THE DETAILSGETTING THERE
AirAsia X (airasia.com),
Scoot (flyscoot.com) and
Jetstar (jetstar.com) fly to
the Gold Coast from Kuala
Lumpur, Singapore and Tokyo,
respectively. A taxi from the Gold
Coast airport in Coolangatta to
Surfers Paradise is A$65.HOTELS
O’Reilly’s Rainforest
Retreat Get out of town to
this eco-resort nestled in the
hinterlands. Lamington; oreillys.
com.au; doubles from A$149.
Palazzo Versace Main Beach;
palazzoversace.com.au; doubles
from A$379.
Q1 Resort and Spa Surfers
Paradise; q1.com.au; one-
bedroom apartment from A$245.
QT Gold Coast Surfers Paradise;qthotelsandresorts.com; doubles
from A$225.RESTAURANTS AND BARS
Balter Brewery A microbrewing
joint conceived by surfing champ
Mick Fanning and other local
surf legends. Currumbin; balter.
com.au; beers from A$5.
Bazaar Gold Coast Upscale
Asian- and Mediterannean-
accented smorgasbord spot.
Surfers Paradise; qthotelsand
resorts.com; dinner is A$72, and
A$29 for kids.
Currumbin Valley Rock Pool
Café A healthy bistro and local
art gallery across the road from
the pools. Currumbin; fb.com/
currumbinvalleyrockpoolcafe;
dishes from A$8.
Fire Cue A new Latin American
charcoal restaurant with amodern Australian twist. Nobbys
Beach; firecue.com.au; mains
A$20 –$48.
The Fish House An iconic
seafood restaurant with ocean,
beach and city views. Burleigh
Heads; thefishhouse.com.au;
mains A$36–$58.
Iron and Resin Garage An
antique motorbike gallery,
men’s boutique and burger bar.
Currumbin; ironandresin.com.au;
burgers from A$12.ACTIVITIES
Get On Your Bike Bicycle rental
service with outposts around
Gold Coast. getonyourbike.com.
au; half-day rentals from A$25.
Gold Coast City Gallery The
Gold Coast's arts center. Surfers
Paradise; theartscentregc.com.
au; free.Gold Coast Jet Ski Safaris
Tours of Broadwater and South
Stradbroke Island. Main Beach;
jetskisafaris.com.au; A$190 per
Jet Ski rental.
SkyPoint Observation Deck On
the 77th floor of the Q1 building.
Surfers Paradise; skypoint.com.
au; admission A$24.
Springbrook National Park
A taste of the UNESCO World
Heritage site, Gondwana
Rainforests. Springbrook;
explorespringbrook.com; free.
Surf in Paradise Personalized
surfing lessons at The Spit.
Surfers Paradise; surfinparadise.
com.au; private surfing lessons
from A$120.
Surf World Museum A glimpse
into Australia's surfing past.
surfworldgoldcoast.com; entry is
A$10 for adults and A$5 for kids.TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM / MAY 2017 95
cockatoos and parakeets, and a sign
with a sketch of a koala that advises
me to slow down.
Then I reach the Currumbin
Valley Rock Pool, a popular picnic
spot with large flat boulders for
sunbaking and jumping into an
opal-green lagoon. “The rest of the
Gold Coast is great if you want to
party but this is where you come
to get away from it all,” says Glen
Sprudzans, who works in a little
café-cum-art gallery adjacent to the
rock pool.
The road ebbs and flows under
huge rock escarpments until it
reaches its nadir at Springbrook
National Park, part of the unesco
World Heritage–listed Gondwana
Reserve that protects the remaining
remnants of the ancient rainforests
that once covered all of Australia.
From the car park, a short walk
along a raging river takes me
to another series of rock pools,
waterslides and waterfalls. I gaze
up in wonder at giant ferns and
soaring hardwood trees, the sound
of trickling water and bird calls
ringing through the air, and ask
myself how it is that I grew up less
than two hours from here, spent
more than a quarter of a century
exploring the world, but never knew
this place existed?MAP BY AUTCHARA PANPHAI