Gold Coast surprises

We set off for  Burleigh Beach to meet up with an old school friend and her hubby. As complete newbies to the Gold Coast we were in their hands. We drove to their place in Varsity Lakes, jumped in their car and we were off.  We were in good hands as one of our friends is a property valuer along the coast and knows pretty much every inch.

Our first stop was the Burleigh Beach Pavilion where they insisted we sample the local vino as the water lapped at the foot of the Pavilion below. Being good guests of course we complied. 

What a spot! Remember this is winter and folks were in surfing and swimming, gals were in bikinis and there was a relaxed  beach resort vibe to the shops and cafes. Lots of pop up designer shops, art and crafts.  Very cool. Apparently Burleigh Beach is going to be the new Byron Bay, you heard it here first :)

Just behind the Pavilion is the Burleigh Beach Headland Park which has about 27 hectares of trails and bush that is protected from development. You can walk around the headland at sea level or take a higher track up in  the Rainforest to lookouts for viewing whales as they go up the coast in Spring. We had exploring to do so our guides kept us moving :)

They don't call it the Gold Coast for nothing. You could start at one end of the beach and still be walking 70kms later.  There's a beach spot for whatever takes ya fancy.  Apparently there are four major surf breaks that the surfies  love, hence Surfers Paradise beach. Add to this Miami Beach, Labrador, Main Beach ...I'll stop there .... there's a lot of golden sandy beach to be had.

But wait there's more.  The Gold Coast has the largest constructed canal network in the southern hemisphere. There are 135 constructed lakes and more than 400 kilometres of canals and homeowners can step off their deck onto their boat and pootle off to the islands with ease.

There are some very fancy schmancy  communities that face directly onto the ocean front where there is some of the most expensive real estate in Australia. Some of the homes were so over the top they looked a bit tacky but each to their own.  If you had a spare Australia $45million you could snap up the house above.

There are theme parks, boat ramps, trails and tracks, a Waterworld, casinos and apparently lots of night life for the youngies. Before our visit we had a bit of an impression about the Gold Coast being a bit rough around the edges and  maybe a bit sleazy so it was great to have an informed look around. Again we were struck by the clean beach fronts, the respectful use of the wonderful public facilities and family parks, the friendly people and the relaxed feeling across the different parts we visited.  Not sure what happens after dark on the GC but we had a grand day thanks to our friends and we drove home with an amazing sunset to admire. Another perfect day in the lucky country.

Coochiemudlo

We went over seas today!  Not far  from Point Wellington is Coochiemudlo Island,  a small island in the southern part of  the Moreton Bay area and just 10mins by ferry from Victoria Point, a perfect day out.

The Island’s history records a visit by explorer Matthew Flinders in 1799.The first white settlers on the island lived in a  campsite  from 1895 after learning about bush tucker from the local Aboriginals camped there. It wasn't until  2019 that the island was added to the protected  Redlands Coast heritage zone. There are a number of homes on the island for permanent residents and quite a few weekend baches. There are about 700 permanent residents on the island.

The ferry runs every 30mins from the mainland to Coochiemudlo and every alternate ferry is a car  ferry. 

It's a great day trip and you can walk around the island in an hour as its about a 5k circuit and the beaches are lovely , safe and swimmable.

We saw so many Curlew which look like a very leggy Roadrunner bird. They have an amazing call,  like a baby crying. 

The track that circles the island takes you along the gorgeous shoreline and also cuts into the settlement.

There's a blend of old traditional baches and a lot of new builds. 

The natural wildlife is everywhere. Ant mounds and those crazy Lorikeets flying around doing their aerobatics.

The sailboat below needs a renaming with the addition of an R!

Still can't believe this is Winter in Brisbane!

King Island

 

Travelling tech lite and sans drone, the pic above of the causeway to King Island is courtesy of the Redlands Coast Info site 😊 

We left Wellington Point car park on a beautiful sunny morning, low tide and the causeway magically revealed itself. Off we went.

It's about 2ks round trip so a gentle stroll really.   There's plenty of space to sit and look across the harbour to the city. 

The mangroves and tidal pools are great and there's lots of bird life to be had as they hunt crabs in the little tidal pools.

You can circuit the island in a jiffy and there are  info boards that tell the story of a family that lived on the island in the early 1900's. The island is now part of the national park service and uninhabited. 

I imagine it would get quite busy on weekends but today there was just a handful of folks and kiddies enjoying the lovely day.

 A few shells collected and then it was  time to return to the mainland 😊

We walked to the launching ramps and wharf at Wellington Pt and there was a big Pelican cruising along. A couple of fishos tossed it fish off-cuts and it scooped it up - yum! We got chatting to local lady on the wharf who said yesterday there was a young whale just off the beach, darn we missed it by one day.  

 The birds here are terrific - their feather colours are spectacular. 

Last night at our local gym in the park we saw these great big white Cockatoo flying about,  in and out of house gardens,  having a grand old time, boy they can screech 😊

 Most days we hear the lovely song of the Butcher bird.

I had to look up Wikipedia. It looks like a Magpie but is smaller I think. Anyway they  get their name from their way of feeding. When they catch prey, they hang it off a branch or tree fork, and hack the meat away, like a butcher. It also hangs uneaten food in the fork of a branch or impaled on a twig (their 'larder') and comes back to eat the leftovers later. They have a lovely birdsong and seem so gentle in nature, at least the ones that visit our garden.

There is still one local farm selling lovely fresh produce.

 Another fantastic day in the lucky country.

Redlands Coast

We are staying on the Redlands Coast, approx  30 mins drive from Brisbane CBD and  it's 50 mins drive in the other direction to the Gold Coast.  The land has been inhabited by the Quandamooka peoples for at least 21,000 years.

This coast has it all! Red earth, hence Redlands Coast, that supports farming, winemaking and the area we are in was once all strawberry farms. There's still a strawberry farm here and the strawbs are beauties! 

Then there's the coast, and  at my count 8 off-shore islands you can get to by ferry. Sandcastle making, stand up paddle boarding, kayaking, boating and  fishing are just some of the activities we saw yesterday. 

Then there's the weather and for winter weather it's amazing. I know it gets very hot in summer but for winter temps we like!

There are any number of walking and biking trails, wetlands and conservation areas,   botanic gardens and we have seen Koala signs everywhere so we may be lucky and see a Koala in the bush. 

The birdlife is amazing more than 300 species of birdlife including Ibis, Pelicans, Herons, Cockatoo and Egrets. Where we are staying each day there are up to 20 or more Lorikeets swooping and zooming about with crazy aerodynamics and boy are they colourful. Also a Pied Butcher bird  pair that have the sweetest birdsong.  Will aim to get better bird photos for future blog posts :)

We found a local Sunday fruit and veg market and got three lettuces for Aus$5.00! Bargain.

One adventure on the cards this week is to walk to King Island on a natural causeway that appears at low tide.  It's a 2k walk each way and can be done between the tides. Watch this space :)

This is a boating paradise. There are any number of launching ramps and the parks and public bbq facilities are great and even better they haven't had the stuffing knocked out of them and there's no graffiti that we can see.  It's fantastic to see family groups really enjoying the public beach facilities. We even had a gym workout on one of those sets of gym machines in the park. The equipment all worked,  it wasn't dirty or vandalised and it was fun to exercise is such a magical outdoor space. 

With all our walking and exploring we found a lovely little cafe that looked over the Manley Bay Boat Harbour. Great coffee and good Pecan pie and what a spot to sit and take it all in.

There's galleries and museums and the city still to be explored. So far loving Redlands Coast and Wellington Point, and in Aussie parlance......it's a little cracker!