After completing our surf camp in Byron Bay, we settled into a loft apartment in the suburb of Robina, situated on the Gold Coast, Queensland. The decision to move arose as we realized, while residing in Brisbane, that most weekends were spent escaping the city for the coast, contending with busy weekend traffic. Despite the higher housing cost, we believed it would be worthwhile to be closer to the activities we wanted to do during our year in Australia.

Robina itself is a relatively standard suburb, and has developed significantly in the last generation. We chose it primarily for its available apartment, proximity to the train line (beneficial for George’s work and his mom’s visit at the end of our stay), and a short 15-minute drive to the beach. Overall, we enjoyed it, with our only complaint being its location atop a giant hill, making cycling and my running around our home a bit more challenging than usual.

Working Life

Work for both of us began more smoothly than anticipated. In the initial weeks, I received regular calls to cover physical education (P.E.) teacher roles in schools on the northern Gold Coast. I didn’t seem to get calls for any other teacher roles, so I suppose my willingness to teach P.E. helped my employability as a substitute teacher. George secured a position at a holiday park as a general handyman, handling everything one could imagine needing fixing in a place where people stayed and rented cabins with numerous swimming pools.

By my third week, I secured a P.E. teacher contract for the duration of our time on the Gold Coast. It was a fun and easygoing experience, offering a welcome consistency despite the challenge of working outdoors in the heat. I worked alongside a friendly Australian colleague who frequently pointed out interesting animal sightings during our outdoor lessons, such as koalas, swooping magpies, and bearded dragons. We also had fun chatting a lot about Australian schools and culture, and how they compared to their Canadian equivalents. It felt great to be part of a school community again, and I especially loved teaching P.E. to the younger students, who were so cute and willing to try anything!

Nature

Our proximity to nature was a highlight of our time on the Gold Coast. Nearby Springbrook National Park, with its beautiful walks, became a favourite, and we enjoyed exploring its trails. The waterfalls and views were delightful, offering a jungle environment less than an hour from our front door.

George excels at discovering local events, and we attended two organized by the city council: a night walk and a bird-watching cruise. The night walk, while not teeming with animal sightings, did include a koala climbing a tree and some spiders pointed out by the guide. The bird-watching boat cruise, exploring the birds living around the waterway near Southport, was a particular delight.

We also took full advantage of our proximity to the beach. The school where I worked was only a ten-minute drive from George’s work, so we regularly headed to the beach in Southport for a post-work swim. On days when we felt like treating ourselves, we visited the surf and lifesaving club on the beach for a snack after our swim.

Our favourite part of the Gold Coast was undeniably the Burleigh Heads area, encompassing Burleigh Heads National Park and Tallebudgera Creek. This region exuded a laid-back atmosphere and natural beauty along the direct coast. It was remarkable how different towns along the Gold Coast varied from each other, changing drastically with just a few minutes of driving. You could go from concrete jungle to beach paradise in just a few minutes!

Other Adventures

One of my goals upon moving was to establish more normalcy in my day-to-day life, even though we would only be in Robina for two months. I decided to join a women’s running club I found in a Facebook group in the week of our move. Connecting with other women who shared a similar interest made me feel part of a community, and it was a lot of fun to train and socialize each week. Through this club, I was (a little late to the party, but) introduced to Park Run, a community-run 5km event in a local park that is incredibly popular in Australia. I attended a couple of runs by myself and later recruited a running club friend to join me. It proved to be a fun way to get outside, albeit early, on Saturday mornings, as the runs start at 7 am.

For those unfamiliar, the main area of the Gold Coast, Surfer’s Paradise, serves as a hub for vacationers from all over Australia and beyond. I would go so far as to say it is essentially the Las Vegas of Australia in terms of clientele. While we generally avoided this particular section of the coast, George and I ventured into town on a Friday evening for a night on the town. Our consensus was that it was entertaining to see, but we didn’t feel like we were missing out on much (but perhaps that’s just part of traveling in your 30s).

One of the best parts about the Gold Coast is that there is some sort of event happening every weekend. We took advantage of this when looking for things to do on the weekend. One weekend, we went down to the southern end of the coast to watch the Ironman Surf Lifesaving triathlon in Coolangatta, which was unlike any other racing event we had seen before as two of the sports in the event involved board paddling and surf skiing. Another weekend, we ventured into town to soak in the atmosphere of the Gold Coast 500 motor car racing event, which was very fast and very loud.

During the last few weeks of our time in Robina, George’s mom, Jane, visited from England, and she couldn’t have come at a better time. We were tired out from work, and having a visitor motivated us to explore our surroundings with fresh eyes. We showcased all our favourite spots, including a day trip to Springbrook and a visit to Byron Bay on a weekend when George was working. It was fun to rediscover Byron and tackle the hike up to the lighthouse. From the lighthouse, we were lucky to spot dolphins and a turtle, a wallaby in the bushes surrounding the pathway, and a koala in a tree on our way back. During Jane’s visit, we also had fun learning more about local animals at the David Fleay Wildlife park, including cassowaries, emus, and a platypus.

We cherished our time on the Gold Coast and would recommend this area to anyone passing through, as it offers something for everyone. Our only regret was not making the move from Brisbane sooner.

I am finally off work for a long-delayed summer holiday and am hoping to get fully updated with blog posts in the next few weeks. I look forward to sharing about a weekend trip we took to Sydney, our adventure up to Cairns with George’s mom, and our time so far in our current location, South West Rocks, New South Wales. Stay tuned for more updates very soon!