“In the end, everything is a gag.”
-Charlie Chaplin
After leaving the hustle and bustle of Brisbane I headed south to the Gold Coast. As I got close I noticed Theme parks all over the place. There was Sea World, Warner Bros. Theme Park and many other. I had heard this was like the Miami beach of Oz. I checked into the hostel (see second pic top row). Ha Ha…got ya. Nope, I did not stay at the Palazzo Versace. However, it was next door. The main danger of the Gold Coast beaches is the rip tide. As you see by the warning on the wall in my hostel room <first pic top row>, you must stay within the red/yellow flags. Otherwise out to the sea and sharkfood you become. I was yelled at by a lifeguard the next morning while I was boogie boarding the next day. “Keep within the flags mate” he yelled. The hula hula girls sure look nice !
I read in the local paper that a few months back a rip tide carried 26 people out and the lifeguards were only able to save 19 of them. The rest went ‘Missing”. Now I’m not sure if I’ve explained this notion of “Missing”. Every paper I have read from landing in Cairns and all the way down the coast have numerous back page blurbs of people that have gone “Missing”. Backpackers, tourists, hikers and campers go missing. Not eaten by crocs or sharks, not bitten by spiders or snakes, and certainly not drowned in rip tides. Just missing. Hmmmmmmm.
As you can see by some of my pictures a good part of the beach was closed the first day I was there. Check out pic<1 in row 2> for the place I ate just before heading out boarding for the day.
As I type this journal back safe in Canada I am watching BBC news and they are reporting a huge shark feeding frenzy just off the Gold Coast.
Surfers Paradise is the main drag within the Gold Coast. I noticed as I am walking up the market area a place you can go and shoot real machine guns. WOW!. Surfers also had these cool golden g-stringed bikini girls who would feed your parking meter. Double WOW! In the middle of Sufers where these aboriginal dancers doing some nifty moves. The music was cool as well. After all the excitement of the Gold Coast I was going to venture into the hinterland and Springbrook. I was sad that I was to miss the AC/DC cover band at the Hard Rock Cafe
