Though the harness is designed to take the weight of 20 cars, I had my misgivings about its ability to keep all 48 kilos of me secured to the railing. It was only a matter of 140 steps inclined at 30°, a walk through the metal observation deck at the top and another 140 steps down to the glass bay of the Q1 building. But this ‘short’ brush with high adventure lasted an eternity.

Clasped to the railing, assured that I wasn’t about to fly off the world’s 25th tallest building (1,058ft), I inched up, leading the way for eight other liquid pairs of legs. Keeping us going was the constant stream of anecdotes and information from the bubbly Luke, our climbing instructor for the evening. I suspect his cheerful chatter is designed to distract jumpy nerves.

Perched at last on the 1,000-feet-high deck, the nervousness ebbed away and I redeemed my ‘adventurous’ tag by standing at the edge of the building and leaning back into nothingness (of course, it’s absolutely safe).

The Skypoint is Australia’s highest external building climb in the Surfers Paradise suburb of Gold Coast. From atop it, the sight of a dark storm building up in the middle of the ocean and the scattered rays of the sun glistening on the hundreds of canals zigzagging the town (more than Venice!) was breathtaking — all 360° of it. An evening spent on the skywalk also meant we saw the entire coast light up against the orange-hued sky — an experience several notches higher than jostling for space and a clear view of the setting sun on a crowded beach.

After the first day’s adventure, it was only natural to follow it up with something higher and more nerve-wracking. A hot-air balloon ride suggested itself. Rising at 3am and driving to the lush, sub-tropical mountainous hinterland was worth every wink of lost sleep.

After having assessed the wind conditions, our bus creaked to a halt at a sprawling farm off Canungra, a small hamlet lined with boutique vineyards off the Gold Coast. Massive yellow and orange balloons swelled up slowly from the collapsed jumbles of cloth and jute-and-wood baskets. Twenty-six excited first-time ballooners hopped aboard with our navigator Rudy, cameras and cellphones in readiness.

The morning chill soon displaced the warm burst of air from the cylinders as we ascended smoothly, first to 1,000 feet, then 2,000 and finally, 3,000, coddled by wisps of white. The farms below looked like a patchwork in different shades of green, and the cows, mere specks in the landscape. After sailing through a thin veil of clouds, we sank gradually towards the ground, landing with a small bump.

In comparison with the Skypoint climb, this was definitely sedate. Hardly the swaying and intrepid adventure I had imagined it would be. Next came a delightful hour, longer than the half-hour balloon ride, during which we worked upon the collapsed balloon, squeezing the air out of it, and rolled it back into its sleeping bag. Definitely a team activity, one that we raised a toast to during the post-ride breakfast with a glass of champagne.

Delirious (and, perhaps, a tad tipsy) with joy, I decided I had to further test my vertical limits. Of course, this meant digging deeper into my pocket, but what are a few extra dollars for a once-in-a-lifetime experience?

Soon a sleek and shiny black helicopter streaked with orange rumbled on the helipad as I walked towards it from the bay, determined not to be swayed by the wind. We took off towards the inland waterways, by far my favourite feature of the city, away from the concrete-heavy coastline. It was a short 10 minutes of low-level coastal viewing of the Q1, Surfers Paradise, Seaworld and South Stradbroke Island before returning to the Broadwater for a landing at the Mirage Heliport. Tiny surfers bounced up and down the waves and tourists spilled on to the streets, even as the locals soaked in the sun.

Fresh from these airborne thrills, I would have gladly turned down any driving plans had not the short ride to Tamborine Mountain promised yet another adventure, reasonably above ground. Part of an ancient volcanic rim, just 45km off Gold Coast, the mountain at an elevation of 500m offers fantastic lookout points for the hinterland and the distant coastline. Hang-gliding enthusiasts can sign up for tandem rides, swooping down wide valleys with electrifying twists and turns. If your nerves hold up, you might spot the waterfalls, rainforests, even a hiker or two.

When I landed in Gold Coast, I imagined my days would be filled with sandy toes, long walks on the beach, ice cream in hand and surfing on my mind. Who knew I would set my sights much, much higher?

Travel Log

Reach

Goldstar airport is in Coolangatta and connected by Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Blue flights. Airport shuttles are available at regular intervals for hotels located in the tourist hub of Surfers Paradise.

Stay

Crowne Plaza in Surfers Paradise is conveniently located, with the beach, restaurants and markets nearby (ihg.com/crowneplaza); the Islander Resort Hotel has one bedroom apartments for long-stay travellers (islander.com.au).

In Tamborine Mountain, Phil and Ania’s chalet, The Polish Place, offers a great blend of local flavour and Polish cuisine and decor (polishplace.com.au).

Connect

• Skypoint Climb (A$69-89; skypoint.com.au)

• Hot Air Gold Coast (A$25 onwards; hotair.com.au)

• Gold Coast Heli Tours (adult A$65/child A$55 for 5min; adult A$375/child A$270 for 45 minutes; goldcoasthelitours.com.au)

• Extreme Air (paragliding tandem A$275, hang-gliding tandem A$285; extremeair.co.nz)

• Southern Cross 4WD (Mt Tamborine from A$138; sc4wd.com.au)

Supriya Sehgal is a Bangalore-based writer

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW