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It seems that these days, our holidays, like our modern lives, have to be planned, booked and the time spent fully accounted for. It would seem that is why we have such a current infatuation with cruise ship holidays, what could be better than having a fully itemised itinerary of relaxation.
However, this year I bucked the trend by not going on a cruise or even over to Australia favourite overseas holiday destination, Bali Instead I once again booked my holiday at the Australia Post and Telstra sponsored holiday accommodation on Australia's Gold Coast at North Burleigh Beach. The area, located in SE Queensland , is called the Gold Coast because of the large expanses of golden sand on the beaches ... beautiful .
Now, besides the wonderful beaches, the Gold Coast has quite the reputation as Australia's favourite holiday destination because of its proximity to the theme parks, beaches and 24 hour entertainment around Cavill Ave, Surfers Paradise. This means that the Gold Coast attracts events such as Schoolies Week (an Aussie tradition that signals the end of high school formalities http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schoolies_week), 100's of work related conventions, end of season trips for sporting clubs and even a round of the V8 Supercars (Australia's premier motor racing marque) on it's coastal street circuit. It is quite the 'in' destination for those who are in full on party mode.
But thundering V8 Supercars, the Cavill Ave late night bars or even the theme parks weren't my focus this year ... the plan of this years annual break was trying to achieve total relaxation and recuperation. Although we did manage a day excursion and took the train up to Brisbane to check out the beautiful parks and galleries around the wonderful South Bank precinct of the Queensland capital.
It was a holiday of sun, beaches and books, I did not even go onto the internet (ok I did once to do my banking), or even (shock, horror!) take the Canon 400D out and preferred to capture my whole holiday on the Sanyo S1275 'point & shoot' camera. The reason for preferring the Sanyo was that if I wanted to take a swim, I could, without having to worry about the security of the bulkier Canon DSLR. With the Sanyo I was able to wrap it up in a towel and secure the compact camera that way ... easy as!
So most mornings I woke early, grabbed the towel, grabbed the camera and took a stroll along the pristine beaches of Australia's wonderful Gold Coast region.
So now I can correctly say on my profile that I enjoy long walks on the beach, watching picture perfect sunrises over the ocean and capturing natures beauty .... I have the pictures to prove it! (& I don't like pina colada's or getting caught in the rain!)
So sometimes on holidays it is best just to do absolutely nothing, just sit back, with a good book, comfy chair and enjoy just being away from the humdrum of our everyday lives! And here's a travel tip, don't catch the train into Brisbane from the Gold Coast ... it sucks!
One of Australia's biggest annual sporting fixtures is the Rugby League State Of Origin series, which is contested by the best representative Rugby League teams in the world, New South Wales (The Blues or Cockroaches) and Queensland (The Maroons or Canetoads). This year the opening game was being hosted by NSW at the ANZ Stadium (Olympic Park - Homebush).
Now normally I don't get to go to the State Of Origin games, due to the fact thay are played mid-week, they involve lots of travel and it is very expensive. So for the most part, like a lot of others, I'm usually confined to watching the game on television
However, not this year.
As luck would have my son was able to score some free tickets to the game, a series that promised to be the start of a NSW resurgence after a four series losing streak.
Unfortunately someone forgot to tell the weather gods!
I decided to travel down to Sydney early to hopefully have lunch around the harbour, read a good book and take some wonderful pictures (using my Sanyo S1275 camera) of some of the stunning icons of Sydney, such as the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, before heading out to the game.
However, it rained.
It didn't just rain, it poured rain all afternoon, without a break and nearly wrecked my plans for a photographic stroll along the harbour . However, being a keen photographer I decided to go for a walk down to the harbour anyway and hoped that I would score a break in the weather. I did manage a few shots from under the relative protection of a fragile umbrella, but in the end I had to give up, I was soaked and the wind threatened to turn my flimsy canvas protection inside out.
I was so disappointed, it's not often I get to travel down to Sydney and when I do, I really do love to get out with either of my cameras, walk the streets and try to capture its stunning beauty. On this trip however, it was a wash out.
So it was off to Game 1 of the 2010 State Of Origin series and as luck would have it, it kept on raining. Although the it continued to rain (it did stop15 minutes into the game), the game itself was still a high quality contest and after 80 minutes of outstanding Rugby League, the Canetoads held out to win 28 - 24 and take a 1 nil lead in the 3 match series.
While the day was a washout, the game, and the experience was one not to missed. The day has also inspired me to book a weekend in Sydney, wander along to the northern shore with my cameras and try to capture some of the stunning beauty of Sydney Harbour.
Just have to make sure it doesn't rain next time!
Have you ever had a holiday where, while the holiday was way too short, it also felt that you been able to totally relax and get away from the mundane? Well that is how I felt after spending 2 weeks of my annual leave in arguably Australia's best, and most recognisable tourist destination, Queensland's Gold Coast region.
What was even better, because I'm a of API (Australian Post-tel Institute), which provides employee benefits for Post and Telstra employees, I was able to take advantage of their discounted rates for their holiday units located right across from the beach at North Burleigh (which is only 10 kilomtres south from Surfers Paradise).
While many people scoff at the idea of a Gold Coast holiday, I have come to love this region of Australia, not just for Surfers Paradise and Cavill Avenue, but for the whole range of activites that are available in one area.
So I armed myself with both my camera's, the Sanyo S1275 and the Canon 400D to make sure I didn't miss one moment of my stay in this stunning photographic location.
Although the lure of the beach is strong, a quick trip into the hinterland can provide the budding photographer a chance to capture some of the beauty of an extinct 20 million year old Mt Warning volcano. At places such as Springbrook, Tambourine and Binna Burra, the landscape can present you with spectacular views of the Gold Coast from the eroded volcano rim. These views are coloured with the lush greenery that abounds in the tropical, rainforest environment and with so many walking tracks that criss cross the ridgelines, the views are ever changing. The original volcano was a huge monster, that was over 2 kilometres high, had a caldera of over 40 kilometres and spewed ash over a distance of more than 100 kilometres!
Also just as famous as the natural attractions are the man made ones, especially the theme parks, which included Seaworld, Dreamworld, Movieworld & Wet 'n' Wild. This time we only visited Movieworld and it was here that the versatility of the Sanyo S1275 becomes apparent with its compact size and ease of use made it easy to capture some of the images that abound in this Warner Bros. wonderland. Actually, the compact cameras are the way to go at the theme parks, I noticed that quite a few people were using DSLR's and they seemed cumbersome in the hectic, confined spaces of large mobile crowds. Just a tip, make sure you take a small plastic bag to protect your camera when riding those more aquatic type of rides.
Of course, the Gold Coast is internationally famed for its beaches and it is not hard to see why, stretching from Southport to Tweed Heads are some of Australia's best surf beaches (although Newcastle does rival it, lol!). As I mentioned earlier, we were staying right on the beach and so nearly every day it was over to the beach to soak up the sun, read a good book or go for a swim. Nearly every morning and afternoon, I was able to grab the 400D, walk around the beaches and to capture some of the beauty that just seemed to continually fill my view finder.
The best thing however, was being an API member I was able to take advantage of the excellent accomodation deal, and also, the cheaper entry into the theme parks using my API membership card. To find out more about API go to www.apiaustralia.com.au and take advantage of the membership for only $4.50 per pay and then you may be able to spend a wonderful, relaxing holiday on Australia's beautiful Gold Coast
But thundering V8 Supercars, the Cavill Ave late night bars or even the theme parks weren't my focus this year ... the plan of this years annual break was trying to achieve total relaxation and recuperation. Although we did manage a day excursion and took the train up to Brisbane to check out the beautiful parks and galleries around the wonderful South Bank precinct of the Queensland capital.
It was a holiday of sun, beaches and books, I did not even go onto the internet (ok I did once to do my banking), or even (shock, horror!) take the Canon 400D out and preferred to capture my whole holiday on the Sanyo S1275 'point & shoot' camera. The reason for preferring the Sanyo was that if I wanted to take a swim, I could, without having to worry about the security of the bulkier Canon DSLR. With the Sanyo I was able to wrap it up in a towel and secure the compact camera that way ... easy as!
So most mornings I woke early, grabbed the towel, grabbed the camera and took a stroll along the pristine beaches of Australia's wonderful Gold Coast region.
