Chevron Renaissance

Discover the style and ambience of Chevron Renaissance Village — its inviting sidewalk cafes, charming fountain piazza, wide palm-lined boulevards, cosmopolitan restaurants and cafes, boutiques and convenient shopping variety. Explore gift galleries, shop for jewellery or pamper yourself in elegant salons and day spas.

Located in the heart of Surfers Paradise, Chevron Renaissance Village is a shopping, dining and entertainment hub that has quickly become a favourite destination for locals and visitors. Soak up the atmosphere in surroundings that blend European village-style architecture with the Gold Coast’s casual seaside lifestyle.

Feel like some fun? Head for Bugs Bunny’s headquarters, the Warner Bros. Studio Store, or journey into out-of-this-world dimensions at Infinity, the fun house of the future.

Gold Coast History - 1932 - Southport water supply starts operation.

Botanical Gardens

For more information on these beautiful gardens, please click here.

Can you spot the little black bird looking at the camera?

Gold Coast History - 1925 - The Jubilee Bridge, spanning the mouth of the Nerang River and linking Southport with Main Beach, opens.
A private zoo opens at Jim Cavill's Surfers Paradise Hotel — one of the first man-made tourist attractions on the Gold Coast.

Playing in a boat

Just watching a speed boat play on the water. View from Q1 building. Over the other side of the bridge is Chevron Island.

Gold Coast History - 1915 - The land that eventually becomes the central business district of Surfers Paradise is offered for auction.
Lamington National Park (19,000 hectares) is proclaimed.

Spooky

This is the entrance to Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster at Warner Brothers Movie World.

Gold Coast History - 1914 - Railway line is finished from Beenleigh to Canungra via Tamborine Village.

A Surfers Paradise street

Gold Coast History - 1912 - First road enters Beechmont plateau.

Before the restrictions

I don't know if this fountain is still going with the water restrictions in place as this was taken before them.

This is what you see when you enter Warner Brothers Movie World. Behind here is where they built superman the escape ride which hadn't been started when I took this photo.

Around the fountain is our version of the hollywood star walk which is those grey circles.

Gold Coast History - 1911 - First school starts at Springbrook, enrolling 15 children.
Two O'Reilly families take up selections on the crest of the Roberts Plateau, eventually opening a guest house in 1925.
Railway Department sells 80,000 cheap excursion fares from Brisbane to the Coast.

Small, now big

Please click on the photo to see a close up of a bee at the Botanical Gardens on Mount Tamborine.

Gold Coast History - 1910 - Coolangatta is officially a town.

Enter the beach

When you step down onto the beach, it is usually a little walk to lay down your towel.

In the heat of summer, the sand can be very hot, but once you hit that cool surf, all discomfort is forgotten.

Gold Coast History - 1909 - Queensland's first surf lifesaving club forms at Coolangatta.

First commercial tourist boats start work on the Broadwater.

Ready to enjoy the beach

Your view as you prepare to step down onto the famous Gold Coast beach.

Ready to sunbake, play on the beach, make sand castles or surf the ocean.

Now that's a hat

I took too long taking this photo so they ended up looking at me. This guy in the green hat makes objects (like animals) from long baloons.

Gold Coast History - 1908 - Queensland's first National Park, comprising 131 hectares, is established on western slope of Tamborine Mountain.

That's rude

The mirror photo I posted a few days ago was what distracted me on my way to take this photo.

It is a very big statue in a food court in a small mall just off Cavill Avenue mall.

Because the fountains are indoors, I presume that's why they escape the water restrictions.

Gold Coast History - 1906 - Miss B. McKenzie becomes first mail-woman, conducting a bi-weekly service from Nerang via Numinbah to Beechmont.

Beautiful Lady

This is another dancer at Warner Brothers Movie world. She is part of the Austin Powers "Goldmember" show.

Beach view

A typical beach view in Surfers Paradise with the surf rescue lifeguards. Although I don't know why they have to rescue the surf :-)

Cool effect

I spotted these mirrors while climbing the stairs and couldn't resist getting a shot of the effect they create.

Gold Coast history - 1904 - T.J. Tarlington reconnoitres Springbrook. A handful of settlers follow to find they face a pioneering problem unparalleled in Queensland because an annual rainfall of 5384mm renders scrub impossible to burn.

Souvenirs

There are many souvenir shops in the main part of the Gold Coast.

Gold Coast History - 1903 - Railway extension from Nerang to Coolangatta and Tweed Heads is completed.

Timezone - 4 of 4

This is the last of the series for Timezone. This is one of the "skill" games you can play.

The squares keep changing and you have to push the red button so the squares match the diagrams. It is very difficult to win, but if you do, you can win things like a hair dryer or a mobile phone.

Timezone - 3 of 4

Some more activities you can enjoy at Timezone. They have bowling alleys that are glow in dark. The lights are down real low and the pins glow blue.

They also have a shooting range that you can try out all different guns. I'm not a fan of guns, but would like to try it out in a safe environment one time.

Timezone - 2 of 4

Down the bottom of the escalators, this has been here for quite a while. This is where they use beads and braid your hair.

It's not really part of Timezone, but it is always what you remember as you see it everytime you go.

Gold Coast History - 1902 - First trans-Pacific cable between Australia and Canada makes its landfall below just south of Main Beach, right. The cable, which also allows Australia to join the England link, snakes along the ocean bed from Vancouver through Fanning Island, Fiji, Norfolk Island and then the Gold Coast, where it terminates in a hut on the beachfront.

Timezone - 1 of 4

This is a short series about Timezone. Timezone is an entertainment center that has mainly video games. As you go up the escalators into Timezone, these figures shown are to the side. They show some of the other activities that can be enjoyed there. These are Mini golf, dodgem cars and laser Skirmish.

Timezone used to be called Grundy's Entertainment Centre. Grundy's opened in 1981.

Gold Coast History - 1901 - Australia becomes a nation and Queensland, previously a colony, is now a state. Southport's population stands at 1230 — it is now more than 22,000, 18 times the 1901 figure. The Southport School is founded.

Art on the beach

Some unusual pieces of art by the beach.

You want a picture of me?

The Gold Coast is a favorite with the Asian community. With the relaxed atmosphere, you can walk around the shops in a bikini, and then step onto the beach and into the water.

Moving the beach

This is how the Gold Coast tries to manage beach erosion. With walls set up along the beach, the sand that comes from here is deposited where it is needed.

They put the writing on the pipe "Clean Beach Sand" so people don't think it is something bad coming out.

In answer to some previous questions - I don't surf, I use a boogie board as I like the water rushing around me. Also, the haze that could be seen when I showed Surfers Paradise over the ocean isn't from a storm, it is probably from gas released from tree oil.

Beach erosion

This is an old photo. We had some wild weather and it took most of the beach. This is at a surfing competition and you can see the guy on the left with the camera taking photos of the event.

Nice view

The view from Mt Tamborine. Most of these homes here are on large properties.

Cavill Avenue

This is the main area of Surfers Paradise. It is blocked off from traffic and has live bands, buskers, resturants and shops.

Sunbathers

Reach for the sky

Bikini shops are very popular at Surfers Paradise.

View across the ocean

This is Surfers Paradise as seen from near the New South Wales border. The tall building near the middle is the Q1.

Tiny Tiny Gold Coast

There are several sales offices around the main part of Surfers Paradise like this. Here they sell you apartments in the higher price bracket skyrises.

The two buildings that this place is selling apartments for are the grey buildings. They do this so they stand out and you can also see the surrounding area.

The grey building at the front is the Q1 buiding where I have posted photos from the observation deck of the real building.

Arcade

This is the entrance to the Dolphin Arcade. These arcades lead to shops inside the main buildings.

Cost of internet

A few of the Daily Photo Bloggers have complained about the high price of internet access when something goes wrong with their computer.

Just thought I would post the cost of using our internet terminals.