birds and species of Australian. It was great. Will even fed an elephant!
Our second tour was to the famous surfing community of Byron Bay. While the town is known for its hippie vibe, we had to take a tour bus filled with senior citizens. It was alright except that our bus drivers' commentating was focused more on that age groups' interests, and therefore WIll and I went a bit nuts on the ride! When we arrived into the city, it was raining. Not the best conditions to check out the beach, but we managed. The town is quaint and cute with lots of little shops and cafes. I was even able to order gluten free items at more than one stop. We shopped, explored, and tried to sit at the beach inbetween rain showers. Overall it was a decent day, but we both wished it would have been sunnier.
Our last tour trip from the Gold Coast was to the natural wonders of O'Reilley's. It is a family owned land area of forests and wildlife preserves on the mountains. We saw the true natural elements that exist right off the coastline. The giant trees, birdlife, and greenery was amazing! We fed tropical looking birds that even landed on our heads! I was not too keen on that as Will captured in a photo! They were beautiful birds, but they were hungry and clawy! Ha, ha!
Overall, our time on the beaches of the Gold Coast were great! We intended on only staying a week, but with the easy access to tours, surfing, and coastal towns, we ended up staying for two weeks! Our apartment was a great homebase for exploration, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time relaxing on the coast! Many people call the Gold Coast the tourism trap of Australia, but we found that if you research, stay away from the main resorts and traps, you can have an amazingly relaxing time. We were headed back to Sydney for a final few days before Will was back to the States, and I moved onto New Zealand.
previous travel blog entry
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