Travelling around Sydney can be quite challenging, basically for two hundred years the city has grown, defeating all our politicians best efforts to sabotage growth, by failing either to plan or to build infrastructure projects. Fortunately, we now we have a progressive Premier (State Governor) who is rolling out the infrastructure projects, so we might be able to continue to power the Australian economy, and importantly be able to move around this great city.
What it means for you, as a traveller, that you will be able to, in the coming years more easily traverse Sydney, and in a few years we will actually have a second airport to ease congestion at Sydney airport. Ironically, the second airport may be named, Bradfield, who actually designed a good transport network for Sydney, although those plans were ignored by each subsequent State government for a hundred odd years! Actually, even with the announced infrastructure projects, we will still need to invest more, and maybe a more enlightened Prime Minister might realise borrowing money (at around 2%) to build infrastructure might actually improve productivity and increase economic growth!
However, I digress, you can catch the train to both Sydney International and Sydney Domestic terminals, which I did today, and thats a good thing. All you have to do is get off at Sydney Domestic station, which is the one after Mascot Station when you are travelling from the City. The International airport is the next stop. One fairly recent improvement is that we have travel cards that you literally 'tap and go' at the entry gates on most of our transport network, albeit we still have some paper based tickets. Now, if you are flying with out national carrier, Qantas, you will turn to the right and go to T3 (Terminal 3) and anything else you will turn left and go to T3 (Terminal 3). Follow the signs and up the escalators to Departures.
I actually like airports, although Domestic airports are not as exciting as International, but anytime you only have a one hour flight, instead of a 24 hour flight to Europe is in itself exciting for Australian travellers. The great thing about airports is that within 24 hours you can be on the other side of the world, that you can hop on a plane and be another place entirely is kind of miraculous.
Gold Coast airport is one of those airports that you walk across the tarmac giving it a holdiay island airport feel. The airport is about half an hour from Surfers Paradise and you can get a taxi for about $60, an airport shuttle that will drop you at your hotel ($30) or you can do what I do and catch the bus for about $5. As readers might be aware I like catching transport, because that s what the people do, and I like to see how people live, even Queenslanders, who we call 'Banana Benders' or worse things particularly if they have beaten us at football. Traditionally Sydney and Melbourne, the two biggest Australian cities have an old rivalry, sort of like New York and Los Angeles have in America. There is no real animosity between Queenslanders and NSW, except when it comes to Rugby League or Rugby Union, which believe it or not are two very different games played by very different people.
If you catch a public bus it will drop you at Broadbeach South tram station where you will have to catch a tram (pictured above) to take you to Surfers Paradise. The electronic tickets are imaginatively called 'Go cards' and work by tapping on at the station and tapping off at the next station. You can buy tickets at 711 convenience stores or online at the Translink website and they will post it out to you, probably something you should do before going to Queensland, because they use the same card for all public transport. The tram system works quite well, but it really needs to connect with Gold Coast airport and the heavy rail network, but baby steps, baby steps for Queensland.
So, finally we arrive at Surfers Paradise where it is a full four degrees warmer than Sydney, and I feel like I'm actually on holiday. I've lined up some fun things to do on this trip, which I'll talk about in the coming days. If you haven't been and are thinking about going or you just want to read my hapless attempts to experience the best that the Gold Coast have to offer then keep reading over the next couple of weeks.
Travel Info
Translink website to buy 'Go Cards' for public transport in QLD - http://mobile.translink.com.au
