Contraire to previous post against visiting Surfers Paradise say but one fellow, we are glad to conifer with that one voice this was a great place to visit....no, the sky scrapers don't block the sun as one said.....a beautiful region, beautiful people and delicious cuisine.....never once did we have to set foot in the tourist traps like Sea World and such to explore the wonders of Oz.....not must haves but makes traveling easy, Visa credit card and Bose headphones.....I would like to have written a more detailed report but from previous post and flames it just isn't worth it.......let me say thanks to the beautiful Radisson Resort and the great tour groups out of Surfers Paradise, you were worth every cent.....and a great heartfelt thanks to the roo's, koala bears and whales in the wild, you gave us life time memories and photos.....Qantas, your a great airline to fly....

Steve and Andrea, being a Navajo from your wife's area of New Mexico and the Jemez Pueblo Indians, I wish we could exchange some ideas of the similarities of our tribes and the aborigines......again this may be too sensitive a subject for this forum......email me at drranchtx@ no spam earthlink.net...

Thank you very much 2dogs for your report on Surfer's Paradise ( Gold Coast region of Australia ) as I have been trying to promote it for 10 years now and every time that I did I got flamed as well. However that seems to me to be very strange that people continue to down-play that area when it is Australia's premier tourist region. Just one point though, Sea World, in my book, is probably one of the best places to visit, very entertaining, worthwhile and a great day out.

What's wrong with Surfers ?
It's quite a few years since we went, but as a family we had a great time and we 'did' all the 'touristy' stuff, because we were tourists !

We also liked Noosa for of course very different reasons and we like Cairns, again, for different reasons, but for a family it was great fun and far cheaper for us from Thailand to get down there. We found prices reasonable and same for accommodation, eating out was easy as a good range of food including Thai ( which kept eveyone happy ), people were friendly and helpful, the family had a great time. It's a crowded high rise busy resort area, and it 'delivers the goods'.

Hi 2 dogs,
Glad you had a good time. Did you have a chance to go up into the hinterland as well? And were you able to discover some of our Aboriginal people's culture while you were here?

We took the 4 WD White Cross tour up to Mnt. Tambourine which included the Hinterland.....what a wonderful experience and a very informative guide to explain all about the eucalyptus and rain forest..the foliage separation of the two was amazing....and how deadly the rain forest can be....we saw waterfalls, colorful birds and the elusive koala bear....really a nice set up with lunch on the barbie....again we probably never had found our way on up to O'Rilley's if we had rented a car, much less all the knowledge of the Hinterland if we had driven ourselves.....I highly recommend this outfit, true professionals and fun to be with....even learned to throw a boomerang....

The encounter with the aborigines was very limited....the few we did encounter were very nice and polite....I know from a personal experience the feeling of being looked at with curiosity being an Indian of the rez in New Mexico...I tried not to make them self conscious as I had felt when observe....its a funny feeling and hard to explain....

Again we loved the Gold Coast...public transportation was excellent...no need really to rent a car...never set foot in the large theme parks....actually we have most of them here in Texas....but the tour groups were outstanding in Surfers Paradise....they pick you up at your hotel or resort....very professional and fun to be with....

Thanks 2dogs. I was especially interested in your 4wd White Cross tour comments. Is it a full or half day trip? I think (I anyway) often fall into the trap of thinking of the GC as primarily the theme parks & the main strip, whereas there really are some fascinating alternatives close by.

Having said that, I imagine if you had a couple of little kids in tow, the theme parks etc., would be just the thing, along with the beach, for a good family holiday.