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A change is as good as a rest, so the saying
goes, and the Gold Coast has plenty of variety
to ensure visitors enjoy a refreshing holiday.
The Gold Coast is of course best known for
its foaming, bubbly surf, and in the height of
summer the water is warm enough for boarders
and swimmers to spend virtually all day in the
water, while cruises along the coast generate
cooling breezes on deck.
Those who prefer to splash in fresh water
will find rainforest streams behind the coast
in the Hinterland, where they can sit and feel
tumbling waterfalls pummel their shoulders,
take a dip in a quiet, deep pool, or feast their
eyes on the green rainforest.
This is natural pampering to invigorate the
soul and the spirit. Another option is to seek
refuge in one of the Gold Coast‘s luxurious
private resorts, health retreats, day spas or
wellness centres.
Health centres in the Hinterland are often
located deep in lush native bushland, and have
programmes lasting as long as seven days to
help guests recharge and refocus. Activities
are often extensive and varied, with lowfat
meals, tai chi and stretching classes. Some
involve a serious review of lifestyle, with weight
management, personal trauma management or
posture techniques, and maximise physical wellbeing
with spa treatments and aromatic baths.
Other Hinterland properties envelope their
guests in peaceful seclusion and serenity in
an adultsonly haven among Asianinspired
architecture. The accommodation may be
treehouses set deep within the rainforest,
where guests wander along walkways to the
main lodge for a book or a DVD movie from the
library.
Down below the Hinterland mountains are
luxurious resorts and opulent spas that aren‘t
necessarily exclusive, as visitors are welcome
to book for a couple of hours or a day service.
The settings are often serene, and guests may
receive their treatment in a traditional Balinesestyle
hut beside a lagoon pool, a Europeanstyle
spa or amid wellwatered lawns and gardens of
banksias and tropical foliage.
Treatments draw on a wide range of
techniques and styles. One resort and spa
offers reflexology, back and neck massages
and Japanese techniques to realign the body‘s
energy. A fitness centre only a few moments
away has yoga, Pilates, a solarium, gym and
sauna.
One opulent hotel has a Europeanstyle
Health through Water spa, with personal
training, yoga, tai chi, hydrotherapy, beauty and
massage treatments. A dualtreatment room
features a couple‘s suite where two people can
lie on massage beds and enjoy simultaneous
treatments of hot stone therapy, kahuna, shiatsu
or deep tissue massage.
One of Queensland‘s biggest resort spas has
12 wet and dry treatment rooms, a relaxation
lounge, a 25metre outdoor lap pool and a
gym. Day guests can simply swim in the pool,
or buy a day pass to use the pool, sauna, gym
and classes. Other options include a boxing
circuit, the alignment practice of Feldenkrais,
ball Pilates, Tibetan massage and even a boot
camp for tough, wouldbe masochists keen
to emulate the antics of contestants on reality
television.
One spa focuses on those looking to
unwind by action, with cycling, basketball,
volleyball, a gym, softball and archery being
some of the activities on offer. The Day Spa
offers men‘s and women‘s treatments, with scalp massages, hydrotherapy
baths and massage for the men, and paraffin cocoon, recharging wraps
and bust treatments for women. Algae baths, a sea salt vichy scrub and a
steam room are available for both, not necessarily together, and specialist
services include yoga, tai chi and tarot readings.
Another alternative is for one partner to enjoy a round of golf on a
championship course, while the other works up a sweat on one of the
tennis courts, at the gym or on a bike ride to get the toxins out, then
relaxes in the day spa with a multijet hydrotherapy spa bath, a vichy
shower or a onehour exfoliation.
A Roman spa is another source of inspiration. The bath, said to be
inspired by the ancients, leads to cedarwood saunas, a moist, eucalyptusinfused
steam room and a cool plunge pool. Guests can feel the goodness
of a sea science wrap formulated with spirulina, melissa, hyssop and red
cloves, a mud wrap packed with minerals, or a comfortable herbal wrap
with calendula, comfrey, peppermint and lavender scents.
The body scrubs are almost good enough to eat, with soft walnut
granules mixed with coconutbased cream, and treatments based on
traditional Ayurvedic principles, where aromatic oil is poured over the
forehead. It is said to be an excellent tonic for the nervous system.
Time out on the Gold Coast can also be as simple as casting a line
off a fishing platform, watching the reflections of the Nerang River, or
strolling along a boulevard at dusk. Fresh produce, seafood and fruit grown
locally on the Gold Coast often ends up in one of the abundant fresh juice
bars, where a carrot, beetroot and ginger combination can kickstart the
metabolism. | 
