Hey ya, all you globetrotters! Are you ready to visit another exciting place in your weekly quest to learn new words and phrases? The last leg of our Australian adventure takes us to sunny Gold Coast. Let’s go get another stamp on your language passport now!

Sun and Surf in the Sunshine State

With over 300 days of sunshine a year, it is no wonder that the beach is the favourite place to be in the Sunshine State. Whereas Surfers Paradise is the poster child of Gold Coast, Main Beach and Broadbeach are equally beautiful if not less congested. For total peace and tranquility, the Tallebudgera Creek may be a wiser option. Called “good fish” by ancient Aboriginal people, the calm waters here are all about camping, swimming, picnicking, kayaking, and even some fishing. Those seeking surf need only walk to nearby Tallebudgera Beach for a few waves.

Enchanting Forests and Waterfalls

If you have never been to Gold Coast, it may come as a surprise that the city is much more than just sun and surf. Did you know that Gold Coast is in fact Australia’s most bio-diverse city and has the largest subtropical rainforest remnant in the world? It has some of the most beautiful natural attractions and national parks.

Imagine yourself cooling off at the bottom of a cascading waterfall at Natural Bridge in the western part of Springbrook National Park, part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area. Or perhaps, taking a walk through the ancient rainforest admiring hoop pines, which are living relics of the Jurassic Age from 180 million years ago. During the day, it is possible to spot paradise riflebirds, green catbirds, wompoo fruit-doves and also rare and threatened species like the cascade tree frog, tusked frog, and sooty owl. At night, join a guided tour to see the resident colony of protected glow worms and microbats.

The Burleigh Head National Park, a wild and natural headland in the heart of Gold Coast, offers walks along the rocky foreshore and the chance to see whales in winter and spring, sea eagles soaring along the coast, and ancient volcanic columns rising from the sea. The park is also a lush combination of rainforest, eucalypt forest, pandanus groves, tussock grassland, coastal heath and mangroves.

Ample Dive Sites to Explore

Gold Coast is as much a divers’ paradise as it is a surfers’ paradise with the ample dive sites it has to offer. Explore the hidden gems of Kirra Reef, not far from Kirra Beach, one of the city’s top surfing destinations. Consisting of scatted rocky outcrops covered in kelp fronds, you will find marine life everywhere from morays hiding in unexpected places to stingrays, eagle rays, wobbegongs and blind sharks, to smaller species such as octopus, cuttlefish, nudibranchs and flatworms.

A short boat trip from Gold Coast is Cook Island, an appealing site for divers of all experience levels. A colourful and interesting mix of reef and pelagic fish call Cook Island home. Pufferfish, anemonefish, surgeonfish, parrotfish, trevally, bulleyes and sweetlips are some its most common residents.

The Nine Mile Reef, off Tweed Heads, has a good population of wobbegongs but are joined by leopard sharks in summer and grey nurse sharks in winter. Other shark species that drop-in time and again include bull sharks, bronze whalers and even the hammerhead. Pelagic fish, turtles, stingrays, eagle rays and the occasional manta ray circle the reef, with reef fish scatted across shallower parts.

Magical Crystal Sanctuary

About 40 minutes from the Gold Coast Airport and just 20 minutes into the Byron Bay hinterland lies the world’s largest and most beautiful natural crystal sanctuary – Crystal Castle and Shambhala Gardens.

Absorb the magic and positive energy within the Enchanted Cave, the largest amethyst cave in the world. This extraordinary 120 million-year-old geode weighing 10 tonnes comes all the way from Uruguay. Take the Buddha Walk, a half-kilometre journey where you will discover giant crystals, green subtropical gardens, enormous sacred statues hand carved from volcanic rock from Gunung Merapi, Indonesia, and a bamboo walk.

Before you go, take lots of photographs of yourself standing between two giant crystals of 5.5 metres tall called the Crystal Guardians. These exquisite smoky quartz geode with delicate sprinklings of amethyst and calcite crystal flowers had also travelled all the way from Uruguay to Baron Bay.

Let your English take you places. At ILTI, there is room for students of every level to learn, improve and master English. Come speak to us and find out more about our Cambridge English programmes by visiting ilti.edu.my or calling 010-395 3067 today.