Change of pace
Steve Kilgallon finds sport and sophistication on the other end of the Surfers Paradise spectrum.
MY FIRST experience of the Gold Coast came a decade ago, on a season-ending trip away with my Sydney club rugby league team, memorably chiefly for our loose forward attempting, after four days without sleep, to hurl a television set from our Surfers Paradise apartment balcony. Beneath the gaudy neon lights of Cavill Ave, footy trips, stag weekends and schoolie groups still drunkenly cavort, but within a couple of kilometres, there’s another, much more appealing side to the Gold Coast that has changed my jaundiced view of Australia’s notorious tourist strip.
If you don’t want to holiday with chaps like my old footy colleague – and no, I wouldn’t do it ever again – you can head just down the coast to the sophisticated hotels, restaurants and nightlife of Broadbeach, venture further south to the golden sands of Burleigh Heads, or go inland to the cool, green beauty of the Hinterland.
Sensibly, the Gold Coast would much rather sell itself around these charms and its expanding portfolio of destination events – there’s now surfing, blues, boats, horse-racing, motoring and eistedfodd festivals, and perhaps the biggest of them all is the Gold Coast marathon, which draws about 25,000 competitors across a range of distances from a kids’ 2km race to the marathon, featuring some of the world’s best. It has become a major tourism drawcard, tempting about 400 recreational athletes from New Zealand and, surprisingly, Japan, which provided 700 entrants this year.
And if you were a Kiwi tempted to fly over for the marathon, or the blues, the surfing (or even the international street-entertainment festival being held, coincidentally, while we were there), there’s certainly enough attractions to sustain a weekend, without venturing anywhere near the Cavill Ave nightlife.
We begin our weekend down the coast at the lush 27-hectare Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, where they focus exclusively on native Australian species. Natural disasters hit their visitor numbers hard: the Christchurch and Japan quakes and Brisbane floods affected their three biggest markets, but their recovery has come partly thanks to the new innovation of the excellent Green Challenge, 68 obstacles slung high amid the eucalypt treetops, culminating in an 18-metre high flying fox. The canopy has a calming effect on even those with a fear of heights. Once you’ve dismounted and taken off your boilersuit, I recommend heading for the koala bear pen, where an adolescent bear (usually named after an Aussie surf legend) will happily pose with you for a photo.
Warming up for race day, we head north to the golden sands of Surfers, where Australia’s oldest surf school, Go Ride a Wave, take novice lessons in fairly forgiving
They’ve covered all the things that you would look for in a race – lots of drink stations, an enthusiastic crowd and a decent finisher’s T-shirt.
waves. Our instructor Hamish, an escaped Melbournian student, is indefatigable, cheerfully patient as he gets both of us, just, standing up in a two-hour session.
Afterwards, the Skypoint observation deck, sitting on level 77 of the giant Q1 resort building, offers imposing sunset views with a cocktail (for non-racers) or a soft drink for the athletes before an early night at the only slightly shorter Pepper’s Gold Coast, where the two 50-storey towers excellent. The restaurant precinct around Broadbeach caters to the sophisticated palate. We start our culinary experience at Moo Moo’s in Broadbeach, where the steaks aren’t just listed by their diet, breed and location, but also rated on the level of marbling in their flesh. The result is, of course, excellent. Lunch at the neighbouring Alto Cucina may be less flashy, but the laden table of tapas – pre-race carb loading – is perfect. We also eat an indulgent