The not so golden Gold Coast

Trip Start Dec 28, 2004
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Trip End Mar 08, 2005


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Saturday, January 22, 2005

By now our hair is permanently salty and our bikinis full of sand, but we just can't get enough of the beaches. We left behind the quiet beach villages of New South Wales, and crossed over the Queensland border into the Gold Coast. Here the coastline was full of high-rises and the beaches packed with people. The vibe wasn't nearly as chill as New South Wales, but we still managed to have a good time thanks to a chance encounter. We slept in a beach front car park in the town of Coolangatta. We awoke to a friendly Italian, Alberto, who had slept in his VW bus next to us. It all started with, "Good morning, you want a coffee?" We were introduced to his larger group of Italian friends who all lived to surf. We spent the morning surfing the D-bah beach, where a surfing competition was being held. The current here was hardcore and washed Kim up onto the rocks where she was rescued by a couple of strong lifeguards. For lunch, we all went to Denis's (one of the Italians) apartment where we were treated to the best spaghetti carbonara of our lives
37.Denis, Alberto, and the decked out VW
37.Denis, Alberto, and the decked out VW
. At sunset we surfed again. The ocean reflected the sunset's colors so beautifully that you could not tell where the water ended and the sky began.

We spent two days with the Italians and enjoyed immensely being cooked for and treated so well. We've decided that positive karma from our past lives has caught up to us because good things keep coming our way. Alberto happens to have a cousin who owns a house on the gorgeous Thai island of Ko Samui and has invited us to stay with him there.

Besides taking care of a few errands, we bypassed Brisbane. In a car with no air conditioning in the sweltering heat, we had no patience for the chaos of a big city. We are in the beach village frame of mind.

Skipping the rest of the built-up Gold Coast, we found relief in the slower-paced Sunshine Coast. Last night, we pitched our tent (illegally) on Peregrin Beach. By moonlight, we chased hand-sized crabs on the beach. It was incredibly peaceful to fall asleep to the sound of waves crashing and a distant thunderstorm.
Coolangatta hotels Slideshow

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