Have patience with visitors – they know not where they go
AN army of 15,000 volunteers has been marshalled to ensure the Commonwealth Games is a success. Their chief mission: providing a warm Gold Coast welcome to Games visitors.
But you don’t need a smart official uniform or hours of training to be an ambassador for this city.
As the Coast fills with guests from around the world, we all have a role to play. The full volunteer army comprises the 600,000 who are lucky enough to call this place home.
There are many simple ways we can all make a difference.
One of the most important is to show patience with outof-towners, especially when they are encountered driving cars from other states.
It is easy to become frustrated when stuck behind a slow-moving vehicle as it meanders cluelessly between lanes. But a closer look will often reveal the cause - a number plate reading something like ‘Victoria - the place to be’ (but you’re here?) or ‘SA - The Festival State’ (a poor substitute for ‘sunshine’ surely designed to induce pity).
A little patience is vital in such situations. After all, despite our simple geography, the Gold Coast can be confusing for outsiders.
Southport, for example, is distinctly north. And despite the presence of a very fine yacht club, not a major port.
Head inland on the Brisbane Road, and one may notice a large sign for the ‘Labrador denture clinic’. Confusingly, canine dentistry isn’t quite their thing.
Travel further north along the highway and things don’t get any better. Harbour Town has far more cars than boats. And this despite the fact that it plays host to a tavern called the ‘Dublin Docks’.
Biggera Waters continues to expand propitiously with many new developments, but Hope Island is far more than a single isle and not every woman in Helensvale is known as Helen.
Sovereign Island is indeed an islet, though not its own republic, despite what some of its wealthy residents might contend.
And what to make of Bum’s Bay? There are cheekier spots.
Runaway Bay is similarly mis-named – there is not much cause to flee.
Further south, things improve, though just a little.
Surfers Paradise lives up to its grand title, but still remains home to much confusion. For all its undoubted charms, ‘The Bedroom’ is not somewhere one can expect a quiet night’s sleep, ‘Shooters’ is not for gunsports and ‘Elsewhere’ is always in the same spot.
Miami is very far from Florida, though it does provide us with the Gold Coast’s most gloriously named takeaway, Miami Rice.
It is also home to an exceptional eatery, the magnificent Paddock Bakery, which despite its name is quite a long way from open spaces.
Lovers of the movie Splash may find Mermaid Beach does
YOU COULD HAPPILY LOSE YOURSELF ON THE COAST, WHICH IS PRECISELY WHAT THOUSANDS OF VISITORS ARE ABOUT TO DO.
not contain quite the marine life expected, although they could find some comfort at nearby Clear Island Waters, where the H20 certainly sparkles.
Mudgeeraba is tricky to say for newbies, and harder to spell. If any ask its meaning, don’t tell them, they’ll be further befuddled - it means ‘place of infant’s excrement’ in a local Aboriginal dialect.
Advancetown is always moving forward, Point Danger has seen its fair share of shipwrecks and Mount Warning plenty of stranded hikers, so not every place name is out of whack.
But all up, you could happily lose yourself on the Coast, which is precisely what thousands of visitors are about to do. Let’s all be good ambassadors for these Games and give them a little time and patience.
Do so and there’s one question that will never need to be asked – quite why this Coast is rated Gold.