SURFERS PARADISE

VISITORS from Sydney, Lauren Holland, 23, and AnnKathrin Scheider, 32, are at Surfers Paradise institution the Avenue – not for the first time this week.

It’s 11pm on Saturday night and the venue, along with the rest of Orchid Ave’s party strip, is bustling with patrons.

The Sydneysiders have been on the Gold Coast for a fortnight and it’s their fourth night bar-hopping in Surfers. Theie only problem ... deciding where to try next.

“This is the night-life hub and it’s a good place to go out. I want to try Bedroom,” Miss Holland says.

“There is a lot of variety. In Sydney you can walk a kilometre and find one club.

Here there are a lot of options, no big lines like

Sydney and safety wise, it’s 100 per cent fine.”

Beside them are Bond University rugby players Lachlan Connors and Josh Flatley, both 18, who have just watched the Wallabies versus Ireland at nearby Landsdowne Road Irish Tavern before relocating.

Mr Connors says compared to the Brisbane bar scene “it seems to be people of all ages whereas Brisbane it’s just people in their 20s”.

Avenue manager Shannon Surch, a born-and-bred Gold Coaster, says he loves the precinct and after years of construction impacts with light rail plus the Soul and Hilton towers, it is making a comeback.

“There are so many different venues catering to so many different people now,” he said.

Nearby, Central bar has a decent crowd, mostly local with a few visitors, and promotions boss Sam Gostelow said for a cool time of year the precinct was busy.