Taste of the Gold Coast

​Before I ever set foot in Australia, my friends and family in the US put me in contact with any Aussies they happened to know. One was my Dad’s former coworker Antonia, who answered all my questions about Australian cities with long and thoughtful emails. Another was a couple who used to live in Rhode Island, Ed and Ellen. I had spoken to Ed on the phone and he welcomed me to visit. Though I had never met any of these folks before, they were all located in the Gold Coast region (south of Brisbane), so I decided to visit and match a face to a name. As it turned out, they were both in the city of Surfer’s Paradise, and just a 5-minute walk apart! File under: “small world stories.”

​Through some internet sleuthing, I also found a distant relative of mine (from the Czech-Tasmanian branch of the family) who was living in Gold Coast. I reached out online and he confirmed the family connection! He was very friendly and open to meeting. Unfortunately, he had an obligation on the days I was in town.

​I was a little disheveled when I finally arrived in this beach paradise. My redeye flight from Perth to Brisbane had arrived around 5:45am. I took the train from the airport across the Brisbane metropolitan area and then had to transfer to a Gold Coast tram. It was a solid 2-hour journey – the Gold Coast is definitely not a suburb of Brisbane. The train was basic, but the tram was modern. It was decorated with pink kangaroos wearing backpacks and had recently upgraded to allow tagging on with a credit card. The tram line was being extended farther south to the Gold Coast airport, a major construction endeavor.

Antonia, who had agreed to host me for two nights, greeted me at the tram station. It was so energizing to finally meet! She introduced me to her husband Evan. Antonia is Canadian, and Evan is Australian, so it was fun to ask them questions about life in Australia vs. other places. Both work from home and were about to start their normal Fridays, but still found time to make me a cup of coffee and point out the balcony views. It had an amazing vantage over the coastal promenade and beach. The constant waves, several ranks deep, stretched out into the distance. A nearby construction project, still laying the foundation, would eventually rise and truncate the view but there was still time to savor the full picture.

​While the workday was in swing, I made plans to see Ed and Ellen for lunch. At the time, we didn’t realize how close their apartment was to Antonia’s, so they picked me up in their car and took me for a driving tour of the area. We passed by some of the touristy shopping streets and a theme park – of which Gold Coast has many. At the far end of the peninsula, called the Spit, we found a lively marina scene with jetskis, dredging ships, brush turkeys, dogwalkers, and more. It was a dazzling display for the jet-lagged eyes.

​We briefly stopped at their apartment, and I was treated to my second set of panoramic views for the day. Ed and Ellen had an incredible range of visibility including a balcony facing inland, towards the mountains of the Gold Coast hinterland. It overlooked a park and a neighborhood of canals, with private docks for each house. It reminded me a bit of Newport Beach. Lorikeets, ibises, and eagles criss-crossed the skies. Admiring this network of waterways, green spaces, skyscrapers, and mountains, it was easy to understand the appeal of this place.

​Ed and Ellen took me to a favorite lunch spot next to the Marina Mirage shopping center. It was a classy restaurant on the waterfront, the kind with the waiters who know the names of the regulars and fill the wine glasses using little carafes. The char siu pork hit my taste buds with bang, catching them off guard after days of road trip food. The flat white was so good I could have downed it like a shot.

​It was a bit loud in the restaurant, but it was still a good opportunity to get to know Ed and Ellen. In their charming Rhode Island accents, they recounted their move to Australia with passion, like they were telling it for the first time. They expressed satisfaction with the Australian education system when they first moved, lamented how it’s declined since, and told me all about their four kids. Ellen recounted the saga of how they met and started dating, which was funny and wholesome. After the meal we walked around the mall and returned to their apartment for a siesta and some afternoon tea.

Meeting Ed and Ellen was so delightful and uplifting. At the same time, they were showing signs of age. Understandably so, at 90 and 87, respectively. They accidentally called me “Glen” for much of the visit, despite gentle correction. This reality also explained some of the earlier communication challenges, like coordinating a pickup location. Still, they were full of energy! The rest of us can aspire to be so active and engaging when we reach their age.
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I made my way back to Antonia’s, where Evan treated us to a lamb dinner with potatoes and bok choy. As an Aussie, preparing lamb was very much in Evan's wheelhouse. The Rusden shiraz that I brought as a gift was immediately put into action alongside this feast. After the meal, a guitar was produced and I played some tunes. Somehow my neurons were still working after a marathon day. I think it was all the tasty food! Evan recognized some of the Vivaldi pieces I played, as his grandfather was a noteworthy violin player.

​My second day in Surfer’s Paradise, a Saturday, was spent exploring with Antonia and Evan. We started by heading to the “trawlers,” a marina where you could buy fresh seafood directly from the boats, to pick up ingredients for dinner.

Prawns and octopus were easily procured; the third item was more elusive. The following very efficient, very Aussie conversation transpired on the dock.

Evan: “We’re after bugs.”
Fisherman: “Bugger all.”
Evan: “Bugger.”

~Translation~
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Evan: “Do you have any Moreton Bay bugs?”
Fisherman: “Sorry, I don’t have any today.”
Evan: “Ah well, that’s too bad.”

We did manage to find the Moreton Bay bugs at a seafood warehouse in a suburban area. I had never encountered these before and was fascinated enough to take a few photos. The clerk at the counter, a Kiwi with a thick accent, made a joke as we were paying, but I didn’t catch on. Back in the car, we determined that no one, including Evan, had actually understood what the Kiwi said.

​We drove into the rainforest and did a short walk at Natural Bridge. The forest was filled with twisted roots and epiphyte vines, a beautiful mess of plants strangling other plants. Some of these vines were draped over the trail and were surprisingly dense to the touch. Above us, Evan pointed out elaborate ferns called “staghorns” that grew on the sides of the trees. With a keen eye, little snails, lizards, and butterflies could be spotted too.

​The Natural Bridge itself was a rock arch carved by a waterfall and a river. At first, the waterfall was just barely visible through the entrance of the arch. As the path entered the cave, we got a better view from behind the falls. The cave was also home to tiny bats, fluttering around the ceiling.

​The trail was a loop, and on the way back, it provided views overlooking the waterfalls as they disappeared into the cave below. Back at the starting point, I was amused by the numerous brush turkeys, stalking discarded orange peels in the dirt.

​We continued the outing at Tamborine Mountain, which had good views of the region. The nearby town was filled with craft stores and fudge outlets. We ordered acaí bowls from a café that abutted a perfume store. It was late afternoon, so we skipped the rainforest skywalk and headed back to the coast.

​The final destination was Burleigh Heads, a popular surfing spot about 30 minutes south from their apartment. Here, Evan and I went for a bonus hike, with more rainforest scenery and a viewing platform looking towards Coolangatta, a city that straddled the border between Queensland and NSW. As we watched the waves, Evan explained the difference between an undertow and a riptide, and how to read the waves like the lifeguards who set the flags for safe swimming areas. After the hike, the three of us watched the surfers from the hillside and cracked open a bottle of wine.

​Once it was dark, Antonia and Evan began preparing the seafood feast. As a refresher, they watched a video on how to prepare octopus, which entailed boiling to soften it, followed by grilling to crispen the surface. The result was so tasty! The octopus joined the starting lineup of prawns, Moreton Bay bugs, and a salad. I particularly liked the bugs, which were sliced lengthwise so you could extract their lobster-like meat with a fork. The prawns were a bit messier, but also good. My humble contribution was the white wine. Antonia and Evan had gone overboard with the quantities, so we all had more than our fill. Later, they introduced me to a favorite TV show called Episodes, about British screenwriters who are flown to LA to make a US version of their hit show.

​The next morning, I bid Evan and Antonia farewell and walked to the Greyhound bus terminal. It was a strange sensation leaving Surfer’s Paradise without really seeing its main tourist center. Still, with help from my Gold Coast supporters, I had really experienced the region’s delights. From beach views to rainforest scenery to scrumptious seafood, it was a paradise for more than just the surfers.