The Gold Coast Trip

In these tough Covid times, going to Queensland was much more difficult than going to international destinations. Crossing the Queensland border seemed like a huge achievement. 

Day 0: The Covid Test

This one is a special trip, as the preparations started couple of days before our actual trip. That included going to the Covid test, which meant standing in the queues for hours together and waiting for our luck. And this time we were lucky, we all tested negative and the results came back just in time for our trip.

Day 1: Sydney to Lismore

Lismore is a small town on the Queensland-NSW border, in NSW. 

Lismore is quite popular for its street art. If you can spare a few more days, then there are national parks, magnificent waterfalls and amazing nature walks around. We just had 1 night stay there, so we could explore just the town.

Day 2: Lismore to Brisbane

The drive from Lismore to the motorway, is actually quite scenic and picturesque. 

Border checkpoint were checking for the Queensland Pass, which is like a Visa for entry to Queensland. As we approached the border, the traffic was quite slow moving. After an odd 20 mins in the traffic, the banner read -"Welcome to the Gold Coast. Finally everything was happening, just as we planned!

We directly went to Brisbane to meet a friend and his family. Had a wonderful lunch at their house and then headed to Mount Coot-Tha. Mount Coot-Tha Lookout gives you a birds eye view of the Brisbane city, showing the Brisbane river meandering around. On the way down, we visited the botanical gardens. Unfortunately the planetarium was closed by the time we reached there. 

From there, we went to the Brisbane CDB. It took us an odd 20 mins drive to the city. The city is quite beautiful with the iconic bridges and landmarks. They even have a impressive man made beach in the city.

It was a day well spent. Finally we drove back to Gold Coast, which was our actual holiday destination and would be our home for the next few days.

Below are the views from our serviced apartment, which was on the 30th floor.

Day 3: Gold Coast - Sea World and New Years Eve

Next day morning, we booked the Warner Bros Amusement parks ticket and headed to Sea World.

Sea World was quite impressive. The dolphin show was amazing. And so was the Seal and Walrus shows. They have very few thrill rides, but quite good. They do have many rides for younger kids though.

In the evening, we headed to the Surfers Paradise beach. The environment was getting lit up for the New Years Eve, and so was the crowd. Finally we went to the Broadwater Parklands to watch the magnificent fireworks. The atmosphere was filled with lovely music, food stalls, fun rides and  dazzling fireworks show at the end.

Day 4: Gold Coast - Natural Bridge

It started raining in the morning, so we decided to go to the Pacific Fair Shopping Centre. It is one of the Queensland's largest shopping centre and located in Broadbeach Waters. 

In the evening, the rain started to recede, so we headed to the Natural Bridge. It is around 45 mins drive from Gold Coast and the drive is very scenic. 

Natural Bridge is located in Springbrook National Park and it a part of Gondwana rainforests of Australia. It takes you to a easy one-kilometre circuit walk and descend through the ancient Gondwana rainforest to the Natural Bridge rock arch. Hoop pines emerging from surrounding forests are living relics of the Jurassic Age, 180 million years ago. At night, you can join a guided nocturnal tour to see the resident colony of protected glow-worms and microbats. This is one of the must see places if you are around Gold Coast. Nature's True Gem.

Day 5: Gold Coast - Movie World

Warner Bros Movie World is one the the best theme parks. If you are a thrill lover, you will love it as it has some of the most thrilling rides. 

After a exhausting and busy day at Movie World, we went to Surfers Paradise in the evening. Its a lovely place to visit especially at nights. They have local markets along the beach on Fridays and Saturdays, which are quite good. The skyline looks amazing at night.

Day 6: Gold Coast - Wet n Wild

This was the last of the attraction left and the most exciting one. 

With kids, you can actually spend a whole day here. They have Wave Pools, water rides, beaches, etc, etc. All amazing. Some of the water rides are quite thrilling as well.

Again after spending a whole day at Wet n Wild, we went to chill out at Surfers Paradise. 

Day 7: Gold Coast to Byron Bay

Before saying adieus to Gold Coast, we visited the Surfers Paradise beach once again. And then headed to Byron Bay

Byron Bay is a touristic town in NSW along the Queensland-NSW border.

This was our second visit to Byron. It is such an amazing place, that you would want to keep coming. We had a lovely lunch. We played in the water at the Main Beach and finally went to the Lighthouse.

After spending the whole day at Byron, we drove to Grafton to take a halt for the night.

Day 7: Grafton to Sydney

Grafton is known for its Jacaranda flowers. But since we did not visit in spring time, we could only see the last blooms.

The town is quite big and a lovely place to halt for a night.

Finally we headed back to Sydney. Our Sweet Home :)