Gold Coast

Hey all!

Gold Coast is the last thing I haven't told you about.  The "Gold Coast" is located in Queensland (the northeastern state of Australia) and is made up of a number of little beach towns.  I went up there for a long weekend with 4 of my girlfriends and we had a blast!  We decided to go up and visit as one of my friends' friends is going to school there at Bond Uni.  She had a really nice little studio apartment at the university and we all squashed in a single bed and large couch.  A bit cramped but we made it!

Overall, the Gold Coast reminded me exactly of Florida!  It was very beautiful, but also very built-up and touristy.  It was raining a lot of the time we were there, but we managed to get over to Burleigh Heads beach for one day.  Here is a pic:

After enjoying a relaxing day at the beach, we went out for a drink and found ourselves in the middle of the Miss Universe-Australia Queensland final competition.  It was hilarious!  We even got to here all the interviews. :)  Looking at the pic, I think it was the last one on the right that ended up winning...

Here's another picture of our "cheers to Queensland" right before the pageant. 
The next day, we went to a traditional Aussie barbie for a friend's birthday.  The girl that we were staying with introduced us to a couple of her friends who invited us over for the day.  It was delicious...shrimp, steaks, sausages, and proscuitto-wrapped chicken!  After filling up, we spent the rest of the day basking in the sun and have a swim in the swimming pool at their house.  It was really fun to meet some city Aussies, as most of our friends from Wollongong live in the country so we don't get to visit families very often.

Last but not least, we decided to hit up the famous "Surfer's Paradise" beach.  It was adorable: it had a nice little boardwalk with tons of shops and restaurants, and a gorgeous beach.  Here I am enjoying the warm weather:

Our last night was spent exploring this great Gold Coast attraction called "Infinity."  It was amazing, but hard to explain: kind of like a maze mixed with a fun house mixed with a light show.  There were about 15 rooms full of mirrors and lights and all of these strange optical illusions that we had to make our way through.  Definitely one of the hilights of the trip!!  

There...finally caught up!  Hope you enjoyed my adventures and I'll see you all soon!

Caitlin