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Road Trip North: Brisbane and The Gold Coast

ByAndiamo Harrigan

We recently took a road trip from Sydney to the Gold Coast, a pleasant 8-hour drive, especially on the back of our recent 10-hour Melbourne road trip!

We stayed at the Pacific Views Resort on Woodroffe Ave, Main Beach. This property was significantly cheaper than a number of properties in the area, so we had relatively low expectations of what the property would be like but we can say it was an absolute surprise package. It has an awesome location, great amenities, and fantastic suites, all for a great price!

Beach access, right across the road
View from our bedroom
View from our living room

Due to the proximity and feelings of nostalgia (it had been well over 30 years since we had been), we figured we would spend the $220 to visit SeaWorld. Being outside of the school holidays, there was a minimal line to enter, and purchasing online saved us about $20 and potentially some time entering the park. The crowd from the lines quickly dissipated upon entering and we entered what looked like an abandoned theme park. The memories of jetskis and waterskis on the large lake and atmosphere were replaced with a strange silence, only punctuated by a toddler screeching.

We took advantage of this and headed to the Leviathan wooden roller coast, as it was the only ride in the New Atlantis precinct that was open on the day we visited.  After this, we wandered through the small children’s area featuring Dora and Spongebob. We also managed to spot a few Ninja Turtles. We continued along to the Polar Bears and tried to spot any other sea animals but all of the enclosures appeared to be empty or under some kind of maintenance. So we attempted to find the entrance into the Storm Coaster, which took us a bit longer than we would have hoped (due to an absence of any signs and a series of blocked pathways), but we got there in the end! From the Storm Coaster we spotted the Jet Rescue Coaster. This ride was one of the highlights of the visit, with it being tied with the Mick Doohan Bike ride at Dreamworld as being one of our favourite accelerator rides.

Dora – one of the highlights
After our three rides, we again attempted to find sealife and found ourselves wandering through the jellyfish exhibition and onto the penguins. After this, we ventured to the exit via the gift shop.
For two forty-somethings, I would not say we got awesome value for money at SeaWorld. Having said that, we have paid more to spend 3 hours in a line at MovieWorld, but it was more than just the lack of sea life and rides. There was almost an apathy from the staff which was palpable. In each store, we ventured into or attraction we entered, we were met with more than just indifference. It was disdain. This was jarring when compared to our experiences at Disneyland, Disneyworld and even Dreamworld.
A more memorable part of our trip was our drive along the coast from Surfers Paradise to Coolangatta. We were looking for a more southerly location where we may consider holidaying in the future. Coolangatta was lovely, not just because of the cafe/brewery with a wall of mini polaroids of their doggo visitors.
We were also able to relive our childhood memories of standing on a state line, one foot in each state. With the improvements in motorways bypassing smaller towns and getting us all to our destinations quicker, we have lost the ability to memorialize our crossing over into different states or territories, but we were able to experience this in Coolangatta. We will be back to Coolangatta again, as it was away from the hustle and bustle and nightlife of the Gold Coast, which, as forty-somethings, we are seeking to escape from.
We spent the afternoon visiting Fortitude Valley before getting down to the business of our whole purpose in being in Queensland—to meet and greet one of the WWE’s biggest superstars, the Undertaker.
This was a phone-free event, so after we had our pictures taken, meeting and greeting the great man, our mobile devices were stored in a secure pouch, where they stayed until the show was over.  This was a shame because I was called up on stage to participate in some Undertaker Trivia (which I sucked at), but for my efforts scored a signed Undertaker t-shirt. But I do have a lovely series of photos of me completely freaking out at the sheer size and humility of an absolute icon.
Be cool. Be cool. Be cool. Doh!
Some of our ‘must dos’ while on the Gold Coast include:
  • Check out the outlet stores at the Harbour Town Premium Outlets – These are most like the American outlet stores we have found in Oz.
  • Try out the Lime electric bikes – they were an absolute blast to use, super easy, and represented great value.
  • Enjoy the sunshine – the best part about heading north is enjoying the warmth!
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