“The wish to travel seems to me characteristically human: the desire to move, to satisfy your curiosity or ease your fears, to change the circumstances of your life, to be a stranger, to make a friend, to experience an exotic landscape, to risk the unknown.” Paul Theroux
I’m on a journey to discover the best beach in Queensland, I had just crossed the Great Dividing Range close to the Queensland/NSW border. Suddenly, it was like I was in a different country. I had gone from a quiet country town to a chaotic, congested nightmare. It was like I had emerged onto an urban racing circuit, where all the cars were racing to the next traffic light. You can read about this journey on yesterday’s blog post: https://digitalswaggie.com.au/?p=2619.
I arrived at the Gold Coast Holiday Park at about 2.30 pm after an awesome day of riding. The last four kilometres being some of the most traumatic of the past twelve days. Even the bull dust and corrugations were insignificant to the traffic and shear terror of a collection of two tonne missiles driven by crazy aliens all trying to end my life.
No matter how far away you might travel, mates are mates.
My mate Dave came to meet me at the entrance and he organised for me to stay for the night with him and his wife Mandy in their temporary accommodation. Dave and Mandy have been mates for over 30 years. They kindly offered to put me up in their rented unit at the holiday park. It was great to catch up with them and share my travel adventures and their mould stories (it’s a long story, suffice to say the first floods of that year caused significant mould build up in their house which had to be repaired, hence the temporary accommodation).
Dave and I had met when we worked together engineering. We soon found out that we both had an interest in SCUBA diving. In our 20’s we had gone on numerous diving adventures together. More recently we have dived on some of the better known wrecks in Queensland. Check out the following blog posts for stories of our latest diving adventures https://digitalswaggie.com.au/?p=110(opens in a new tab) or https://digitalswaggie.com.au/?p=163(opens in a new tab).
“Old Bloods”
Dave is a budding adventure Blogger and keen fisherman, he goes under the name “Old Bloods” and is busy creating videos of his aqua adventures. While my weapon of choice is Emu the KLR650 his is a red jet ski called the “Screaming Parrot”. You can check out his efforts at the following link, and remember to subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC208gjK0hxZOKvvAhZp8k3Q/videos
What’s really interesting about long term friends is that they remember you through out the different phases of your life, there’s not many people who I am still friends with that knew me when I was an engineer, a dancer and single guy on the Gold Coast.
In the morning we shared a leisurely breakfast, I had “Eggs Benedict”, it was a refreshing change from my usual muesli and very pleasant talking again with Dave and Mandy about all things retirement and travel. But they had things to do and Emu and I had to start our coastal journey photographing the best beaches in Queensland. We planned for them to come up to Townsville some time soon and then said our goodbyes.
It’s funny with friends like Dave and Mandy, you don’t get to see each other much, especially as they are at one end of Queensland and my family and I at the other, but when we do catch up it’s like there has been no time a part at all. Except that Dave and I seem to have aged while Mandy seems to have stayed 29 years old, WTF, seriously??
In the beginning……..
Welcome to day 13 of my motorcycle tour of Queensland. This is the beginning of a new part or my adventure, today I’m riding from Helensvale to Coolangatta and then back up the Gold Coast Highway. This is the start to my evaluation of all the beaches on the coast of Queensland.
I’m eventually going to be travelling from Coolangatta to Cooktown, during the journey I’m intending to go into, and photograph every accessible beach. The intentions to build a list of beaches and for you the reader to vote on which one you think is the best. The end result is a definitive list of the top ten beaches and a democratically voted best beach in Queensland.
After saying my goodbyes, I put on my helmet, glasses and gloves, turned and waved and then gunned the engine. I pulled out onto the access road leading onto the Hume Highway. Trying to channel my top gun persona I speed up to merging speed which is somewhere between 120 and infinity kilometres per hour. This is an uncomfortable speed for Emu and I can tell he’s out of his comfort zone.
Top Gun has nothing on me…….:)
With “Danger Zone” playing in my mind, I’m suddenly focused on the task, completely aware of the five blind spots I’m managing to stay out of, and the brake lights of the car in front of me. Before long, I pass through Nerang and then Mudgeeraba goes past and I solute the old Wallaby Bob Hotel. A place my brother and I spent many hours with our feet up on the veranda posts looking out over the flooded grass land that is now the Robina Town Centre Shopping Complex.
“I really dig the clothes they wear” As I travelled on down the highway the Beach Boys now playing in my mind as I reminisce over the time I lived at Banora Point Caravan Park on the Tweed River.
However, I was starting to feel the drain of constantly watching over my shoulder or trying to anticipate what the two drivers in front might be doing. The sun was not particularly hot but it was radiating off the tar sealed road, and as most of the road had solid concrete barricades the heat reflected off those as well.
Coolangatta – Gold Coast
At the very bottom of the state where it joins to NSW are a series of beaches and point breaks starting from Duranbah just north of the Tweed River, followed by Snapper Rocks and Greenmount. Each of these beaches and points are famously known for their surfing history.
However, for the average bather and tourist visiting the beach for sun and sand, the most recognised of the Southern beaches would have to be Coolangatta. Until 1998 Coolangatta was a more predictable beach than the others previously mentioned, in that the southern points and beaches were susceptible to changing sand conditions caused by the blocking of sand movement on the Tweed River Bar.
The Tweed Bar was notorious for unpredictable waves during ebb tides, sand would build up at the mouth causing hugh waves to appear out of nowhere. As the sand moved during wild weather banks would appear at Duranbah, and Snapper Rocks causing great surf conditions for surfers, but unpredictable beach conditions for bathers.
In 1998 the first stage of a project to make the bar safer was started which large amounts of sand pumped around the wall and into gullies along the water front, in effect created some of the best surfing beaches in the country. This created the ultimate surf break, which also just happened to create a perfect tube under the right conditions. On the day with the right swell you can surf from Snapper Rocks through to Kirra on a magical never ending tube.
A town with a movie star history
Coolangatta has it all in terms of beach culture, shopping for beach wear, pubs, restaurants and enough parking for everyone. It also has a celebrity history from the filming of the famous surf movie “Coolangatta Gold” to one of Australia’s best loved comedies “Muriel’s Wedding”.
The area is called Twin Towns because the border of NSW goes right through the middle of the town. On one side is NSW on the other Queensland. During the 1970’s and 80’s on arm bandits (Poker Machines), were banned in Queensland, but not in New South Wales. This would attract visitors from all over Queensland, so many establishments made a fortune. The services clubs like the RSL and the Seagull Rugby league club would attract customers with many “A” list stars performing regularly. I remember seeing Billy Connolly at the leagues club on his first tour of Australia.
Snorkelling on the Tweed
One special spot that is not a beach, but definitely worth mentioning is the Tweed Bar Wall. If you are into snorkelling you can jump in at the Tweed Boat Harbour as the tide is turning from high tide and slowly starting to go out and drift with it along the bar wall. You can following a well sign posted (underwater) snorkel trail.
I’ve seen Sharks, Eagle Rays, Octopus, Dolphins, Sea Turtles and all sorts of fish life, I learnt to SCUBA dive in the Tweed River before going out to Cook Island to complete my sea dives for my NAUI Open Water Dive Certificate. At the right time of year you can see whales just off the coast.
This is just the start of my best beaches series. From. here I ride up the coast to Surfers Paradise Beach and then into Ashmore where I’m staying the night with my niece. You can check out part two of day 13 at the following post:https://digitalswaggie.com.au/?p=2703
So long for now, hope to see you on the road sometime……..Cheers Swaggie:)
