HOORAY!!
We made it to Coolangatta, the last stop on my Books By The Beach tour!
Thank you SO MUCH for coming on this epic journey with me, and I hope that you have enjoyed seeing and learning about all of the beautiful Gold Coast beaches I have visited along the way! I have certainly learned so much on this journey about the place I call home!It was a wonderful experience, but was not without its challenges, the most common ones being contending with the natural elements e.g. wind, and trying to find a quiet spot to film, especially at the most popular tourist spots like Burleigh. Where the wind wasn’t too strong, the sun wasn’t too glary or the shade too dark. But it was all part of the adventure, and I am so grateful to be able to say I have visited so many of the beaches here in the fantastic city where I live!
When I filmed this series in mid-2018 I was living in Broadbeach (as I mention in the Broadbeach video). However some significant life changes and upheavals delayed the publishing of this series, and I have since relocated to beautiful Coolangatta, where I conclude the series.
Coolangatta is situated on the beach between the rock headlands of Point Danger, Greenmount and Kirra. It is the southernmost suburb of the City of the Gold Coast, and is named after the schooner Coolangatta, which was wrecked here in 1846.
From here, you can look back towards the Gold Coast skyline in the distance and the entire coastline. The surf here is spectacular, particularly off the northern corner of Coolangatta Beach, the headland around Greenmount, Snapper Rocks into the southern corner of Rainbow Bay and of course, the world-class surf break of Duranbah.
Coolangatta marks the southern end of the strip of surfing beaches that runs from the Queensland / New South Wales State Border north to Main Beach. The Gold Coast Airport, formerly known as Coolangatta Airport, is located at Coolangatta, with some of the runway going across the border into New South Wales.
Coolangatta and is a ‘Twin Town’ with our immediate neighbour Tweed Heads in New South Wales. I live right on the Queensland side of the state border- if you cross the street outside my place, you’re in New South Wales!
Duranbah and Tweed Heads sit around the corner from Coolangatta, but technically that’s New South Wales. Technicalities aside, visitors flock to the border town of Coolangatta for its change of pace. Due to the summer time difference with Tweed Heads, we get to celebrate New Years twice!
Having lived in the bustling inner-city area of Broadbeach, the laidback lifestyle we enjoy here in ‘Cooly’ is much more my style!
This suburb exudes an old-school beachside charm. Each June, Coolangatta hosts the Cooly Rocks On Festival, a two-week 1950s and 1960s nostalgia festival with free entertainment and attractions, including hot rods, restored cars and revival bands playing music of the era.
A lovely walking trail wraps around Greenmount Hill connecting Greenmount Beach to Rainbow Bay from which you can head up the hill to Point Danger. Both Greenmount Hill and Point Danger are great vantage points for whale watching.
D’Bah, as locals call it, is the one place you can be guaranteed of a swell when the rest of the coast is quiet. Meanwhile, the corner of Greenmount offers a protected spot for a swim.
Coolangatta hosts many sporting events including The Coolangatta Gold, one of the premier events in the sport of Ironman (surf lifesaving), as well as prolific surfing competitions the Quicksilver Pro and Roxy Pro.
Coolangatta Gold surf lifesaving event
Every afternoon I walk from Coolangatta Beach up around Greenmount, along Rainbow Bay to Snapper Rocks, where I love to sit and watch the sunset. I’ve also been lucky enough to spot dolphins swimming by on a number of occasions!
I also love to go walking up Greenmount and Point Danger, and if I’m feeling extra energetic, I’ll walk down the other side of Point Danger to Duranbah Beach.
In this final video, I’m reflecting back over all the beaches that I have visited, and all the books and stories I have shared with you. I hope you have enjoyed reading them.
I am working on setting up my titles through IngramSpark. In the meantime, I do have copies of The Wilted Rose and Paid To Dance: Stripping Past & Present available in paperback. If you live in Australia, I am able to post these to you. Please get in touch with me via the Contact page of this site to organise payment and delivery.
Thank you SO MUCH for coming on this epic journey with me! Keep an eye out here for many more adventures on the Gold Coast!
