Surfers Paradise (Australia)
20 March - 24 March 2024
Buckle up,
folks, because this write up is going to take you from the back blocks of my immediate
post toddler life and the associated memories I have managed to retrieve from
the promenade of Croatia's sun kissed Adriatic coast city of Split to the sunny
sands of Surfers Paradise, Australia! Picture it now. There I am, somewhere
between the ages of 6 and 9, when life was as uncomplicated as a building a sandcastle
on the beach and family bonds seemed to be as strong as the ocean's currents.
During those years I was lucky enough to have spent a few Summers in the
beautiful, tranquil Croatian coast fishing village of Stomorska. Back then,
during the early 1980’s, Croatia was still relatively undiscovered. Of course
Germans and Swedes were clued into the wonders of the Croatian coastline, and
Yugoslavs made their way to there in abundance but the difference between those
days and the mass tourism mecca of today is that ‘they’, i.e., Croatians,
probably didn’t really recognise that what they had was world class, that it IS
an exceptional piece of territory. For that matter, we probably didn’t know it
either. The world was still a relatively small place back then and what you
identified as idyllic could very well have been
a pathetic backwater, or, it could have been a Dubrovnik in hiding, just
waiting to be inundated. With that said, we all know about the Adriatic
coastline now.
At the ages of 6-10 your perspective of the world is a certain way and your expectation is that sees it exactly the same. For example, half of my family lived on the other side of the world and I really assumed that everyone else was in the same situation and experienced exactly the same thing as me. As my cousin once said to me, ‘The fact that I had a cousin on the other side of the world was totally normal, I never thought of it as being unique or different’. We travelled to Yugoslavia on a yearly basis to visit my mum and dad’s family and of course, I assumed that everyone else travelled back home to meet with their families each year (maybe coming from Australia that’s partially true). I had cousins in Belgrade who doubled as my older brothers for short periods of time, so that when we were all on holiday together we had laughter that echoed like waves crashing against the shore, we had great company and we had the warmth and good nature of family coming together.
Fast
forward to the present, and there I am, eagerly anticipating for the arrival of
Inga's family from Europe. Time has whisked us from one continent to another,
leaving behind my childhood memories of a small Croatian fishing village. Yet,
amidst the chaos of my own schedules and
obligations, the stars thankfully aligned and allowed for a nice chunk of time
between my attendance to a team corporate coaching session in Surfers Paradise
to coincide with their arrival, and for us to coordinate the logistics so that
we could all be upon on the GC together for a wonderful 5 days.
View from our bedroom at the Hilton Hotel - Surfers Paradise - Gold Coast - Queensland - Australia
Ah, Surfers Paradise, where the sun-kissed beaches stretch as far as the eye can see, and the only thing more abundant than the waves are the tourists. Sure, it may be a bit overhyped, like a surfer exaggerating the size of their last wave, but there's no denying the allure of this place. From the iconic Q1 building looming over the skyline to the golden sands that beckon beach bums and sun worshippers alike, there's a vibe here that can be infectious and its never beyond you to simply get taken away by the beauty of both the coastline and the Hinterland. It could almost be a great place….but I’ll leave that discussion for another time and place.
Hilton Hotel - Surfers Paradise - Gold Coast - Queensland - Australia
Hilton Hotel - Surfers Paradise - Gold Coast - Queensland - Australia
Our two-bedroom abode within the Hilton
complex offered front-row seats to the GC’s main drawcard, its stunning coast. It's a
view that could inspire even the most landlocked of souls to dream of a life
spent riding the waves. And speaking of waves, you better believe that Davis convinced
me to take chance to ride our first ones by starting off with our first surfing
lesson! Imagine that, a Latvian convincing an Aussie to head out into the waves
with a board, its like an Aussie convincing a Canadian to tie up a pair of
skates and get out on the ice. So with surfboards in hand and a sense of
adventure we paddled out into the great
unknown, ready to conquer the waves and carve our names into surfing history….or
a little more realistically, to actually just try and stand on the darn thing
whilst it was moving.
But amidst the thrill of catching waves and soaking up the sun, what was cool was to be able to just share the experience with someone that you like. Even better was the fact that I think we were both into it, so the 2hr session literally flew by. What an absolute blast. It’s taken me nearly 50 years to jump on a surfboard, and I can’t figure out for the life of me what prevented that from ever having happened in those years preceding. I’ve been snowboarding since I was 18 and certainly the logistics of getting to the snow in Australia is by far much more excessive than cruising to the beach (although a 1hr drive from Seven Hills in traffic was never my idea of fun). I know that there are many Europeans, including Latvians, who believe that Aussies are given a surfboard at birth (which now I think of it, really should be the modus) …and hey, when I was out there it felt as though it should have been some I acquired as a birthright. There sun, surf and salt, there’s a lot to be said not just for the sport but the process. Here’s to having a 2nd lesson way before my 100th birthday.
The rest of our stay on the GC was
more just taking in the environment, and for myself and Inga, reminiscing to
some extent, the lives that we had left here some 3 yrs earlier. The GC was a
good time. Certainly the weather is impeccable and living a 60 second walk from
the beach was such a pleasure.
On our final day we took a cruise
down to Byron Bay to catch up with our mates, Hoges and Hemsworth. Byron is a
cool spot. It has its capitalistic hippy vibe, which whilst a contradiction, is
rather accurate. But still there’s a relaxed vibe that seems to be imbued within
the fabric of those Northern NSW coastal towns. It’s just relaxed, laid back
and time slows down for you. I guess that’s the charm that we look for from
places like that.
