Gold Coast Activities

There is so much scope for kids to have fun on the Gold Coast, with the sea and fine beaches being the biggest attractions here. As well as the beach, the Gold Coast also offers amusement arcades, go-karting, and loads of fun theme parks designed with children in mind.

Amusement Arcades
If you happen to be shopping at the Pacific Fair Shopping Centre, then drop your kids off at the Intencity amusement arcade where a huge range of arcade games, including virtual reality, are available. The Pacific Fair Shopping Centre is located on the Gold Coast Highway and there are several other shopping malls in Surfers Paradise to boot. Phone: +61 7 5572 2874.

Beaches
The beaches are the Gold Coast’s main attraction and there are around 35 miles of sand that stretch from Rainbow Bay to South Stradbroke Island. The water is clean and the surf great, while full-time lifeguards patrol the area’s main beaches year round. Naturally, water sports are here in abundance with jet-skiing to banana boat riding and other activities including beach cricket and volley ball available.

Dolphin Viewing
Dolphin Wild Cruises and Charters offer fantastic trips of the Gold Coast region and out to pods of dolphins enabling you to get up close with them. Cruises go daily from the Gold Coast. Phone: +61 7 5497 5628.
 

Go-karting
There are several go-karting operations along the Gold Coast where kids and adults can do some racing. One of the best is the Kingston Park Raceway which has dozens of karts to suit all ages as well as a games room and barbecue facilities (phone: +61 7 3208 8399). MSI Racing in Ormeau is another good facility offering nearly a mile-long track (phone: +61 7 3382 6644). Le Mans Kart Racing Complex at Pimpama is well-regarded with fast cars and a long circuit (phone: +61 7 5573 1891). Parklands Speedkarts at the Parklands Showgrounds, Southport is also an alternative (phone: +61 7 5527 0060).

Playgrounds and Parks
Broadbeach, Miami and Nobby beaches all have playgrounds complete with barbeque and picnic facilities. You can also find playgrounds in some of the nature reserves of the Gold Coast and others dotted around Surfers Paradise.

Swimming
The beaches along the Gold Coast are perfectly safe for kids to swim at, but always adhere to the safety flag warnings making sure your kids swim within areas designated as safe. In addition, most Gold Coast hotels have swimming pools and there are several public swimming pools.

Theme Parks
There are several quality theme parks on the Gold Coast to keep the kids happy. Of these, Dreamworld, Warner Bros Movie World, and Wet 'n' Wild Water World are among the most popular. SeaWorld and Fly Coaster are also lots of fun. If you have particularly active kids, the three park super pass lets you visit three theme parks - Warner Bros Movie World, Wet 'N' Wild Water World, and SeaWorld - for the price of one within a 14-day period. This valued ticket also allows you to return to any one of the parks again for free.

Train Rides
There are a couple of options for fun train rides on the Gold Coast, one of which sees youngsters being able to drive a full size locomotive. In addition, Tropical Fruit World has a small, narrow gauge railway which operates at weekends. Both adults and children can ride the train. Website: www.tropicalfruitworld.com.au/

Cultural activities in Australia aren’t necessarily all about museums and history; from brewing beer to walking in the bush and even boomerang throwing, the Gold Coast is packed with cultural offerings. Of course, as with any tourist centre in Australia, there are plenty of fascinating Aboriginal traditions to delve into.

Aboriginal Dancing
Aboriginal dancing is staged throughout the Gold Coast and is known locally as a corroboree, an Aboriginal dance and sacred fire-making ceremony. Perhaps the best place to catch a corroboree on the Gold Coast is at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, which is an attraction in itself. Night tours of the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary are available on selected days. Website: www.currumbin-sanctuary.org.au.

Boomerang Throwing
Trying your hand at throwing a boomerang is an essential cultural activity in Australia. Although a boomerang looks like a simple tool, it is actually quite hard to get one to fly properly and come back to you. Boomerang throwing lessons are given at the many farms in the region which also offer farm experiences.

Bushwalking
Bushwalking, or hiking, has been part of the Australian experience for native peoples since man first walked here. There are some wonderful trails in the Gold Coast and Tweed Shire areas where you can take a guided walk or go at it alone. Luckily, the bush here isn’t as inhospitable as much of the rest of Australia due to the fertile valleys and plateaus.

Carlton and United Brewery
The Carlton and United Brewery produces many leading Australian beers and thus plays a big part in the life of most Australians. A tour of this fine brewery will reveal everything from brewing to bottling and tasting, and there are some fun interactive displays as well as a wide range of beer-related merchandise. The brewery lies on the corner of Darlington drive and the Pacific Highway in Yatala.

Glow Worm Discovery
The Gold Coast’s national parks are worth visiting by day and night, with the latter being a great time for the inquisitive to visit. Glow worms inhabit caves and crags of the rainforest and although practically invisible by day, they spend the evening aglow; a truly sublime sight. You can visit the parks independently or go on an interpretive evening nature walk. While going alone is more of an adventure, if you don’t really know much about the rainforest it pays to go with an experienced eco-guide who will make sure you don’t miss the glow worms.

Gold Coast Heritage Sites
There are loads of historical places, heritage sites and museums that include Aboriginal and European features throughout the Gold Coast region. Two of the most popular museums are the Ballina Naval and Maritime Museum and Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum. Ballina’s museum contains lots of maritime memorabilia, including a full-size La Balsas raft which made it here from South America on a trans-Pacific voyage. Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum is a big hit with youngsters and features 12 galleries with some hair-raising exhibits. Phone: +61 7 5582 0040.

Surfing
Surfing is Australia’s main sporting highlight and a culture all of its own in the Gold Coast area. Kurrawa, Duranbah, Burleigh Point, Kirra, and South Stradbroke attract some of the world’s best surfers with their huge swells and near perfect barrels. Many of Australia’s foremost athletes live and train in the region and international championships, such as the Billabong Pro and national surf lifesaving titles, are held here annually.

The Gold Coast is loaded with cafés and restaurants with all types of tastes catered for. In fact, Surfers Paradise has more eateries per square mile than anywhere in Australia.

Surfers Paradise easily has the best range of restaurants along the coast. There are hundreds of fast food joints, including the likes of KFC, McDonalds, Hungry Jacks ( Australian Burger King) and pizza places. In addition, there are numerous cheap Japanese and Korean restaurants where the quality and price needs to be experienced to believe. The Broadbeach area and Tedder avenue on Main Beach of Surfers Paradise have the best choice and range of food on the Gold Coast.

If you are overawed with the choice, simply follow your nose. For fine eating, however, the Medexotic-Shop on Chevron Renaissance in Surfers Paradise is one of the best Mediterranean-style restaurants in this part of Australia. It has great food, service, and décor as well as side entertainment on Friday and Saturday evenings.

The Gold Coast also excels in the shopping department, boasting some of Australia’s biggest duty-free shops as well as numerous boutiques and popular department stores. For Australian-made souvenirs, designer labels, perfumes, electronics, and leather goods, be sure to shop duty-free.

The best department stores are naturally in the large centres, like Surfers Paradise, where beach wear, sports equipment and souvenirs are in abundance. You will also find an array of boutiques right along the coast for some unique shopping as well as a good compliment of strategically placed terraced cafés and trendy coffee shops to rest at.

The Gold Coast also has one or two markets to speak of which can be found throughout the region on Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Handcrafts, antiques, new age items, holistic massages, and no end of food and drink is the general theme of these places and they offer a real buzz.

You will also find some surprisingly good shopping options out of the main tourist areas in the historic villages and towns around the countryside. Woodcraft and pottery are the most popular items to pick up in these places, as well as paintings and other unique knick-knacks.

There are many sporting clubs on the Gold Coast. Virtually all sports are available for participation, particularly: bush walking, basketball, soccer, Aussies Rules football and table tennis.

With some of the finest beaches in the world and a lush hinterland, the scope for outdoor activity along the Golf Coast is bewildering. Everything is available from surfing, waterskiing and game fishing to four-wheel driving, golfing, horseback trail riding and everything in between. The options are endless.

Beach Activities
The Gold Coast boasts over 35 miles of beaches, some of which rank highly in worldwide tables for cleanliness, facilities, surf and safety. You can find a beach from Rainbow Bay all the way to South Stradbroke Island, many of which are flagged and patrolled by full-time lifeguards year-round. Kurrawa, Duranbah, and Kirra are among the most popular beaches and come complete with water sports and a fantastic array of facilities for families.

Fishing
Fishing in the Gold Coast region of Australia is very good along the coast and inland amid dammed waterways. Numerous fishing charters go to some of the choicest spots in Queensland, with saltwater and estuary fishing tours as well as deep sea blue water and game fishing trips. The following fish are common in these waters: amberjack, cobia, kingfish, mackerel, marlin, shark, snapper, tuna, and the much prized sailfish. For freshwater fishing, be sure to check out the Albert Valley and the Hinze Dam catchment area. Permits are required to fish anywhere in the Gold Coast region and organised fishing trips can take the hassle out of organising things yourself. If you want to fish independently, the Gold Coast City Council offices and Hinze Dam rangers issue permits.

Four-Wheel Driving
The best four-wheel drive action near the Gold Coast is the McCalman family's Crystalvale Four Wheel Drive Park and Camp amid the Springbrook mountain range. This fantastic region is about a 40-minute drive from the Gold Coast and is outstandingly scenic. Bird watching, swimming, and camping can also be had here. Website: hillcrestbb.com; phone: +61 2 6679 1326.
 

Golf
The Gold Coast offers in the region of 30 quality golf courses within a short drive of the beaches. Some of the courses here are of world-class quality and many allow guests to play.
 

Horse Trail Rides
There are several equestrian centres in the Gold Coast area that are geared to tourists with some fine trails in the Gold Coast hinterland. The most popular adventure trail company among tourists is Numbinbah Valley Adventure Trails, which can be found between Nerang and Natural Bridge. Phone: +61 7 5533 4137.

Surfing
It goes without saying that the Gold Coast region has some of the best surf and surfing facilities in Australia and many of the country’s foremost surfing stars are based here. The Gold Coast is host to the Billabong Pro and other international surfing events, with the likes of Kurrawa, Burleigh Point, Duranbah, Kirra, and South Stradbroke providing near ideal surf. Apart from these main surfing beaches, almost all beaches along the Gold Coast have great surfing as well as less-intense swell for families to enjoy on boogie-boards.

Swimming
The swimming is also superb on the Gold Coast, with clean beaches that are mostly flagged and come with very good facilities. Lifeguards patrol the Gold Coast’s main beaches throughout the year for extra peace of mind. In addition, most hotels have a pool to two to cool off in and there are public pools galore in Surfers Paradise.

Water Sports
Surfing, waterskiing, jet-skiing, snorkelling, diving, sailing, fishing, canoeing, paddle boating, banana boating; it’s all on offer on the Gold Coast. Most beaches have a selection or all of these water sports options, particularly Surfers Paradise’s Main Beach. Waterskiing away from the beach on the rivers and waterways around the Gold Coast, namely from Coomera to Tweed Heads, is also very popular. Equipment hire and water-ski schools are best found on the Southport Broadwater, Nerang and Tweed rivers.