Located in the southeast corner of Queensland, Gold Coast is characterised by one of the most diverse natural environments of any city in Australia.
With around 70km of beaches, the city lies amid five major river systems and has hundreds of kilometers of waterways. The city's population of around 470,00 residents is multicultural, cosmopolitan and diverse in its origins.
This diversity is reflected in its nightlife, cafes and restaurants and its environment. Immediately to its west and north is a rural hinterland that provides many walking opportunities, tropical rainforest while to the east is the ocean with its opportunities for swimming, surfing, boating and diving.
Tourism is the city's largest industry, for obvious reasons, and tourists are well provided-for with facilities such as Movie World, Sea World, Dream World, Conrad Jupiters Casino and a host of accommodation from five star hotels to camping grounds, with everything in between.
Gold Coast Working Holiday
Enjoy a Long Working Holiday at Sub-Tropical and Fastest Growing City, Gold Coast
The Gold Coast is one of the beautiful and active coastal cities in Australia. While there are themed parks, gardens, shopping malls, and tasty cuisine centres at one hand, there are mountains, parks, and crystal sandy beaches with turquoise blue waters alongside on the other hand.
Tourists often plan a long holiday; say a year long trip to the Gold Coast and its neighbouring areas. A Working Holiday visa is what such travellers need to work and enjoy the Gold Coast and its surrounding areas.
Beaches and Water-Sports
There are numerous surfers’ clubs in the city where hundreds of tourists and surfers enrol during the surfing season. The beaches attract family goers and surfers, especially at the The Spit, Main Beach, Surfers Paradise, Mermaid Beach, and Miami, Burleigh Beach.
Along the 60 km long beachfront area, there are many pubs, motels, casinos, hotels and surf clubs which house people. You can join as a worker in these surf clubs or actively join the surfing team to teach or assist the surfers.
Travel and Tourism
Tourism is a great success at the Gold Coast, partly because of its beautiful natural habitat and partly because of its urbane growth. Those who love the theme parks, beaches, and museums, hire a car for a long drive.
If you are interested in driving and can really enjoy long drives to the mountains, here is your chance. A job at a car rental will allow you to enjoy a long drive to the Gold Coast Hinterland as well as earn some money in the process.
At airports, car rentals are available that hire drivers for rent-out cars for travelling to vineyards, rainforests, beaches, and waterfalls along the coastal city. Some who don’t fancy such outdoor trips; can settle for eateries where they can work as waitresses and bartenders.
Catering Services and Work of an Aide
Hospitality is yet another sector where short-term workers are hired. The agencies often organize banquets where people are required for waiting positions on an on-call basis. As the Gold Coast is a surfer’s paradise, it is easy to get such jobs – shifts are recommended. All you need to do is to sign-up with the agencies, submit your application, and wait for your turn.
Sports activities are one of the active business options in the Gold Coast. Not only water sports, but other sports are also played with equal zeal in the coastal city. During a tournament, you can get jobs at the stadium. If you are a sports freak, you can earn your living while enjoying the city life at the Gold Coast.
Backpacking at Gold Coast
Each year thousands of Gap Year students travel to Australia on a Working Holiday visa. This holiday not only allows them to gather work experience but also enjoy a warm holiday in the country. Many travel during the wintry months when the climate is dry and pleasant. Those who enjoy beachside activities visit the Gold Coast during this time of the year.
Are you ready for a working holiday at the Gold Coast? Write to us for suitable jobs and entertainments in this coastal city.
Gold Coast Beaches
One of the most popular beaches on the Gold Coast is Surfers Paradise. It is a busy beach. There is a lot of activity going on. Surfers Paradise is a great place to swim. The beach’s waves make it a good place to do some surfing. Close to the beach there is an abundance of cafés and shopping areas. At Friday nights beachfront markets are there where visitors can get a souvenir to treasure the memory of being at the Gold Coast.
Broadbeach is a long stretch of beach on the Gold Coast. Along the beach are some parks where visitors can come and take a rest. The parks have sheltered picnic areas; playgrounds, and barbecues. There is some opportunity to surf as well.
Nobby Beach is a quiet beach. It is ideal for relaxation. Visitors can take a walk and see the beautiful sunrise. Miami has a relaxing beachfront with barbecue and picnic places. People can also take a walk up to the cliff and catch the view of the coast.
Gold Coast’s most well-known board riding beach is Kirra Point. Surfers with experience will come across waves that will give them a challenge. Less-experienced surfers can enjoy the smaller waves close to shore.
Greenmount Beach and Rainbow Bay are the Gold Coast’s beaches that face north. They provide conditions ideal for swimming. If people go to Snapper Rocks there is a greater chance of viewing whales when they go on their annual migration during the colder parts of the year.
Mermaid Beach is located south. This beach is suitable for those wanting quiet time. The beach has laid-back surroundings. Mermaid has bike tracks; a playground, and picnic areas.
Main Beach is on the eastern side of the Nerang River estuary. Visitors can come to Main Beach by walking the track from Surfers Paradise riding a bike. There are several options for eating at this beach. Visitors can go the surf lifesaving club for light refreshments. The Beach’s bathing pavilion is a good place to get a snack. People can also come to one the al fresco cafés. Visitors can also go to the jetty for fishing. Water equipment such as body boards and surf boards can also be hired out.
At the southern end of the Gold Coast are the Bilinga, Currumbin and Tugun Beaches. These beaches are a quieter alternative from some of the northern ones. Surf clubs are present at the three beaches.
Gold Coast Hinterland
The Gold Coast Hinterland is one of Australia’s most biologically diverse areas. It is a place home to a diverse range of animal and plant life. There are several places to visit ranging from Tamborine Mountain to Lamington National Park. The Hinterland’s National Parks are a good place for those wanting to take walking trips.
The region has a broad range of places to stay. Visitors can stay on camp grounds, lodges and guesthouses. Gold Coast Hinterland also has quite a number of cafés and restaurants. They can also see numerous galleries displaying art and craft made by the locals. Scenic views of this region can also be observed by driving through. Tourists will be able to see gorges, valleys and other natural wonders. Visitors can choose from a number of organised tours of the Gold Coast Hinterland. This option can be considered for those who do not want to drive though the region. An advantage of organised tours is that visitors can spend more time experiencing the beautiful sights of the Gold Coast Hinterland.
In the Gold Coast Hinterland the two main towns are Mudgeeraba and Nerang. Nerang is a town with a country lifestyle. Mudgeeraba is also a country town. This town is at the lower part of Tallai Hills. Mudgeeraba has a village fair on the first Saturday of the month. The fair has various entertainment and stalls.
West of Nerang is Tamborine Mountain. This area is divided into several individual national parks. Based around Mt Cougal is Springbrook National Park. When you take a drive to Springbrook you pass by great scenic views. West of Springbrook National Park is Lamington National Park. This is the place of the Lamington Plateau.
When driving through the Gold Coast Hinterland visitors can come across the Gold Coast Hinterland Wine Trail. Along the trail there are some boutique wineries. At the wineries tourists can taste fine wine along accompanied with good food.
Gold Coast Jobs
Located at the sea coast in Brisbane, Queensland, Gold Coast attracts maritime activities as it offers a direct access to the Pacific Ocean. Apart from jobs catering to tourism, film production, and commercial trades, the non-capital city has started many mega projects to boost the infrastructure and economy. Mega projects, such as Gold Coast University Hospital is expected to offer useful jobs to staff members and specialists for its 750-bed facility. While under construction, the project has attracted many engineers, construction workers, architectures, and management authorities. The Gold Coast Rapid Transit is yet another mega project to construct light rail system along the Gold Coast city. In the first stage of the project, the rail line would be constructed to link Gold Coast Campus, Broad Beach, and Surfer’s Paradise. At least 6000 and more jobs are expected to be generated because of this project. Projects are also underway to give Surfer’s Paradise a facelift. This would generate jobs for construction workers, engineers, and hoteliers.
Residential projects, such as The Wave and Verve Broad Beach, would provide employment to the hospitality sector. About 150 million AUD has been awarded to encourage youth recreation and art related activities. The Upper Coomera Community center would provide art related jobs and workshops for the youths. No wonder, variety of jobs at Gold Coast have lowered the unemployment rate to 5.5 percent – a rate that is below the country’s average level.
Gold Coast Shopping
Shopping at the Gold Coast
There is a wide range of shopping experiences on the Gold Coast. Visitors can go to shopping villages, diverse shopping centres, shopping arcades, boutique stores or art and craft markets. The Gold Coast is home to some of Australia’s shopping areas.
On Elkhorn and Orchid Avenues people can find products from well-know brands such as Cartier, Gucci, Fendi, Prada and Louis Vuitton. Shops on these parts are often open until 9 p.m. On weekends there are the Carara Markets. Other markets are on Broadbeach, Burleigh Heads, Canungra Country Market, Coolangatta, Robina Town Centre, Surfers Paradise and Tamborine Mountain.
Within Surfers Paradise is Paradise Centre. It has a mixture of shopping, dining and entertainment. The centre is just opposite of one of Australia’s most popular beaches. There are more than 100 specialty stores. This place is also in close proximity to tourist accommodation.
Pacific Fair is the place where many of Australia’s main retailers are. It is located south of Surfers Paradise. Major stores that operate there include Myer. In addition to them are more than 270 specialty retail businesses. There is also a food court full of bars, cafés and restaurants.
Harbour Town has many stores that sell good-quality merchandise. It is also the place with Gold Coast’s largest cinema complex. Its cinema complex shows movies on 14 screens.
Marina Mirage is just a short driving trip from Surfers Paradise. Visitors can shop and dine on a waterfront location. Marina Mirage has art galleries, award-winning restaurants and boutiques.
Australia Fair is 2 kilometres north of Surfers Paradise. In this place there are more than 200 specialty stores. In addition there are Australia’s major retailers operating including Coles, Woolworths and Kmart. Birch Carroll and Coyle Cinemas also operates at Australia Fair.
Gold Coast Sightseeing
The Gold Coast is located southeast spot of Queensland and is a popular destination for international students, tourists and Australian families looking for a local getaway. Tourism is the city’s biggest source of revenue. The City is known for its subtropical climate, beaches, energetic nightlife, theme parks and other tourist attractions.
Surfer’s Paradise is a suburb within the Gold Coast, a tourist hot spot and is well known for being the destination for Schoolies Week, an end of year celebration in November for high school graduates. Around 50, 000 students travel to the city every year.
Q1 Building opened in 2005 and is the second tallest building (accessible to the public) in the southern hemisphere. The first is Eureka Tower located in Melbourne.
Q1 is over 300 metres tall and is a residential tower.
Dream World opened in 1981 and is Australia’s largest theme park. It was also the location of Australia’s version of popular reality television show Big Brother. At the end of 2006, in association with Dream World, the water park, WhiteWater World opened next door.
Some of the park’s most popular rides and attractions include:
The Claw – Was the most recent ride to open. It is able to swing 120 degrees and up to nine storeys high.
The Cyclone – Is one of the tallest roller coasters in Australia.
Tiger Island – There are daily shows featuring Bengal and Sumatran tigers and their handlers. This is the only exhibit of its kind in Australia and is just one of two in existence internationally.
Tower of Terror - Is a reverse freefall ride and is currently the world’s fourth fastest ride.
Australian Wildlife Experience – Is a zoo inhabited with over 800 animals.
Sea World is known more for its marine mammal exhibits and is the oldest out of the three main theme parks, opening in 1971. The park has a lot of marine wildlife attractions with aquariums and native marine animal exhibits such as polar bears and sharks. There are also daily performance shows with trained dolphins and sea lions.
Warner Bros. Movie World opened in 1991 and is a movie related theme park. The park is known for having performers dressed as popular fictional characters ranging from comic book heroes to Looney Tune characters can be seen wandering around the park. There are also film studios located within the compound. Popular rides include:
Batwing Spaceshot – Opened in 2006 the ride reaches the speed of 64km per hour and the of height of 61 metres.
Lethal Weapon – Opened in 1995 and is one of the park’s longest lasting roller coasters.
Superman Escape - Opened on Boxing Day in 2005 and accelerates from 0 to 100km in two seconds.
Wild West Falls – Opened in 2001 is a water raft rid that ends with a drop considered the biggest of its kind in Australia.
Wet ‘n’ Wild Water World opened in 1984 and is the biggest water park in Australia. It is opened all year long as the 15 slides and 4 pools are heated during the cooler seasons. It is located next to Movie World.
Gold Coast Theme Parks
The Gold Coast is the amusement park capital of Australia. Four of Australia’s seven major theme parks are located along one easily accessed stretch of the Pacific Highway. If you’re a thrill seeker, fun lover or water junky, these theme parks will suit you.
Most popular Gold Coast Theme Parks
Dreamworld
The biggest and by many accounts the best, Dreamworld’s very appropriate motto is So Many Worlds in One. The parks 30 hectares includes Wiggles World (the official home of the Wiggles), Tiger Island, White Water World and an IMAX theatre. Dreamworld also has Australia’s most thrilling rides, such as the Giant Drop, a 38 storey freefall that is the highest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.
Movie World
At this movie themed park, your favourite characters come to life. Where else can you see Marilyn Monroe cavort with Shaggy from Scooby Doo? All the rides here relate to movies, such as the thrilling Lethal Weapon roller coaster, the fun Scooby Doo ride and the Batman simulation, while the 4D cinema provides an entertaining Shrek experience.
Wet N Wild Water World
Wet N Wild is Australia’s largest and most exciting water park. Featuring water slides and other water related rides for adults and children, Wet N Wild is an action orientated day of fun. If you’re going in a group, make sure you race each other on the speed slide!
Sea World
Sea World showcases marine life while also providing rides and entertainments for families. Their newest and most popular attraction, Shark Bay, gives brave punters the chance to get up close and personal with these toothy predators. Sea World’s water shows are also very popular.
Grown up kids should include a visit to the Gold Coast’s theme park strip in their itinerary. The hardest part is choosing which one to see!
Gold Coast Weather
Gold Coast Climate
Residents of the Gold Coast enjoy plenty of warm weather for most of the year, about 300 days every year. During the summer the temperatures are usually between 20° Celsius to 30° Celsius. Winter temperatures often range from 10° Celsius to 20° Celsius. Such warm temperatures make the Gold Coast a very popular tourist destination.
Average Historical Rainfall at the Gold Coast (in millimetres)
Summer: December, 133.3; January, 177.8; February, 191
Autumn: March, 202.6; April, 138.8; May, 132
Winter: June, 96.5; July, 75.6; August, 56.4
Spring: September, 58.8; October, 87; November, 104.1
Average Historical Temperatures at the Gold Coast (in Celsius)
Maximum
Summer: December, 28.1°; January, 28.5°; February, 28.3°
Autumn: March, 27.6°; April, 25.9°; May, 23.3°
Winter: June, 21.2°; July, 20.6°; August, 21.4°
Spring: September, 23.3°; October, 25.2°; November, 26.7°
Minimum
Summer: December, 19.2°; January, 20.3°; February, 20.5°
Autumn: March, 19.2°; April, 16.5°; May, 13.4°
Winter: June, 10.6°; July, 9.2°; August, 9.8°
Spring: September, 12.1°; October, 15°; November, 17.4°
The Gold Coast is Queensland’s second most populous city, with Brisbane being the most populous. It is also Australia’s most populous non-capital city. The Gold Coast is famous for its warm, sub-tropical climate; high-rise apartment buildings; popular surfing beaches; rainforest located west of the city; active night-life, and its broad range of tourist attractions.
Q1 is the world’s tallest residential tower. It is also Australia’s only observation deck close to the beach. This point is a good option for tourists at the start of their visit to the Gold Coast. The best time to visit is during the day. At Q1 tourists can observe the long coastline that stretches over a long distance. Gold Coast is also famous for its theme parks. The five most popular theme park destinations are Dreamworld, Sea World, Movie World, Wet ‘n’ Wild and Whitewater World. All these places have a large variety of places and activities that keep tourists entertained all day.
Tourists can also visit the Gold Coast’s hot-air ballooning facilities. Riding on a hot-air balloon is expensive but the experience is worth every cent. The views of the city on a hot-air balloon are unforgettable. There are also numerous activities that will add thrills to a visitor’s time in the Gold Coast. Visitors can go jet-skiing and jet-boating; bungy jumping; helicopter tours; go-karting; scuba diving; deep-sea fishing; off-road trips on a 4-wheel-drive car, and the list goes on.
In between fast-paced activities tourists can relax and recharge on Gold Coast’s spa treatment centres. The Q1 has an award-winning resort and spa. Many top-class hotels in the city also have good quality spas. Away from the fast-paced area of the city you can relax at O’Reilly’s Lost World Spa in the Gold Coast Hinterland and the Couran Cove Island Resort & Day Spa on South Stradbroke Island.
As was previously mentioned the Gold Coast Hinterland is a good place to take time away from the quick pace of the city. This area has winery trails. Tourists can also sample homemade cheese and local alcoholic drinks. There is also the option of going on a rainforest walk on Tamborine Mountain for those seeking a bit of adventure.
For the sports-minded the Gold Coast is also famous for its sports events. The city has several franchises in Australia’s domestic sports competitions. There is the Titans in the National Rugby League (NRL); Gold Coast United in the A-League; the Blaze in the National Basketball League (NBL), and in 2011 the city will have a club competing in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Located in Queensland on the New South Wales border, and an hour drive from Brisbane (Queensland’s capital city), the Gold Coast is renowned world wide for its beautiful beaches, theme parks and subtropical rainforests.
Tourists of all age groups visit the gold coast. For the young, it offers hundreds of kilometres of ocean strips, with few beaches known to provide pleasure to surfers and to people seeking sunshine.
The most popular beach stretch in the Gold Coast is Surfers Paradise. Surfers Paradise, as the name suggests is the Mecca for surfers. Ideally located only hours drive from the Coolangatta airport, it is an easily accessible holiday spot.
Surfers Paradise provides holiday accommodation to millions of tourists every year. Accommodation ranges from backpackers hostels to five-star hotels. Many tourists, however, prefer the option of staying at one of many self-catered apartment blocks.
These apartments, hostels and hotels share a shopping strip next to the main beach. Paradise Centre, located on the main shopping street Cavil Avenue, has something for everyone. Designer outlets for shopping enthusiasts, pubs and eating joints at every third door and with a world famous beach only 100 metres away, provides a festival like atmosphere that is hard to find anywhere else in the world.
Surfers Paradise also host art and craft market every Friday night along the front esplanade of the beach.
On the South of Surfers Paradise is another holiday option, the Broadbeach. Broadbeach offers visitors shopping area along the beach which is an experience in itself. Family with children don’t have to worry about walking along while taking care of the young ones as there is a children play equipment and fairground rides that run every day of the year.
Broadbeach is also home to Kurrawa Surf Life Saving Club where the annual Australian Surf Lifesaving Titles are held.
Further south of Broadbeach is another tourist place called Burleigh Heads. Burleigh Heads offers tourist attractions such as headland cliff and the Burleigh Head National Park.
Gold Coast is host to world famous theme parks, a major attraction for all the age groups, except for the light hearted of course. Warner Bros. has 3 theme parks in the gold Coast: Sea World, Movie World, and the Wet‘n’Wild. These theme parks are in addition to Dreamworld and the Whitewater World.
Seaworld is one of its kind theme parks. Shows are held everyday involving dolphins, seals, sharks and Polar Bears. The dolphin show in particular is the most attractive one as rated by the tourists. Seaworld also has ski presentations, pirate shows, water rides, rollarcoasters and family ground for visitors to relax and enjoy the experience properly.
Tourist looking for accommodation option near Seaworld can consider award winning Sea World Nara resort which is connected to the theme park through a monorail.
Movie World, with the inspiration from Hollywood is a theme park based on the movie industry. It offers rides based on famous characters from the movies, such as Superman, Batman, Scooby Doo etc. The theme park also conducts movies related stunt shows and behind the scenes tours.
Wet'n'Wild is the Australia’s largest water theme park. It offers the fun and excitement of the world's latest slides and pools. This theme park has now opened up a few innovative water rides such as Kamikaze and Surfrider.
Dreamworld theme park is Australia’s largest theme park in size and number of rides and attractions. It has rides to suit all tastes. Its rides are divided into thrill rides, family rides and kids rides. One of the thrill rides is “the giant drop” which is the apparently the closest thing to sky diving.
Dreamworld also offers other attractions such as IMAX theatre, Nickelodeon Central, V8 Supercar redline (virtual V8 supercars experience) etc.
The other theme park in the Gold Coast is the Whitewater world. This theme park too is by Dreamworld and as the name suggests, most of its attractions are water related. Whitewater world is very popular with the families as it offers many rides for the kids and grown up alike. Few of its famous rides are “The BRO”, “The Green Room” and “The RIP”.
Although the beaches and the theme parks are the main attraction for people coming to the gold coast, the place has much more to offer.
If you want to stay away from the water and the beaches, you can head inland and see a totally different world unfold in front of you. Inland Gold Coast offers lush rainforests, national parks and picturesque villages. You also come across spectacular views on your journey inland.
Being very well connected to Brisbane and via a motorway, Gold Coast is also a very sensible base for your Queensland holiday.
Trees are Nature’s architecture of high buildings that fly. In Gold Coast, with the skyscrapers standing around and about in their majesty like coastal redwood, mountain ash, giant sequoia, noble fir, all, some of the tallest trees in the world with different heights in the forest, the question of what inspires the buildings cannot leave out the architectures of the tallest trees as part of its answer.
Also to the question of what can limit the height of a skyscraper, Nature’s own engineering in the design of trees has the answer too. A tree cannot grow beyond the supply of water from the ground below. So, it is life below, that is, the ecology of human communities and the attendant health demands that can limit the sky-rocketing of the buildings that fly. They are built to solve the problem of urban congestion. They must stop too for the sake of urban safety.
These posh buildings on flight in the sky in Gold Coast give the feeling of entering a plush forest of tall trees that radiates inner peace and physical comfort. Like being in the midst of tall trees, you feel dwarfed by the skyscrapers of Gold Coast. There is a consolation to this, however, as it is in every estate of a human being on earth. You are closer to water than the tall tree and closer to the earth than the skyscraper. The balance is kept by one helping the other.
The skyscrapers help the imagination to fly skyward even as the surfers show that here on the ground, you can be short and be lofty too! This balance of high and low in which the human imagination provides the flow of one in other is what you get on your first encounter with the mix of natural and human-made attractions of the Gold Coast.
So you want to sit down in your office or relax at home and enjoy the comfort of flight? That’s a rare kind of flying. And that’s exactly what the skyscrapers of Gold Coast promise you. They are magnificient, yes simply elegant, dainty, the product of the stretch of architectural imagination to its limit, the skyscrapers of the Gold Coast.
The tallest of them is Q1, a name for which human creativity can beat its chest. It looks like IQ turned upside down; smashed. Which is good, you would say. QI, no I mean Q1, yes Q1 is a beautiful code with disappointing simplicity. Disappointing because you never can get even a feel for what it hides until you find yourself in Queensland. Yes, got it! It means Queensland Number 1. It’s the name of the tallest building in Australia and the world’s tallest residential tower. It is located in the Surfers Paradise!
If you have seen the skyscrapers and have had a taste of the surfers paradise but have not had a taste of sandy beaches, night clubs, theaters, shopping arcades , casinos, cafés and have not been to Broadbeach, Coolangatta and Stradbroke Island that promise you the quietude of the recluse away from the ever-rolling hub of activities in central Gold Coast, then you have seen only one side of the coin of attractions and experienced only a part of the open arms welcome of Gold Coast. You need to immerse in it all to get a feel of this bubbling city that is going to remain part of you for a long time.
