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David Coleman Photography

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Australia’s Picture Postcard Beach

Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia

Surfers Paradise skyline panorama

Australia· Quick Shots // Beaches· Queensland Australia Location: [post_gps_latitude], [post_gps_longitude]

Surfers Paradise might have a terrible name, but it has a fantastic beach. It’s exactly what you think of when you think of a Queensland Beach (Tourism Queensland has obviously done something right there!). Because it’s well south of the bottom of the Great Barrier Reef and there are no islands protecting the coast, it looks out directly onto the open Pacific Ocean. And that means that waves have plenty of room to get into a groove. It doesn’t have the same sudden depth changes that make Hawai’i’s monster waves, but the waves are pretty reliably good. And, of course, it means beautiful ocean views for the holiday units along the shore.

In the past several decades the Gold Coast has seen pretty massive population growth and has become quite built up with highrises. The area around it is also getting a lot of sprawl, with suburbia spreading west, north, and south, as people move up from the colder areas like Melbourne to take advantage of the much nicer weather up north, much the way that Florida gets people escaping the North American winter. It means that pretty much the entire area is built up now, all the way to Brisbane and well down past the New South Wales border past Cooloongatta and Tweed Heads. It wasn’t that long ago that you’d drive through miles of coastal bushland to get from one to the other.

But the beaches are still stunning. As someone who spent a lot of time on Queensland’s beaches, I rarely spent a lot of time on the beach at Surfers Paradise itself, which is actually just one of many miles of great beaches extending north and south. It was always a bit too busy, a bit too kitschy for my tastes. And despite its name, the Surfers Paradise beach (or just “Surfers” to the locals–Aussies love to shorten anything they can) is usually better for swimming than surfing. For surfing and windsurfing, Narrowneck, further north is often better for windsurfers getting the afternoon sea breeze. Duranbah (or D-bah (see above[/foot] can get better breaks. Or, if you’re really game (and know what you’re doing), the reef break at Cudgean can be quite a challenge. (And there are a bunch more good surf beaches nearby.)

I must say, I’m quite fond of this shot, the way it makes the long stretch of straight beach at Surfers look like an island. I’m looking forward to trying the same technique next time I’m in Cancun. I used a very wide angle lens, stood in about ankle-deep water, and shot back towards the shore. It was shot handheld with a Nikon D200, a Sigma 10-20mm lens, processed in Lightroom, and stitched in PTGUI. Even though the sun and sand and sea would normally be an ideal place for a polarizing filter, I didn’t use one because they can play havoc with blue sky banding in panoramas (I have a post on using polarizers here).

Where to Next?

  • Rugged coastline in Australia
    Australia's Rugged Coastline
  • Sydney Opera House at Dusk, Australia
    Sydney Opera House, Australia
  • Story Bridge at night
    Australia's Sunshine State Capital
  • Blue Mountains Australia
    Australia's Blue Mountains
  • View at Point Lookout overlooking the beach at North Stradbroke Island (Photo)
    North Stradbroke Island, Australia
  • Mexican Beach Resort
    Excellence Playa Mujeres Luxury Beach Resort, Cancun, Mexico
  • Sunset at 1770 Queensland
    Town of 1770
  • Sydney city skyline at dusk
    Sydney Harbour at Night
  • Trevi Fountain Rome, Italy
    The Trevi Fountain


Travel Advice for Australia Quick Shots

You can find the latest U.S. Department of State travel advisories and information for Australia Quick Shots (such as entry visa requirements and vaccination requirements) here.

The British Government offers its own country-specific travel advice for Australia Quick Shots here.

Health & Vaccinations

The CDC makes country-specific recommendations for vaccinations and health for travelers. You can find their latest information for Australia Quick Shots here.

David Coleman Photography

I take photos. I travel. I write. I do it for a living. Seven continents. Dozens of countries. Up mountains. Under water. And a bunch of places in between. You can find my main site at havecamerawilltravel.com. Or check out what’s in my go-to travel photography kit. Or get in touch here.


Location:
Country: Australia// Quick Shots
Coordinates:
      Latitude:
      Longitude:

      # Beaches
      # Queensland Australia



About David Coleman

I take photos. I travel. I write. I do it for a living.

I’m based in Washington, DC.

You can find my photography gear reviews and tips at havecamerawilltravel.com/photographer.

David Coleman Photography

I take photos. I travel. I write. I do it for a living. Seven continents. Dozens of countries. Up mountains. Under water. And a bunch of places in between. You can find my main site at havecamerawilltravel.com. Or check out what’s in my go-to travel photography kit. Or get in touch here.

Licensing & Prints

Looking for travel stock photos or prints? I might be able to help. You can search my collection here:

If you already have a buyer account with Alamy and would prefer to use that, you can search my images directly here.

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Photos by David Coleman. Please contact me for licensing images.
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