Not all gaudy on the Goldy

Tamborine National Park is an exotic alternative to the beaches of the Gold Coast. Picture / Tourism Queensland

The week I checked into the Gold Coast, Big Kev checked out. This larger-than-life cleaning products magnate was famous for kitsch clothes, hard living and his catchcry "I'm excited", which helped him make a fortune. His widely reported funeral featured mourners in loud shirts.

Kev - Kevin McQuay - was a persona that embodied the excess of the Gold Coast: the meter maids in bikinis, schoolies, the (Schapelle) Corbys, the cheesy cabaret of Kamahl and cheerful chaps in bright shirts enjoying themselves.

This cliche of a sunbaked theme park is alive and doing very well thank you very much.

But the Goldy does have a different, less-travelled side, less about blaring lycra and a little more demure.

The best way of shaking out the idea that the area is just beaches is to head for the hills.

Our starting point was Mt Tamborine, a volcanic spur about 25 minutes' drive northwest of our Gold Coast base at Broadbeach.

Though this region of national parks dotted with souvenir shops and cafes nestled in the bush is just 500m above sea level, temperatures are a few degrees cooler than the December average high of 28C on the coast.

Gold Coast locals complain the place can get chilly during winter and instead of Queensland cliche staples of pineapples and bananas, crops in the Mt Tamborine area include avocado, rhubarb and macadamia nuts.

Its eclectic architecture reflects the background of central Europeans attracted to the more moderate climate. The 1100ha Mt Tamborine National Park with its giant gums and carabeen trees has about 22km of trails, not too demanding but enough to build up an appetite.

Songbirds Rainforest Retreat is a superb place to satisfy your hunger.

While it seems half a world away from the beach, this is still the Gold Coast so there's got to be a Kiwi here somewhere. In this case it's businesswoman Bonnie Rodwell who picked up the Gold Coast restaurant of the year award in 2005, topping a field of 500 restaurants in the area.

As the name suggests, Songbirds is an ornithologists' paradise and on cue a kookaburra turned up in a gum tree as we sat down at lunch.

Broadbeach, just over a kilometre south of Surfers Paradise, developed rapidly during World War II when its huge quantities of the mineral sand rutile were mined to make special alloys. By the mid-1950s, mining had ended, the dunes were replanted, and the developers rushed into the regions to make fortunes out of real estate - hence the tag the Gold Coast.

Lennons Hotel rose from the dunes at Broadbeach in 1956 and was often promoted as an oasis in the desert.

Its successor - on practically the same site - is now the Sofitel Gold Coast, part of the the giant French-based Accor group. The 293-room hotel underwent a A$21 million ($25 million) renovation last year, the Gold Coast's first new international five-star hotel in a decade.

Broadbeach is more laidback than Surfers, but as a popular dining and shopping destination it is still a bustling place.

The Sofitel Gold Coast is not - it is a tranquil retreat.

Broadbeach offers more than 100 places to eat, ranging from pizza places where you can turn up with a six-pack, to bistros and brasseries. As with almost anything you buy on the the Gold Coast, prices are generally the same as in New Zealand.

The mall leads to a strip of parkland bordering Kurrawa Beach - water temperature 22C in December with the sun rising at 5.30am.

Also in the area is Conrad Jupiter's casino, (linked by monorail to the Sofitel and neighbouring Oasis shopping mall) and the Pacific Fair shopping centre. With more than 300 shops attracting 17 million visitors a year this is serious retail with all the chain stores and boutiques.

If you need a break from the shops South Stradbroke Island is a good option, even better if you can get there aboard a square-rigged tall ship.

Just north of the Gold Coast strip, the island is 22km long and just 2.5km wide at its widest point.

Covered by tropical bushland, the island has sheltered waters on its western beaches, sand dunes and sometimes very good surf on the east.

Tall Ship Cruises can take you to McLarens Landing where you have the run of what was once a private island retreat for the rich and famous. They fire up the barbecue and put on some laidback entertainment in what has the feel of a good quality beach resort in Thailand.

The afternoon provided a fascinating microstudy of the Gold Coast. On the eastern side of the island there are deserted, pristine beaches stretching for miles, while a few hundred metres away on the other side you're in Big Kev country - extended families chugging back Vodka Cruisers, hoons on jetskis and a woman on a launch flashing to passing boats while she sang karaoke on a sunny Sunday.

The Stradbroke trip passes Sea World, where we spent the following morning.

Sea World has all the rides you'd want at a theme park, plus dolphins, polar bears, the unlikely dugong and plenty of sharks. We went snorkelling with the small ones - mainly white tip sharks about 1m long - while gazing in awe at the neighbouring big ones - tiger and bull sharks - through a few centimetres of perspex.

In the open sea, the big sharks can kill people, and as I learned the next day, the smaller ones can also put up a fight. Papers and television carried the story of a Melbourne man who suffered 30 puncture wounds fighting off six white tipped sharks while diving. . further north near Port Douglas.

Fortunately the reef sharks in Sea World are well-fed and unlikely to bother you.

More of a worry for me was a step into another world, Movie World, a 20-minute drive away. With movie-themed rides like Scooby Doo and Shrek and actors wandering about, the place gives anyone with half a sense of fun that involuntary Disneyland smile - until you get to the Lethal Weapon roller coaster. The literature cheerfully tells you how you'll encounter five complete upside down experiences, travel at 85 km/hr and feel 4Gs of gravity - in other words white-knuckle terror.

But if it's all too much check out the nearby Matrix experience. Some scenes from the movie were filmed here and this exhibition is laden with props and memorabilia, the kind of place in which a Matrix fanatic could spend a very long time.

This is the beauty of the Gold Coast - plenty to get excited about but more than enough places to retreat to if it ever gets too much.

CHECKLIST

Getting There
Pacific Blue flies directly to the Gold Coast from Auckland on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The airport at Coolangatta is a straightforward 25-minute drive to Broadbeach. The airline also flies directly to Brisbane (about 1hr 15mins from the Gold Coast) from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Where To Stay
Sofitel Gold Coast

Five-star comfort in the heart of Broadbeach and five minutes walk to the surf. Advertised full rates start at A$220 ($261) for a standard king room - look out for deals.

Food
Witches Chase Cheese Company

Handmade cheese tasting at Mt Tamborine and gourmet ice cream.

Songbirds Rainforest retreat at Mt Tamborine (2005 Gold Coast restaurant of the year and luxury villas set in 20ha of forest)

Chicane restaurant

Modern Australian dining, 20 Queensland Ave, Broadbeach. Try the barramundi.

Activities
The Villa Golf Course

Golf, fine food and pampering. Group rates (minimum 12 players) start at A$155 including carts, dining and drinks.

Stradbroke Island

Tall Ship cruises sail from Mariners Cove Marina every day to a variety of destinations. Jet ski hire at McLarens Landing is $80 for half an hour.

The three worlds

Sea World, Movie World and Wet'n'Wild

Unlimited entry to the three parks for up to 14 days is a great option - A$164 for adults and A$106 for kids. Wet'n'Wild is good option if it's raining - the water's warm.

The Australian Outback Spectacular is due to open in April.

Shopping
Pacific Fair shopping centre. The big sales are after Boxing Day and in June.

When To Go
The peak visiting time is the fortnight after Christmas and school holidays when all Australian states coincide. Traffic clogs up around Indy Cars week in October and Schoolies week in November can get hectic when senior high school students let loose.

There are four low season periods when good deals can be had - February and March, May and June, late-July to mid-September, and early November.

Weather
The area boasts 250-plus days of sunshine. On average summer temperatures range from 19C to 29C while average winter temperatures range 9C to 21C

For More Information
See links below.

* Grant Bradley travelled to the Gold Coast courtesy of Accor and Pacific Blue