Three days in, the laundry is piling up, and guys remember they've forgotten to shave and then don't do anything about it. Because there is always the beach, just across the road. The big white strands that stretch for 30 miles in the eastern state of Queensland, from Surfers Paradise to the border of New South Wales. A lifeguard went bottoms up during a lifesaving team competition, one of the great spectator sports on the Gold Coast. Each Australian summer, the Gold Coast plays host to throngs of visitors, who come not just for the warmth and waves, but for the unparalleled menu of water sports participatory and spectator by the sea.
Visitors can swim, surf, sunbathe, snorkel, scuba, jet boat and parasail.
While resting up, they can watch the world's top pro surfers compete or take in the surf lifesaving national championships, which pit Australia's scores of local lifeguard teams against one another. What I fell in love with were the people and the pace. Australians are notoriously naughty and nice. Rude jokes and helpful hints flowed from everyone from hotel clerks to strangers on the esplanade. It didn't hurt that the whole trip was light on the wallet.