The Gold Coast of Australia refers to 38 miles of coastline located south of Brisbane and extending to the Queensland border with New South Wales. It should not to be confused with the Sunshine Coast, which is an area north of Brisbane. There are many beach localities with names like Main Beach, Surfers Paradise, Mermaid Beach, Burleigh Heads, Currumbin and Coolangatta. We were headed for a town called Broadbeach, near the middle of the Gold Coast.

We were fortunate enough to have extended family members who generously allowed us to use their lovely condominium in Broadbeach for a few days, but winter rates in the area are extremely reasonable.


Much of the coast is lined with high-rise apartments and condominiums. There are also extensive inland waterways with homes and private piers situated on them. There is plenty of surfing to be done in the area, but this did not concern us, because a) it was winter and cold, and b) we don't surf. This didn't stop us from having a look at the beach after breakfast, though.


The area is scenic and pleasant, and there are many other activities to keep visitors occupied. There's an amusement park called Dreamworld and a Sea World. There's a water park called Wet 'n' Wild and a Warner Brothers Movie World theme park. Up north in the Sunshine Coast area is the Australia Zoo, the impressive home base of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, and still run by his family. On weekends there is the immense Carrara Flea Market, a few kilometers to the west of Broadbeach. In Broadbeach itself is the Conrad Jupiter hotel and casino and two shopping malls, the sprawling Pacific Fair and the Oasis, more compact and closer to the beach. Having two full days in the area, we planned our activities around two principal Gold Coast destinations: Tropical Fruit World and the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. More on these later. But first, we did some looking around at Pacific Fair.



Conveniently for us, the Oasis had a supermarket - Woolworth's (ubiquitous in Australia and known as Woolie's to the locals; apparently unrelated to the late, lamented US and UK chains of the same name), which we could use to inexpensively provision ourselves. We were also able to indulge our weakness for Australian candy – particular favourites are Twirl, Timeout, Turkish Delight, Aero and Boost. Cherry Ripes are tasty for those who like a cherry/coconut combination, and Violet Crumbles are wonderful except they get stuck in your teeth.


The Oasis had a food court as well. It was located in a building across from the mall itself and was smaller than the food court at Pacific Fair, but was a lot more convenient for us.