Within a few weeks of arriving back in Australia after two years of living in the UK and a few months exploring Europe we were finally settled in and finally over our jet lag! Jet lag is really no fun at all and the jetlag we experienced this time was the worst we had ever experienced. We put it down to the fact that it was because our bodies weren’t just in ‘holiday mode’ but were completely used to the UK time zone and just needed the time to readjust to our new Australian time zone. We had arrived back towards the end of Australian winter and so decided to head North to the Gold Coast for warm weather, plenty of beach time and a few nights of relaxation!
[spacer height=”10px”]Dan booked us a fantastic last minute deal on booking.com for a beachfront apartment at Le Beach in beautiful Burleigh Heads. For a beautiful two bedroom apartment, with fully equipped kitchen, lounge room, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, laundry and balcony we paid just under $500 for three nights which was a total bargain! Our apartment had a lovely sunny balcony which overlooked the swimming pool, spa, BBQ area and across to the beach! The apartments were modern, clean, stylish, very comfortable and could not have been more ideally located! We particularly loved the beachfront location and swimming pool with spa which was so good to relax in each afternoon (especially after our enormous walk which you’ll read about soon)!
We loved that it was literally a two minute walk from our apartment to the water! Burleigh Heads is one of our favourite places on the Gold Coast. We love their world class beaches, the relaxed vibe and the healthy, active mindset of all its residents! You literally feel better by just visiting, it also helps that the Gold Coast has fantastic weather almost all year round! Whilst Surfers Paradise is great to visit it’s a bit full on for us and we just love the vibe and natural beauty of Burleigh.
We were blessed with beautiful water for our entire stay and were feeling super active one day and decided to walk from Burleigh Heads to Surfers Paradise, which is a beautiful walk along the beach front.
We stopped halfway at a really unique, shabby chic cafe near Broadbeach for iced coffees and they went down SO incredibly well, especially as it was quite a warm day for winter!
12km later we finally made it to Surfers Paradise and the first thing we did was find an Irish Pub for a guinness. Dan and my parents have a tradition of drinking guinnesses together ever since they first met and we had a fun long weekend away in Ireland together. I’m not a big fan of beer or guinness so you can see my teeny tiny little glass of it whilst everyone else was enjoying their pints!
We spent a few hours exploring Surfers and then headed home (yes we walked back)! We couldn’t get a bus directly from Surfers Paradise to Burleigh and so decided just to walk. We were absolutely buggered that night when we got back, but considering we had walked more than a half marathon we didn’t feel too bad about ourselves! We did however spend a good hour or so relaxing in the spa at the hotel which felt amazing on our tired legs and feet! This also reminded me just why we like to book hotels with a swimming pool and/or spa when we travel, as there’s nothing better than diving into a pool after a big day of sightseeing and exploring!
The next morning we took our sore legs to Currumbin where we spent the morning swimming in crystal clear waters of Currumbin Creek and Currumbin Beach, as well as exploring the beautiful rockpools. Currumbin also has a lot of fantastic beach-side eateries and whilst it was too early for lunch we still found great coffee!
We then headed up through the hinterland into the lush Currumbin Valley to the Currumbin Rock Pools. The Rock Pools are only a 15 minute drive from the beach but couldn’t feel further inland! They are a series of swimming holes popular with locals and the occasional tourist alike. Here you’ll find waterfalls, swimming holes and rope swings where kids leap from high up into the deep pools! There’s also lovely grassy areas to relax and even BBQs. The water was absolutely freezing (or refreshing however you look at it) but it was officially still winter.
We filled the rest of our mini-vacay with a visit to Jupiters Casino, dinner and drinks at North Burleigh Surf Club with some friends and plenty of beach and pool time.
Even though we had just got back from our whirlwind few months travelling around Europe we were in need of a little holiday (it is a hard life I know) and our three night break at the Gold Coast was just what we needed! It was also wonderful to spend that extra time with my Mum and Dad after being away for so long and relax without the pressure of job hunting (although we both got jobs the week we got back)!
For our non-Australian readers if you’re planning a trip to Australia then we highly recommend spending at least a few days on the Gold Coast and its beautiful beaches!
