Anyone been to Australia??

That can't be a serious question.

If you can tolerate the crowds, beautiful women, copious amounts of alcohol, and hearing complete sentences in english, but taken to a level of incomprehension due to excessive use of nicknames and foreign slang, be prepared to never want to step foot back in the USA.

 

i take it you'll be at bond university? Definitely buy a car when you are there...sept-dec is offseason for the gold coast though, is that when you're going? Jan-April is really the season...

 

I was there in June last year...it is crowded but very friendly and lots of waves> I went up to the sunshine coast and surfed overhead noosa for a week...the most beautiful spot and wave I have surfed> when small is just a longboard wave, but worth going

enjoy mate, you'll like it

 

I almost went to Bond this semester.

 

jellys

Just watch out for those microscopic jellyfish from the discovery channel that are 100 times more venomous than snakes. I heard they net off most of the areas but I'd definitely wimp out. I made a promise to myself a few years ago to never surf australia, but if i was living there I probably wouldnt be able to help myself. Have a good time

 

i agree, but when your afraid of something its going to happen, but jellys piss me off !

 

Jellys suck. I'm sure they must serve some type of purpose but have yet to know what. I think sharks feed on them, right? oh well. Portugese manowars really suck too.

 

when i went to Florida, i saw 2 man O' wars washed up on shore, they look like friggin aliens!!

 

What you are referring to is the deadly Box Jellyfish witch is hardly microscopic and if there in the area I'm sure there would be signs posted just like the do with Man-O-Wars down in Florida. If your that scared of jellyfish I can't imagine what you must think of South Africa and surfing a death zone like J-Bay.
brucemarkam- As far as surfing Australia there is a must get book that will give you all the information and answers to your questions called Surfing Australia: A Guide to the Best Surfing Down Under (Periplus Action Guides). I bought the one they have for Indo before I went to study up on the surf, culture etc. I ordered mine from Amazon.com, and they are the perfect size too carry with you in your backpack (8.8 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches).

 

Well the good thing about Bond is that a bus runs right to campus. It's cheap with a student ID (you get one when you arrive) and takes about 20-25 mins to get to burleigh if i remember correctly. There are also a bunch of beach breaks on the way to burleigh that can get really good and can be much less crowded than the main spots.

Along the coast, the bus system runs from Sea World (which is about a 1 mile walk to the spit where you swim accross to get to s. stradbroke island) to Duranbah and beyond. You will pass Kirra and Snappers on your way through Coolangatta to D-bah, all of which have bus stops. If you surf snappers, I highly recommend eating at Big Chief Burger or the Kirra Bakery. Kirra has some of the most delicious meat pies I have ever had.

As for getting a car, craigslist is a good option but you also may be able to buy one off of a student on campus. If you look at the bulletin boards around campus you'll more than likely see a car. Just make sure the tires are in good shape. You'll need to register it (insurance isn't required) which isn't too bad. The DMV over there is much better than the US. My buddies and I bought a car for about 600 US...I'm sure you'll find something.

 

I'll keep an eye out for you. Gold Coast, right?

 

Actually he was dead on and the Discovery Channel owns. The Box Jelly is related to what he was referring to but is much larger.

The deadly Irukandji jellyfish is a tiny killer and can be unnoticed in the water.
With bell and tentacles just 2.5 centimetres across, it is almost impossible to detect.

Sting symptoms
The deadly Irukandji jellyfish is related to the more commonly known box jellyfish, about which visitors to the north Queensland coast are warned.

From 1883 to late 2005, the box jellyfish accounted for at least 70 recorded deaths.

A box jellyfish sting results in pain and welts forming immediately. These signs result in first aid being quickly applied and treatment begun which reduces the imminence of death and must have kept the death toll low.

A sting by the Irukandji jellyfish, on the other hand, is often felt as nothing more than a painful irritant with a rash akin to that of prickly heat. By the time more serious symptoms appear, it may be too late to save a life.


http://goaustralia.about.com/cs/practicalinfo/a/irukandji.htm

 

Well thats small hardly microscopic. I guess the question is if it's so deadly why I are you giving stats on the Box jelly and not the Irukandji jellyfish, how many people has it killed?

 

Because I take into account that most people can click a link and read for themselves.

http://www.irukandjijellyfish.com/

The Irukandji is believed to be the most venomous creature in the world...

Lucky for most they are usually found in much deeper water unless brought in closer by storms/currents.

 

I was in Australia from Jan-May. I stayed on the Sunshine Coast, but we took some trips to the Gold Coast. Burleigh was triple overhead the day we went there and the current was ridiculous. Check out Snapper Rocks, Surfer's Paradise, Noosa is def beautiful and the waves are usually super chill, check out Byron Bay..it's a chill hippy town and the waves are pretty fun..it can get kinda crowded at the point though.
Oh, and do watch out for the portuguese man of wars when you're there..they call them blue bottles. I got stung surfing on the Sunshine Coast and it felt like someone took a machete to my back..I had a big red welt down my back for a couple days. The poison moves to the nearest gland so be careful. Mine was my armpit, but one of the guys from my group got stung on the foot and it well, you know, moved up from there...he couldn't walk right for a couple days afterwards.
Australia is amazing though, you'll def have lots of fun! Good luck!