Sun, Sea, Sand and (Sangria?)…Surf! – Day 1

Not wanting to make use of the restaurant for breakfast we decided on Sunday morning (14^th) to visit a nearby market. It was huge, but most of the café stalls were not wholly appetising and in the end we settled for coffee and toasted banana bread, which, by the time the research had been completed, went down extremely well. Nevertheless, we were able to buy provisions for the week from non-supermarket sources, and mostly cheaper and more environmentally ethical! Woo-hoo!

Exploring the region then started at the nearest seaside town, Broadbeach, a short way south of Surfers Paradise, which we quickly gravitated to, interrupted only by a quick dash back to the car to shelter from the tropical-type shower. We had noted a recommended café from the guide, which was off the beaten track though still near the town centre, but because of the time taken for shopping and sheltering, had finished its lunch menu, and so it was another healthy coffee and biscuit. So what to do about lunch?

I had read in the guide of a churrascaria further north. The name struck excitement in my heart because I knew of the menu/cuisine from my Brazilian visits. Basically it’s a barbecue in which several thousand waiters, with several million swords holding every sort of meat or meat product known to man, visit your plate and fill it to overflowing until you tell them to stop…which in my case was always 6 helpings too late! Jock Reid will be gratified to discover that our jinx on restaurants around Surrey and Sussex, finding that they had gone out of business when we tried to book, IS ALL MY DOING, not his! We eventually found the address, but with a different name and cuisine, having changed about 2 years ago. Date of the guide book publication? October 2008! But there was a happy ending; the restaurant had an “Every Meal Half Price” offer that ended that day – bring on the ribs and fries!!

Trying to walk off the effects afterwards we discovered the ideal job opportunity for a certain helicopter pilot we know – next door to the pleasure-flights in helicopters was the 6 – 8-seater hovercraft pleasure trips….and of course some of the best surfing conditions within a kilometre.