Paradise lost in the Gold Coast

Our next destination was one of the most popular holiday spots in Australia, Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. It is kind of Las Vegas of Australia and either you love it or you hate it. Endless beaches, yummy surfers, great shopping, heaps of bars and nightclubs,  different activities and theme parks. What more do you need from a paradise? 

Two friends of mine that I'd met back in Melbourne were in Surfers at the same time, so I thought it would be a good time to catch up and take advantage of their hostel room. We camped at the hostel car park and used the showers and kitchen at the backpackers. We had some goon and took a taxi to the city, but everything closed at 3am. What happened to the designated party town of Surfers?!

Since we were in Surfers Paradise, of course we had to hit the waves. We had two young good-looking instructors teaching us, but unfortunately they were more interested in catching the waves by themselves than actually teaching us. The waves were massive and the currents so strong, that every time you took a step forward, the current took you 3 steps back. It was exhausting and frustrating, and there were too many people in the water. Definitely not a surfer's paradise.

If what you want from a paradise is a good tan and good parties, then Surfers might be just the place. But at the same time, Surfers is also high-rise buildings right on the beach, tourists everywhere, party people everywhere. I got the feeling in Surfers Paradise that it might have indeed been a paradise, once upon a time, before all the tourism. 

I would have liked to spend more time in Surfers but the majority of Jucy decided to jump in the car and get away from the crowds. We drove out to a rest area for the night. I realised we had arrived in Queensland when it came dark and the big, gross cane toads were everywhere.