{"id":5213,"date":"2024-07-01T07:04:08","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T07:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/?p=5213"},"modified":"2024-08-28T05:25:05","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T05:25:05","slug":"5-unexpected-experiences-on-the-gold-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-unexpected-experiences-on-the-gold-coast\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Unexpected Experiences on the Gold Coast"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Gold Coast\u2019s beautiful beaches, excellent shopping scene<\/a> and vibrant nightlife are famous all over the world. However, there\u2019s much more to this stunning part of Australia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, along the coast and in the hinterland, stacks of unusual adventures are to be had \u2013 from meeting the biggest group of glow worms in Australia to seeing the Gold Coast<\/a> from 270 metres up in the air. Here are five unexpected experiences you shouldn\u2019t miss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MEET AUSTRALIA\u2019S BIGGEST GROUP OF GLOW WORMS<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

50 minutes\u2019 drive southwest of the Gold Coast is Springbrook National Park, where you\u2019ll find the biggest group of glow worms in Australia. They live in an enchanting place called Natural Bridge \u2013 a stunning rock formation that frames a dramatic waterfall. It lies along a one-kilometre circuit walk, which travels through ancient rainforest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To see the glow worms, you\u2019ll need to visit at night, as part of a guided tour. If you return during the day, you\u2019ll meet wildlife of all kinds \u2013 from paradise riflebirds and green catbirds to cascade tree frogs and koalas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Canyon
Image credit: Treetop Challenge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

TAKE THE LONGEST, FASTEST, HIGHEST ZIPLINE TOUR IN AUSTRALIA<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Around 80 minutes\u2019 drive northwest of the Gold Coast, on Tamborine Mountain, you can take the longest, fastest, highest zipline tour in Australia. Your adventure starts with a 4WD drive off-the-beaten track to the first of seven ziplines, which, together, span 1.4-kilometres. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll soar at heights of up to 60 metres and speeds of up to 70 kilometres per hour over a rainforest-filled canyon. Along the way, your guides will challenge you to travel backwards and upside-down \u2013 if you dare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LEARN TO MAKE A VASE AT THE CRAFT PARLOUR<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Holidays don\u2019t have to be all about relaxing \u2013 you can also take the chance to upskill. The Craft Parlour in Miami is dedicated to helping you to do just that. It hosts creative workshops of all kinds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One day, you might learn to make a ceramic vase by hand, the next you might find yourself hand-pouring a candle and, the day after that, you could be creating resin jewellery. Most of them are one-off classes, which means you can fit them easily around your itinerary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FIND OUT WHAT INFINITY IS LIKE<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Inside Chevron Renaissance Shopping Centre, you\u2019ll find a tourist attraction like no other. Called Infinity, it transports you into a world that never ends \u2013 through special effects, soundscapes and even aromas. All in all, you\u2019ll experience 20 surroundings, each entirely different to the one before it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve finished, be sure to take a wander through the shopping centre. There\u2019s plenty to see, browse and experience, including the Eclipse Escape Rooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"SkyPoint
Image credit: SkyPoint Climb <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

SEE THE GOLD COAST FROM 270 METRES UP IN THE AIR<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Gold Coast is beautiful from any angle, but there\u2019s nothing quite like seeing it from 270 metres high in the air. For that, you need to head to SkyPoint Climb. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll catch a lift to the 240-metre level, then climb outside the building for 30 metres, with your guide leading the way, before reaching the open-air platform. Tours available by day, at sunset and at night \u2013 when the Gold Coast\u2019s thousands of lights turn the view into a magical fairyland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GETTING TO THE GOLD COAST<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Gold Coast is an hour\u2019s drive south of Brisbane<\/a>, nine hours\u2019 drive north of Sydney and 18 hours\u2019 drive north of Melbourne. SIXT rental cars are available in all three cities, and in many other locations across Australia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019d prefer to fly, catch a plane to the Gold Coast Airport<\/a>, then jump in a SIXT car rental. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Gold Coast\u2019s beautiful beaches, excellent shopping scene and vibrant nightlife are famous all over the world. However, there\u2019s much more to this stunning part of Australia.  In fact, along the coast and in the hinterland, stacks of unusual adventures are to be had \u2013 from meeting the biggest group of glow worms in Australia…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-5213","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-travel","7":"tag-gold-coast","8":"tag-queensland","9":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\n5 Unexpected Experiences on the Gold Coast<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Along the Gold Coast and in the hinterland, stacks of unusual adventures are to be had to make the most of your break in Queensland\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-unexpected-experiences-on-the-gold-coast\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Unexpected Experiences on the Gold Coast\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Along the Gold Coast and in the hinterland, stacks of unusual adventures are to be had to make the most of your break in Queensland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-unexpected-experiences-on-the-gold-coast\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SIXT Magazine Australia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-01T07:04:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-28T05:25:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/Canyon-Flyer-Zipline-Image-credit-Treetop-Challenge.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"arvinf\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"arvinf\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"5 Unexpected Experiences on the Gold Coast","description":"Along the Gold Coast and in the hinterland, stacks of unusual adventures are to be had to make the most of your break in Queensland","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-unexpected-experiences-on-the-gold-coast\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"5 Unexpected Experiences on the Gold Coast","og_description":"Along the Gold Coast and in the hinterland, stacks of unusual adventures are to be had to make the most of your break in Queensland","og_url":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-unexpected-experiences-on-the-gold-coast\/","og_site_name":"SIXT Magazine Australia","article_published_time":"2024-07-01T07:04:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-08-28T05:25:05+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/Canyon-Flyer-Zipline-Image-credit-Treetop-Challenge.jpeg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"arvinf","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"arvinf","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-unexpected-experiences-on-the-gold-coast\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-unexpected-experiences-on-the-gold-coast\/"},"author":{"name":"arvinf","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/d3073790687d254a0e5854cc89d35b77"},"headline":"5 Unexpected Experiences on the Gold Coast","datePublished":"2024-07-01T07:04:08+00:00","dateModified":"2024-08-28T05:25:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-unexpected-experiences-on-the-gold-coast\/"},"wordCount":623,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-unexpected-experiences-on-the-gold-coast\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/Canyon-Flyer-Zipline-Image-credit-Treetop-Challenge.jpeg","keywords":["Gold Coast","Queensland"],"articleSection":["Travel"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-unexpected-experiences-on-the-gold-coast\/","url":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-unexpected-experiences-on-the-gold-coast\/","name":"5 Unexpected Experiences on the Gold Coast","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-unexpected-experiences-on-the-gold-coast\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-unexpected-experiences-on-the-gold-coast\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/Canyon-Flyer-Zipline-Image-credit-Treetop-Challenge.jpeg","datePublished":"2024-07-01T07:04:08+00:00","dateModified":"2024-08-28T05:25:05+00:00","description":"Along the Gold Coast and in the hinterland, stacks of unusual adventures are to be had to make the most of your break in Queensland","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-unexpected-experiences-on-the-gold-coast\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-unexpected-experiences-on-the-gold-coast\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-unexpected-experiences-on-the-gold-coast\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/Canyon-Flyer-Zipline-Image-credit-Treetop-Challenge.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/Canyon-Flyer-Zipline-Image-credit-Treetop-Challenge.jpeg","width":1024,"height":538,"caption":"Image credit: Treetop Challenge"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-unexpected-experiences-on-the-gold-coast\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"5 Unexpected Experiences on the Gold Coast"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/","name":"SIXT Magazine Australia","description":"Travel Tips & News from SIXT Rent a Car","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#organization","name":"SIXT Australia","url":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/sixt-logo-png_seeklogo-320002.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/sixt-logo-png_seeklogo-320002.png","width":600,"height":600,"caption":"SIXT Australia"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/d3073790687d254a0e5854cc89d35b77","name":"arvinf","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f37a51dc0afb5637d2ac90fef7f89019adeeb1e568d663a64083ad97e578531e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f37a51dc0afb5637d2ac90fef7f89019adeeb1e568d663a64083ad97e578531e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"arvinf"},"url":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/author\/arvinf\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5213\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}