Paradise

This is my happy place. Surfers Paradise. We started the morning with a meeting in a Broadbeach cafe that left me wishing I had not already eaten breakfast. The two coffees that I ordered were the best I have had in months, maybe even longer.

Afterwards we walk into Surfers Paradise proper. The boys are with Grammie and we have a rare day to ourselves. I insist on going via the beach. It is a perfect day and I do a quick change into my swimwear and kick off my shoes before running down to meet the cool water. My bare feet momentarily burning in the hot sand. I feel like I’m home.

The Beach

I have always been a summer girl and the beach, or at least by the water, is my happy place. This place, the Gold Coast, is one of the happiest of all.

The sky matches the sea, everyone seems to be on holidays and life is good. I kick the water and bounce along. Right here, right now, I’m selecting an apartment along the sand, ready to stay here forever.

We head up the beach enjoying the sand between our toes, the cool water on our legs. I long for a swim, to launch myself headlong into the waves, but have a burn on my leg from our outing last week, an unfortunate accident at Corin Forest, and need to keep it dry.

I watch the children swimming, splashing, playing, digging, building, covered in sand. Grand structural designs decorated with shells and bits of seaweed that tomorrow, will have been flattened, only to be built again.

I watch the adults, sleeping, reading, standing over little ones in the waves, digging moats, not quite as covered in sand as the kids. There are games of cricket, frisbee and football going on. Surf lifeguards survey the scene constantly. A couple of police on motorbikes drive by.

Christmas and New Year excesses seem to be forgotten as summer holidays really kick in. January is a laid back month in this part of the world. The Festive season is finished, school is out and many business close down for a time. It seems half the country could be on the beach today.

The Town

We make it into Surfers Paradise proper and pause to wash the sand off our feet and put our shoes back on. This is a relaxed town that centres around Cavill Avenue where swimwear is frequently on parade down the street and a loose requirement at best in the majority of cafes and restaurants that line the esplanade and avenue.

Then we head across the road to Soul and the Hurricane’s Grill, Surfers Paradise. I order champagne and oysters and kick back for a chilled lunch. From where I sit I gaze out at the strip of white bright sand that reaches out to where the sea meets the sky.

Paradise indeed.

Would I Return?

Yes. Always.