{"id":459,"date":"2015-06-09T03:12:21","date_gmt":"2015-06-09T03:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/great-heights-on-the-gold-coast\/"},"modified":"2022-08-08T23:20:41","modified_gmt":"2022-08-08T23:20:41","slug":"great-heights-on-the-gold-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/great-heights-on-the-gold-coast\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Heights on the Gold Coast"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s no big secret \u2013 I\u2019m terrified of heights. I hate the feeling of looking over the edge of any lookout, cliffside, tower or rooftop. I\u2019m always the guy that\u2019s quite happy keeping a couple of metres away from the side, and rather content hugging the wall while others marvel giddily at how incredibly high up they are.<\/p>\n

So for that reason alone, I was a little anxious about the idea of travelling to Queensland\u2019s Gold Coast<\/a> to see the southeast of the Sunshine State from a higher perspective. Don\u2019t get me wrong \u2013 I love Queensland. I\u2019m a seeker of the sunshine, and a huge fan of beautiful beaches, but activities that involve me climbing above the ground, where my feet aren\u2019t planted on a firm earth surface freak me out, quite significantly. And so, with anxious trepidation and some steady breathing, I board my plane, \u201cup\u201d to the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n

Hot Air Ballooning<\/h2>\n

My foray into my day of heights involved a rather early start, leaving our accommodation in Gold Coast<\/a> at 5:30am to travel out to the hinterland to see the sun rise from a hot air balloon. My knowledge of hot air balloons is pretty limited \u2013 I had no idea how high they went up, how fast they move, and what the sensation of floating through the air was like, so there was a certain degree of curiosity there, and I was somewhat eager to let my sense of adventure overtake, albeit for a short time, my fear of heights.<\/p>\n

We arrive at a large open field, and the crew at Balloon Aloft Gold Coast<\/a> unpack their balloon and set themselves up for our take off. It\u2019s quite a sight against the darkness of dawn \u2013 an open, grassy field with a large basket and colourful balloon lit up by the hot flames. A group of ten climbs into the basket and we\u2019re soon lifting up slowly into the air.<\/p>\n

This is potentially the scariest part of the actual experience, lifting up and leaving the ground beneath you. But, once I accept the fact that there\u2019s no going back (for a while, at least!), I\u2019m taken in by the totally foreign sensation of floating gently through the air. You see, what\u2019s so unusual is the movement of the actual hot air balloon. Being carried by the wind results in very minimal movement of the actual basket \u2013 you hardly feel like you\u2019re moving at all. If it wasn\u2019t for the fact that I was literally watching clouds pass by, I wouldn\u2019t believe that we were actually moving at such a pace.<\/p>\n

Speaking of clouds, physically climbing 6,500ft and floating straight through the middle of clouds is an incredible experience. Surrounded by fluffy balls of cotton, seeing them move all around you is fascinating enough \u2013 but then add in the spectacular view of the morning sun rising through them.
\n<\/p>\n

Dreamworld\u2019s Giant Drop<\/h2>\n

Unfortunately for me, it\u2019s not all smooth sailing up on the Gold Coast. No, the friendly team at Expedia thought it\u2019d be great for me to experience a hair raising view of the southeast Queensland at the home of adventure,\u00a0Dreamworld<\/a>. But I\u2019m not there to take photos with Shrek, ride down the river rapids, or feed the tigers \u2013 although, let\u2019s be honest, what I was about to do makes getting up close with tigers seem easy.<\/p>\n

The Giant Drop is one of the highest freefall drop rides you can experience, anywhere in the world. It stares down at visitors to Dreamworld, looming over them with a grave sense of impending doom \u2013 okay, maybe that\u2019s just me. If that wasn\u2019t enough, the horrifying screams of terrified riders echo through the park.
\n
\nSo I\u2019m sure you can appreciate that I\u2019m a little anxious as I get strapped into this ride, ready to experience a view over Dreamworld for myself. It\u2019s a 90 second climb (which feels a lot longer), up into the air. Feet dangling below me, it is terrifying. I can\u2019t even look up to see how much higher I have to go but that\u2019s good as I\u2019m forced to stare out a pretty spectacular view.<\/p>\n

Okay, back to the reality of the situation \u2013 I\u2019m dangling from a chair roughly 119 metres high in the clouds. The moment the ride stops and the terrorising wait for the impending drop is the worst. There\u2019s no count down, there\u2019s no notice or warning \u2013 it\u2019s just an empty wait, bracing yourself for gravity to take over. You think you\u2019re able to judge when the drop is going to come, but it feels like an eternity.<\/p>\n

And then, the ride drops, and you plummet to the ground. The breath is literally taken from me, and I\u2019m in too much shock to actually scream for the first few moments. It\u2019s a terrifying five seconds of pure adrenalin, falling 35 storeys at 135km\/hr. And trust me, the subsequent shaking and tears will last a little longer than five seconds, that\u2019s for sure, but boy, what a rush! A must do for adrenalin junkies.
\n<\/p>\n

Sky Diving over Coolangatta<\/h2>\n

Despite suffering through such a traumatic experience at Dreamworld, we drive to Coolangatta to pretty much repeat this emotionally scarring experience of going up in the air to drop down to the ground once more \u2013 but this time, out of a plane, and from a slightly amplified height. After a safety briefing and getting harnessed up, it\u2019s a series of standard sky diving questions from me, including, \u201chow long has my instructor been doing this?\u201d, \u201cis it totally safe?\u201d, \u201cwhat if I pass out mid air?\u201d I\u2019m reassured that it is in fact a brilliant experience, and that I\u2019ll enjoy every second of the dive.<\/p>\n

At the airport, we board a light aircraft for a short 15 minute ride. We climb to a whopping 12,000 feet. For me, similar to our Dreamworld experience, it\u2019s the climb that really sets my heart racing. I lean back to ask my instructor, who is at this point securely attached to my back, if we\u2019re at our highest point. He replies, laughing back, that we\u2019re only half way there.<\/p>\n

Eventually, I\u2019m told to \u201cget ready\u201d, and I shuffle towards the door. I go against everything my whole body is telling me to do and move towards the open plane door of a plane. I\u2019m still not sure if I didn\u2019t have someone on my back physically pushing me, I don\u2019t think I\u2019d actually get to the door. Feet dangling out the door, it is, hands down, the most terrifying moment of my life.
\n
\nThankfully, I don\u2019t have much time for the emotional gymnastics to play out, as I\u2019m thrown from the plane by my instructor, and sent tumbling into the open air. Wind surging against my face, it\u2019s one of the most incredible experiences I\u2019ve ever felt. I will be honest, those first few seconds are of sheer shock. I literally can\u2019t scream, and I have to remind myself to breath. But once I grapple with the fact that I\u2019m actually sky diving, I take in the full experience of free falling through the air at an incredible speed.<\/p>\n

The parachute opens and it\u2019s like a totally different experience. The bellowing sound of the wind soaring across you is replaced by an eerie silence, and it\u2019s an almost calming contrast to the total shock your body experienced just moments ago. And suddenly I can appreciate my beautiful surroundings. From this height, I can see the many different views of the Gold Coast area \u2013 from the greenery of the Gold Coast Hinterland, the many winding waterways and rows of majestic buildings, to the long stretch of golden sands and blue waters. It\u2019s a moment to take it all in and soak up what is an overwhelmingly breathtaking experience.
\n<\/p>\n

SkyPoint Climb<\/h2>\n

My final challenge for the day is to climb Australia\u2019s tallest residential building, the\u00a0Q1 with SkyPoint<\/a>. This is the highest external building climb in the country. \u2028After suiting up and a safety briefing, we travel 77 levels up the Q1 (in just 42.7 seconds, mind you!), to commence a 298 stair climb out in the open. It\u2019s the 25th tallest building in the world, and the construction of glass panels and see through grates makes this experience all the more visual.<\/p>\n

Through a complex system of harnesses and railings, I\u2019m guided around the circumference of the roof. Now I do need to explain the setup of this climb to you \u2013 as, to be honest, it wasn\u2019t really what I had been expecting. This isn\u2019t a typical lookout point climb, where you\u2019ve got fences, barriers and gates all around you. No, SkyPoint is all about giving you as much of an unrestricted view of the Gold Coast as possible. That means not having anything between you and the terrifying 270 metres drop except your harness attachment.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re able to peer over the edge of the building, right down to the streets below. Our guide brings us to a special point where one can sit on the surface of the walk, and dangle your feet over the edge. Up the very top of the crest, we\u2019re led to \u201cthe lean back\u201d \u2013 a part of the climb where we get to step to the very edge of the walk and with our backs facing the drop, lean out into the air. You\u2019re placing all your trust into the harness while dangling from the top of the building. It\u2019s knee shaking to say the least.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From sky diving to scaling skyscarpers, Reuben Mourad has all the tips on how to get an adenralin rush (or conquer a fear of heights) on the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,6,2,3,5,14,7,4],"tags":[8,11,205,160,267,58],"authors":[],"class_list":["post-459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-destination","category-experiences","category-explore","category-family","category-interests","category-oceania","category-type-of-holidays","tag-australia","tag-family","tag-gold-coast","tag-qld","tag-theme-parks","tag-tips","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGreat Heights on the Gold Coast - Expedia AU Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From sky diving to scaling skyscarpers, Reuben Mourad has all the tips on how to get an adenralin rush (or conquer a fear of heights) on the Gold Coast.\" \/>\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.expedia.com.au\/stories\/great-heights-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=\"Great Heights on the Gold Coast - 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