RadioRory
Tell an Aussie you’re in Gold Coast for Schoolies and you’ll get an instant eye roll and a look of sympathy. I had no idea I was about to visit the beach town during the first week of their Spring Break. When I lived in Daytona Beach, it was after the heydays of the 80s Spring Break but it was still a big event drawing large, rowdy crowds. The Schoolies I saw involved a bunch of teenagers walking up and down the street looking at their phones. There was no MTV, no beer funnels, no wet T-shirt or belly-flop contest. I think I was having the most fun!
The bartenders and waiters I spoke to explained that Schoolies start with the younger kids, what would be our high school sophomores/juniors. The seniors show up the week after I left. They’re the troublemakers and are old enough to buy beer, so you do the math.
The coastline along Surfer’s Paradise seems endless and I tried to see as much as I could, but those hills! Nothing like a bunch of steps to make you feel your age on your birthday!
I did get one valuable life lesson:
Truth be told, Gold Coast was never on my list of “must-see” destinations, but I have a friend who lives nearby and it all fit into my travel plans. I flew up from Sydney to Gold Coast, got a taste of Schoolies, and drove north to reunite with my friend in Hervey Bay. After a few days, I drove back to Gold Coast to hop a flight to Auckland, New Zealand, but that’s for another time.
I was taken aback by Gold Coast’s skyscrapers, the scale, and the obvious Chinese investors.
The gleaming condo towers that blot out the sun create havens of perpetual darkness on the shore and protect my pasty white skin. It’s the perfect spot to park for a couple of hours.
I considered going to Tropical Fruit World as a gas, but for $40, I think the joke is on me. I ate a mango and considered it a draw.
Further north in Hervey Bay the coastline is more rugged but there are beautiful stretches of sand too.
Seriously, I was here for about an hour on a perfect summer day and saw nobody!
Hooray for Schoolies!