Surfers Paradise

Some places in Australia have names straight out of a merchandising handbook. Surfers Paradise for example is a place located on the Gold Coast, south of Brisbane. I’ve been told that it’s extremely artificial and not very beautiful. That’s why we (my workmate AS and me) went to Noosa on the Sunshine Coast instead.

Since we didn’t have a car there was no other way but to use public transport. Bad idea. Public transport sucks in Australia. There are four (!) train lines from Brisbane stretching north, south and west. Going to Noosa means spending two hours on a train that stops at every molehill only to spend another hour on a bus that stops at even more molehills. But once you reach the beach the view of the Pacific Ocean is just…

astonishing.

The perfect sand beach was quite crowded but not overrun. It has been ages since the last time I swam in sea water. Falling against the warm waves was just hilarious – especially when thinking of you guys freezing your asses off in good ole Germany!

We also went for a walk through the nearby national park. Walking through the jungle along the coastline we came across a couple of parrots, a frill-necked lizard and even a goanna. The last one caught us by surprise. We were both a bit shocked when suddenly this large reptile appeared on the path. Obviously it wasn’t interested in humans and continued its way through the bush.

In the end it was a great day. I sustained a mild sunburn (less than I had expected) and probably lost sweat by the litres. Having talked so negatively about Australian public transport I have to add that it was rather cheap. The whole trip was just AU$ 27.

edit: There are more train lines. Can’t remember exactly, seven or eight. Still sucks.