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THE Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia, is renowned for offering tourists one of life's great indulgences: a swim and a lie in the sun.
The 70km coastline is blessed with white sandy beaches on which the sun shines 300 days a year.
The climate is also appealing, with hot, brilliant summers and mild winters.
But this alone does not explain why the Gold Coast is Australia's most popular holiday spot, drawing almost four million visitors a year who spend about A$2.5 billion (A$1 = RM2.04).
Many are from Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand, Europe, South Korea and Singapore.
However, some 2.7 million of the total are domestic visitors, the majority from Queensland (27 per cent), New South Wales (38 per cent) and Victoria (25 per cent).
Apart from its sparkling beaches, the Gold Coast lures tourists to its lush rainforest hinterland.
Some 30 minutes' drive inland is the quaint Tamborine Mountain, also popularly called the "Island in the Clouds". Overlooking Brisbane and the Pacific Ocean, the mountain is a sanctuary for native flora and fauna as well as birds and animals such as lyrebirds, scrub turkeys and kookaburras.
Located on Tamborine Mountain is a tourist complex, The Original Avocado, which holds the Australian bush craft show. Here hosts "Crocodile Ronnie" and "Aussie Joe" regales visitors to a chain-saw display, stock- whip stunts, sheep shearing, boomerang throwing and blowing of the Aboriginal musical instrument didgeridoo.
Another natural attraction is the self-funding Currumbin Sanctuary, 18km south of Surfers Paradise or approximately an hour's drive from Brisbane, the capital of the Sunshine State.
Set on a 20ha wildlife reserve, the sanctuary provides visiting adults and children a rare opportunity to feed colourful wild lorikeets.
Visitors can also enjoy a leisurely walk through...
