Information, details, photographs, contacts for Friendship Force, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, a world-wide home hosting association.

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HOMESTAY
REPORT
& PHOTOS

BRUNCH FOR
Tweed Valley
& Marlborough, NZ

Rosser Park
Botanic Gardens
Information Day

Domestic Exchange
to Cairns, Far North Qld.
REPORT & PHOTOS

2008
International Conference

Kapiti Coast, NZ
Inbound Exchange
REPORT & PHOTOS

New Zealand, 2008
Outbound Exchange
REPORT & PHOTOS

** Updated 16 November 2008 **

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Looking North from Burleigh Heads
‘Q1 Building’ (world's tallest residential building!) visible on right of scene
Height - 323 m (1,058 ft) No. of floors - 78
This information - © Emporis 11/2007

Photograph taken from Observation Deck ‘Q1 Building’ - 77th floor
(Mount Warning, NSW visible top right hand of photo)

Aerial view looking South

PATRON: Mayor of the City of Gold Coast, Ron Clarke M.B.E.

PRESIDENT 2008-09
Viv Caulfield
Telephone: (61) (7) 5579 8102
E-mail: viv_glor@bigpond.net.au

SECRETARY 2008-09
Eric Woodward
Telephone: (61) (7) 5545 2161
E-mail: ericjoyw@bigpond.com

THE CLUB
Our Club has approximately 85 members, and we are happy to host 25 to 30 Ambassadors on each Exchange.

We were founded in 1992 as the Friendship Force of Currumbin-Gold Coast and in 1999 our name was changed to The Friendship Force of The Gold Coast.

We endeavour to host three Inbound Exchanges each year, with one Outbound, normally of two or three phases.

We hold a Monthly Meeting and get together, and when not busy with Exchanges we run other activities for the enjoyment of our members.

GETTING HERE....
Ambassadors travelling by air within Australia can arrive at the Gold Coast Domestic Terminal, where they would be met by Club members.

If arriving in Australia direct from overseas, planes fly in to the Queensland International airport at Brisbane, the state's Capital City.

International flights also fly direct to the Gold Coast Airport from Asia and New Zealand.

Brisbane is approx. 100 kms from the Gold Coast and ambassadors (depending on size of group) are either met by a delegation of Club members and driven to the Coast in private vehicles or escorted to the AIRTRAIN which runs direct from the airport to the Gold Coast.

If you would like any further information about our club, or our city, or if we can help you in any way, please contact our President or Secretary.

Visit the following Government websites for up-to-date information on: Immigration & Visas and Customs

GOLD COAST CITY

Australia, set in the sparkling Pacific Ocean, is affectionately known as “The Land Down Under”.

Inset map shows location of the City of the Gold Coast.

For a more detailed look at our lovely area, click on map. (Larger image may take longer to load)

The Shoreline of our city stretches for 60 kilometres along the Pacific Ocean, featuring some of the best surfing beaches in Australia.

With names like Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach, Palm Beach and Mermaid Beach, the vision of glistening white sands, rolling surf and gently swaying palms, springs to mind, and that's exactly how it is.

The Gold Coast is recognised as the Holiday Capital of Australia. Last year approximately four million visitors came to spend some time with us.

And why wouldn't they? When you consider our sub tropical climate, with an average of 7.5 hours of sunshine every day of the year, and a temperature ranging from 9º to 25ºC, March to August, and 15º to 29ºC, September to February.

World Renowned Car Race

Surf Life Saving

The Australian Surf Life Saving Association National Championships have been held on our beaches for many years, while the Gold Coast was chosen to be the first city in the world outside the U.S. to run an annual Indy Car Race. Previously sponsored by Fosters it is now the Lexmark Indy 300. In 2008 the race will be sponsored by Nikon Australia.

For those who love excitement, the Gold Coast abounds in Theme Parks - Warner Bros “Movie World”, “Dream World”, “Sea World” etc. where lavish entertainment can be experienced. A visit to our wildlife Sanctuaries enables you to not only view Australia's native animals, but enjoy “hands on” participation - you can pat a Kangaroo, cuddle a Koala, feed an Emu.....

One of the highlights for our visitors is to stand in a park and have hundreds of brilliantly coloured native Lorikeets fly down from the trees and feed from their hand.

Ambassadors From San Antonio, Texas (1997) & Lincoln, Nebraska (2007)
at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

Beautifully maintained Parks and Gardens abound in our city and plans are currently underway for the development of our very own “Friendship Grove” in the new Botanical Gardens.

Frédéric From Sister City of Nouméa
& Kevin From Gold Coast Club
Planting a “Queensland Kauri Pine”
First Tree to be Planted in the “Friendship Grove”
- July 2003 -

There is so much for visitors to our city to see and do, that last year close to 1,250,000 people from other countries around the world came to holiday here.

You, as a member of a Friendship Force Club on an Exchange to us, would have the unique opportunity to see a part of our cities' lifestyle that the average tourist would rarely see.

There are well over 500,000 people living in our city, and many of them have homes adjacent to the tidal rivers and hundreds of canals that exist here.

Our waterways stretch for 446 kilometres, which is nine times longer than the canals of Venice!

Nature has been kind to us here on the Gold Coast. Not only do we have the beautiful Pacific Ocean on our doorstep, we also have, only a short drive away, what we call the “Green Behind the Gold”.

This area (known as the Hinterland) is situated within a small mountain range. Here you can walk through sub-tropical rain forest and gaze at giant Antarctic Beech trees, dating back some 4,000 years. There are waterfalls and magnificent views back over our coastline.

Rain Forest Mountain Stream

(SLSC, Indy & Hinterland photographs courtesy Gold Coast Tourism)

The Gold Coast has much to offer Ambassadors from other countries who come to Australia, and we assure you of a friendly welcome.

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DISCLAIMER
Every care has been taken to ensure that the content of this site is accurate - all information was believed to be correct at the time of inclusion.
Views and opinions expressed on this web page are those of the authors, have been provided by individuals on a personal basis, and do not represent the views of the Friendship Force of the Gold Coast Inc or the Webmaster.

For more information on Queensland
and the Gold Coast, log on to -
www.goldcoast.worldtourism.com.au
www.destinationqueensland.com

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	PRESIDENT 2008-09 Viv Caulfield Telephone: (61) (7) 5579 8102 E-mail: viv_glor@bigpond.net.au

SECRETARY 2008-09 Eric Woodward Telephone: (61) (7) 5545 2161 E-mail: ericjoyw@bigpond.com