Living in a Surfer’s Paradise

I hope you sung the title to the tune of Coolio..

Anyway, Surfers Paradise – wow, what a difference from the quirky little lanes of Byron Bay. High rises line the seafront, shopping and fashion take priority and the city never sleeps (even from the 17th floor of our air bnb we could hear the music pumping from the bars and clubs below).

That’s right, air bnb. After roughing it in hostels it was only right that we treated ourselves to some peace and quiet. A movie night has never been such a novelty, let me tell you! Surfers Paradise is on the Gold Coast and is known for its high rises, so it was only fitting that we stayed in one. And this one just so happened to have a bath tub in the middle of the room with panoramic views of the city, the use of 2 swimming pools, a hot tub on the roof and was located on the buzzing street of Cavill Avenue. Backpacking is a tough life right!

The day we arrived we wandered around the shops and went and got our nails done – I may possibly be the most non-backpacker backpacker there is but staying in hostels will do that to you. I don’t believe anyone that says they actually enjoy sharing a humid, cramped room with snoring, sweaty strangers. Plus, splitting the cost between the three of us meant it worked out the same as a bed in a hostel – no brainer if you ask me.

Unfortunately, however, we brought the weather from Byron with us and the next two days were relentless. The name ‘Paradise’ became questionable when we were sat looking out from our balcony at grey skies and torrential downpours. We had booked dinner at the Skypoint Bar, of which the 77th floor was hidden in the mist and fog. We had also planned to go to ‘Splash Planet’ (if you know you know) but had to cancel as the rain turned out to be a cyclone. We still managed to get up Skypoint and the views were unbelievable, despite the weather. We got dressed up and had dinner and drinks which was really lovely; a nice change from the beans on toast which have become my staple food.

So, as I said, the weather was not great. We had also booked a surfing lesson for the following day (I couldn’t go to Surfer’s Paradise and not surf!) but with the view of the beach from our balcony, we could see waves the size of buildings and were skeptical about whether or not it would go ahead. ‘Yeah why not’ was the reply of the surfer in Cheyne Horan’s surf school and so we set off to a beach down the coast (the beaches in and around Surfers Paradise were closed off because of the cyclone). Now, if you haven’t already, head over to my blog post ‘Surfin AUS’ to find out how we got on. I think we were the only three people in the ocean in the whole of the Gold Coast that day!

After an exhausting afternoon surfing we retired to the hot tub on the roof – hard life I know. Despite the weather, I fell in love with this city by the sea and would definitely like to return with some sunshine next time!

From one city to the next, Brisbane is the next stop!

Annabel x