The surf’s up but it’s no paradise due to the windy, wet weather. Karen does sort out a good 7th floor apartment in Broadbeach though, with great views of Surfer’s impressively towering above the flat land around. There’s a swimming pool with Jacuzzi as well as a tennis court where Harley turns out to a bit of a natural. At the first attempt he knocks 50% of the balls back over the net with interest – not bad for aged 3 1/2.
It’s Monday and the weather’s still too cloudy for the beach so we head out to the hinterland for the day. The attractions seem to come in pairs in the tiny town of Cedar Creek. After visiting the local cheese/ice cream shop we head down to the more curiously partnered winery/glow-worm farm. Queensland is probably Australia’s second worst state for growing grapes (just ahead of the desolate Northern Territories) and has never been famed for it’s wine. This tasting did little to change that impression with the exception of a great late-harvest Semillon/Chardonnay/Verdelho.
The glow-worm cave was a huge man-made structure where hundreds of the little blighters are relocated from the wild and fed two thousand freshly caught insects per day (snared personally by our guide in large butterfly nets). The interesting part was the practical uses of the glow-worms bright green bottoms (otherwise known as bioluminescence) in relation to low energy lighting and potential cancer cures.
After a quick bite to eat we go on a long scenic drive through dense woodland, along winding mountain roads and past wallabies in the wild. Harley falls asleep and Karen kindly stays in the car with him while Ruby and I go on a treetop walk. We climb up to 30 metres above the forest floor at one point and pop our heads our above the canopy for a great view despite the somewhat unnerving wind and rain. It’s a long way back to Broadbeach but for once we find a decent radio station to make the driving easier.
Karen and I agree to stay in on Valentine’s Day to avoid the overcrowded restaurants. Instead we get a babysitter for the day before and the day after to sample a bit of the nightlife. We start off the first night at the Versace hotel for cocktails then hit a few bars in Surfers. God knows why this place is so popular, it seems rather tacky and sleezy at the same time – a naff version of Soho perhaps. I do like the hot ‘Meter Maids’ though who dress like college girls and top up any parking meters before a penalty becomes due. Did we forget to eat ? Sadly Broadbeach has shut down for the night by 11 pm so we get back to the babysitter early and find out that she has very sweetly serenaded Ruby and Harley to sleep with her dulcet tones and the guitar she brought along.
Sadly The same girl is not available for our second night out as she’s already booked in to look after 7 kids ! This time Karen has a good head start having met a friend at midday for drinks. The friend goes back home at about 6pm and Karen and I head off to the casino for a bit of a flutter. We play blackjack for about an hour and are both about even and heading for the exit when I nip to the loo and come back to find Karen starting to win by playing ‘behind’ some guy who’s doing well (basically he plays the hand and she wins if he wins). I foolishly decide to play some more and recklessly lose $50 in 10 minutes (all the Cambodia winnings and more that took two nights to accumulate !) - still it’s only about £20. Again we fail to find any food after 11pm – we must be losing some weight by now surely ?!
Still the weather stays sh*tty so we head to the massive local shopping centre to stock up on food as well as toys for the kids. Sadly the giant cuddly bears that Harley takes a shine to have to stay in the shop, but compensation is swift in the form of an electric car grand prix with Ruby and a few other kids. In the evening we take the kids to the Icebar where we get kitted out in Antarctic gear for drinks at 11 degrees below zero. The whole place is made of ice including the furniture and glasses and we shiver our way through a couple of cocktails/cranberry juices before our maximum permitted 30 minutes is up. Certainly a novel experience we all agree as we emerge into the 40 degree warmer evening.
It’s time to leave Surfer’s and indeed Queensland. As we enjoy the fantastic views back from Coolangatta across the water to a mirage of skyscrapers I reflect on a myriad of different landscapes, climates and people we’ve experienced over the last 2 months in just one state. Suddenly the scenery changes again to rolling verdant hills as we enter New South Wales and at the same time as realising how the state got its name I hope life will be just as fun and varied for the next 60 days.
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