Gold Coast & Byron Bay, Australia
The Gold Coast region of Australia is one of the most scenic regions around the world. Plenty of beaches line the towns along the coast and it’s a perfect place for surfers and water sports enthusiasts alike. My main reason for visiting this area was to visit Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, where opportunities to hold a koala bear and see native Australian animals.
Coolangatta was where I stayed, a quintessential beach and surfing town about 30km south of Gold Coast and 100km south of Brisbane. Plenty of really nice beaches to walk around and also enjoy a meal right on the beachfront with many of the cafes and restaurants. Sunsets and sunrises can yield some amazing views with the orange and red colors of the clouds. If you walk along the beach near the Snapper Rocks area, you’ll encounter amazing views with the water hitting against the rocks and sand. If you’re lucky, you’ll come across many of Australia’s wild Rainbow Lorikeets hanging out in the trees near the water.
Gold Coast Photos
Byron Bay
I had no clue what Byron Bay was and therefore didn’t plan on visiting during my short two days in the Gold Coast area. This changed when my Coolangatta Airbnb host, Rudi, recommended that I check it out given it majestic scenery and also it being the eastern most point of mainland Australia. Given those two points, I was sold and decided to make the drive 70km south from where I was staying in Coolangatta.
Sunrises at Byron Bay Lighthouse is quite the spectacle. Hundreds of tourists and locals make their way to the lighthouse each morning before dawn to get a good spot to watch the sunrise and be one of the first few in all of Australia to see the sun given its location. The scenery here is a photographer’s paradise and is well worth waking up early to catch the sunrise golden moments.
