Surfers Paradise - The Changing Face

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Surfers Paradise - surfing playground

Surfers Paradise, known locally as 'Surfers', is situated on the Gold Coast in Queensland, about 1 hour drive from Brisbane. The beachside suburb has numerous high-rise apartment buildings, a wide surf beach and shopping precinct. Cavill Avenue which runs through the shopping area was named after Jim Cavill, an early hotel owner, and is the main center for night life. The Surfers Esplanade runs beside the beach and is home to shops and restaurants. Shopping also extends into Orhard and Elkhorn Avenues. The high rise apartments are a feature of the Surfers skyline and can be seen from the mountain resorts on the Gold Coast hinterland and the southern beach of Coolangatta. Surfers Paradise beach is world famous as a surfing beach.

Surfers Skyline - Nature's Backdrop

The Changing Face of Surfers Paradise 

Surfers Paradise continues to experience unabated development with new apartment blocks stretching skywards.

While Surfers retains its natural beauty - sandy beaches and great surf, canals and beautiful mountain backdrop - it has changed in character over the years.

I describe the change as the Japanization of Surfers Paradise. Many of the boutique stores are now owned by Japanese business people and the whole strip is oriented to Japanese tourists. Hotels, for instance, have extensive Japanese breakfast buffets and signage everywhere is in Japanese (as well as English).

Japanese visitors are wonderful people who are polite and respectful and enjoy their surroundings immensely (taking endless photos). However, one of the consequences of the Japanization of Surfers Paradise is that the local visitors with families tend to stay at other beaches such as Broadbeach and Burleigh Heads rather than Surfers.

The local youth, though, frequent Surfers Paradise for the high life. "Schoolies' Week" at Surfers in October has become an institution with thousands of school leavers descending on Surfers Paradise to celebrate their "release" from School.

The local youth often rent (in groups) sub-penthouses in luxury high rise apartments and enjoy the surfing and the night life of Surfers Paradise.

Photo Credit: Japanese Wedding on Surfers Beach by Sir Mervs on Flickr.

Surfers at Twilight - an evening stroll on the Esplanade 

News from Google 

Interstate schoolies please police
Crowd numbers in Queensland's Surfers Paradise dropped overnight and authorities were generally pleased with the behaviour of the interstate revellers. ...
'Shameful' Schoolies to continue
Ms Bligh's comments were echoed by Schoolies officials, who invited residents and traders to reclaim Surfers Paradise. Schoolies Advisory Committee chairman ...
Locked up Schoolies 'just don't get it'
The crowd at Surfers Paradise beach swelled on the third night of Schoolies celebrations, with 36 arrested and charged for being a drunken public nuisance ...
Club precinct night bus to start soon
A 'NIGHT rider' bus system to help get revellers out of the Surfers Paradise nightclub precinct quickly and reduce violence will start just before Christmas ...

Surfers Quest for Nirvana 

Surfer's Code: 12 Simple Lessons for Riding Through Life

Amazon Price: $12.89 (as of 11/29/2009) Buy Now

Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board

Amazon Price: $4.80 (as of 11/29/2009) Buy Now

Saltwater Buddha: A Surfer's Quest to Find Zen on the Sea

Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 11/29/2009) Buy Now

Chasing Waves: A Surfer's Tale of Obsessive Wandering

Amazon Price: $11.53 (as of 11/29/2009) Buy Now

Surfers Paradise - different views 

Can anyone see the U.F.O.'s or is it just me? Go to 'all sizes' original! There appears to be three. by thinboyfatter

Surfers Strip

Surfers Paradise by d.i.

View from Broadbeach

Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Australia by kevgibbo

Surfers at night

Surfers Paradise Skyline by d.i.

Surfers Skyline

Surfers Paradise beach by my big blue gorilla

Surfers sunrise

curated content from Flickr

Blogs about Surfers 

Surfers Paradise Apartments commercial [1983] | Retro Commercials
1983 television commercial for Surfers Paradise Apartments, featuring the luxurious Acapolco & Barritz building. You'll be stunned at the pricetag, but more.
Surfers Paradise on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, QLD. ... Click this icon to see all public photos and videos tagged with Surfers Paradise Surfers Paradise ยท Click this icon to see all public photos and videos tagged with Gold Coast Gold Coast ...
Paradise - Eden, Australia Travel Blog
Intercontinental Hotels Sydney 117 Macquarie Street Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 210 reviews; Grand Hyatt Melbourne 123 Collins St. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 145 reviews; Crowne Plaza Hotel Crowne Plaza Surfers Paradise 2807 ...
Puzzles of Shen: Back to the Paradise
We're back at Surfer's Paradise.... but this time with more hot babes sun-tanning and muscular hunks surfing... after living in Brisbane for about 8 months, i learnt something from Brisbane. indeed Brisbane is a boring town with nothing ...

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    Spook Spook Sep 26, 2009 @ 10:50 am
    The first place I ever wanted to visit was 'Surfers.' I've travelled extensively in my youth but still never mad Aus. Hoping to be there in December.

by ronpass

Ron here from Brisbane, Australia. I love tennis. walking, reading, cycling and writing.

My major preoccupation is internet marketing via Squidoo, art...

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