Home Australia The Gold Coast has been a popular getaway for years. But no longer, write WAYNE FLOWER AND PAUL SHAPIRO, who reveal why the family favourite destination has gone to rot

The Gold Coast has been a popular getaway for years. But no longer, write WAYNE FLOWER AND PAUL SHAPIRO, who reveal why the family favourite destination has gone to rot

0 comments
Surfers Paradise is best seen from above, far from the harsh reality of what lies below

Once admired for its glorious beaches and tourist-friendly nature, Australia’s Gold Coast has gone to shit.

It’s been slow progress, but if this holiday season in hotspot Queensland is any indication, the rot has fully set in.

A walk through Surfers Paradise was once only ruined by the sound of the Aquaduck, an amphibious vehicle that attracts attention with its loud squawk.

Today, the streets are filled with tanned homeless people, who sit staring outside abandoned businesses.

Further along, a stone’s throw from Surfers Paradise’s iconic Q1 Tower, homeless people have set up camp in the dunes next to the beach.

It is depressing to see how sun-loving families pass by these shacks to have fun in the waves in their designer bathers.

Not long ago it would be difficult to spot a homeless person on the streets of Surfers.

As a Melburnian who has traveled to the Gold Coast for years, there was only one person, a man resembling Australian actor Paul Hogan, who stood out.

Surfers Paradise is best seen from above, far from the harsh reality of what lies below

Surfers Paradise and one of its many rental properties (above). Once paved with gold, the streets are now paved with misery.

Surfers Paradise and one of its many rental properties (above). Once paved with gold, the streets are now paved with misery.

A homeless man and his 'bag of thugs' on the streets of Surfers Paradise

A homeless man and his ‘bag of thugs’ on the streets of Surfers Paradise

A shanty installed in the dunes near the Q1 building in Surfers Paradise

A shanty installed in the dunes near the Q1 building in Surfers Paradise

Tanned and thin, one wondered why more homeless people from the South hadn’t moved north.

Coolangatta, near the New South Wales border, is as depressing, if not worse, than Surfers.

After an eight-hour trip with my teenage son, the Coolangatta Sands hotel rejected our accommodation booking because I couldn’t prove I was 18.

To be fair to the hotel, it was a condition in the “house rules” hidden at the bottom of the rental listing on bookings.com. But the young woman sitting at the desk refused to be convinced.

It was 5 pm, we had nowhere to go and all we wanted to do was sit in the room and rest.

Under QLD law, my son could have sat in the pub all night with me while I got drunk.

Instead, we were thrown out onto the street and, with no free rooms under $500, forced to spend an uncomfortable night in my car.

Later that night the pub had the nerve to complain to the booking agency that we hadn’t turned up.

My written complaint to the manager went unanswered.

The Coolangatta Sands hotel kicked Wayne Flower and his son out onto the street because the teenager was a minor.

The Coolangatta Sands hotel kicked Wayne Flower and his son out onto the street because the teenager was a minor.

Wayne Flower had to sleep in his car with his young son in an underground car park (pictured)

Wayne Flower had to sleep in his car with his young son in an underground car park (pictured)

Hospitality seems to have gone the way of decency at the ‘Goldie’.

Try going to a restaurant there.

Although supposedly part of the “charm” of Queensland, the laid-back locals take the “wait to be seated” sign very seriously.

So much so that they often like to make you wait when there is no one else in the club.

Even when you make a reservation, they’ll make you wait while they walk away to set up a table somewhere in the back and don’t expect anyone to pick up your table anytime soon.

Fellow Melburnian Paul Shapiro admitted Surfers Paradise wasn’t as bad as Sydney, but lamented the service.

“We stood at the entrance of a restaurant for almost 15 minutes, no one approached us to sit down,” he said.

“I finally approached a waiter but was ordered to ‘return’ to where I was until we were finally seated.

“Despite having a reservation we had to wait until another table was up and left before we could be seated, that was the easy part, trying to get a waiter to take our order seemed too complicated for this Gold Coast institution” .

Shapiro said he witnessed “blatant wage theft” at another popular flagship restaurant.

The only place Gold Coast punters go to watch this year's Magic Millions runners was on the beach before the event, which was washed out

The only place Gold Coast punters go to watch this year’s Magic Millions runners was on the beach before the event, which was washed out

Clean tables seem to be a privilege on the Gold Coast

Clean tables seem to be a privilege on the Gold Coast

‘There is no problem getting service here, we were in a 70-seat restaurant and there were at least a dozen reception staff. “If everyone made at least minimum wage, then I would be Ichabod Crane,” the former hospitality veteran said.

Shapiro also warned tourists to avoid a late-night Indian takeaway restaurant on the main strip.

“The two curries I tried, a so-called chicken tikka masala and a so-called vindaloo, tasted burnt, were the same color and came straight out of the double boiler,” he said.

“I suspect they had been reheated several times before selling them to unsuspecting customers. I’m lucky I didn’t die.”

Shapiro also said he was harangued by a marauding gang of unruly youths on scooters moments before entering the sloppy Indian.

Standing in line seems to be the way the locals like to torture their visitors.

Don’t even think about trying to ride Ripley’s Believe It or Not! 7D Moving Theater ‘Walk’ on a rainy day, of which there are plenty during January.

Shapiro echoed concerns about Ripley’s Believe it or Not.

“The real mystery is how this expensive tourist trap has managed to stay open for several decades,” he said.

Wait times for the ride, which lasts less than 10 minutes, were more than an hour on the day the Magic Millions was canceled due to bad weather in the region.

And he has a shitload of time.

Homeless people on the streets of Surfers Paradise

Homeless people on the streets of Surfers Paradise

Homelessness has become a sad problem on the streets of Surfers Paradise

Homelessness has become a sad problem on the streets of Surfers Paradise

As Melburnians, most might think it’s a good thing to report bad weather.

But the Gold Coast’s weather changes as quickly as Melbourne’s and, unlike Victoria’s capital, the cost of bad weather on the Goldie comes at a cost of time, money and emotional upheaval.

Theme parks come to a standstill the moment lightning strikes in the distance.

After waiting in line for more than an hour, customers are often forced to stand at the doors for another half hour as the distant storm moves away.

Moans of “I’m bored” can be heard echoing through the hills.

When we visited Movie World, the Scooby Doo attraction was closed once again; I haven’t been able to climb it during peak season for years.

In fact, I’ve never been able to get it.

The attractions are closed for “maintenance” even though there is apparently no one working on them and the Dirty Harry bar closed its doors hours before the park closed.

Some of the staff didn’t even know who Dirty Harry was.

Closed: Movie World appeared to have closed attractions during their busiest period for unknown reasons

Closed: Movie World appeared to have closed attractions during their busiest period for unknown reasons

People at Movie World have to wait in line even longer due to distant lightning

People at Movie World have to wait in line even longer due to distant lightning

Back on the beach, women who dare to brave the waves alone should be prepared for company.

Like hungry piranhas, schools of guys converge on them as if it were feeding time in the Amazon.

At night, drunk young people ride the beach paths on Lime electric bikes as if it were a MotoGP track.

Along the way, Green Cabs rickshaws will make you vibrate with music that will make you feel at home in New Delhi.

When traveling by car, it is not uncommon to see people driving along major arteries on high-powered electric scooters.

Shopping on the main avenue is an experience in itself.

I witnessed a teenager being shot with a gel blaster in full view of stunned customers.

The bruises on his back from the explosions caused him to bleed.

Reporter Paul Shapiro (pictured, third from left below Scooby) was unable to enjoy Scooby Doo's journey.

Reporter Paul Shapiro (pictured, third from left below Scooby) was unable to enjoy Scooby Doo’s journey.

The sign says it all: Movie World visitors abandon their new Wizard of Oz attraction after failing to board their main attraction.

The sign says it all: Movie World visitors abandon their new Wizard of Oz attraction after failing to board their main attraction.

Some of the staff at Movie World have no idea who Dirty Harry was even though there is a bar there named after him. Note to staff: Clint Eastwood (pictured) played the legendary character Dirty Harry

Some of the staff at Movie World have no idea who Dirty Harry was even though there is a bar there named after him. Note to staff: Clint Eastwood (pictured) played the legendary character Dirty Harry

Honestly, the Gold Coast still has a lot to offer.

For one thing, it’s not Victoria, which went to shit years ago thanks to former premier Dan Andrews.

Many Victorians who have moved to the Gold Coast will swear it is the best decision they have ever made.

Sitting outside the Surfers Paradise Surf Life Saving Club enjoying an ice-cold schooner at prices that would put a Melbourne publican to shame, it’s easy to forgive the negatives.

Like a step back in time, one gets a sense of the old days when the man who looked like Hoges was the only homeless man on the block.

You may also like