You must be 122cm tall to ride Sea World’s newest thrill ride – but that shouldn’t bother The King of Atlantis. At nine metres from fishy feet to golden crown, this ocean god holds the tidal for tallest humanoid sculpture in Australia, and so can do pretty much water-ever he likes. Well, except wear a shirt, apparently. But then again, who wouldn’t wanna show off … Continue reading The King of Atlantis, Main Beach, QLD
Let’s go surfin’ now, everybody’s learnin’ how, come see Blue Perspective with Biggsy (and Bigella, Gordon and Gordina!). Surf’s up, dude, so wax up your board and don’t forget the shark spray, because this perspective will blue you away! With skin and hair as azure as the Pacific, this three-metre tall surf rat is hard to miss. She stands alone in Southport’s Broadwater Parklands, gazing … Continue reading Blue Perspective, Southport, QLD
Hop along to Carrara Markets to meet Kat, the world’s largest wooden kangaroo. This five-metre-tall marsupial mixes brutalist design philosophies with a fun, quirky and approachable sense of honesty. You can even climb into her prodigious pouch to live out your fantasies of being a joey! Kat bounded into the Gold Coast in 2016 (which was, appropriately, a leap year), and is the passion project … Continue reading Kangaroo Kat, Carrara, QLD
Liam Hemsworth. Luke Wilson. Dewey Schwarzenegger. Being the lesser-known brother of a beloved celebrity can be a heartbreaking struggle – just ask wannabe actor Bronson Pinchot (née Bardot), who will go to any lengths to step out of my shadow. And so it is for the Big Prawn at Tweed Heads, who will forever be compared to his much larger sibling in nearby Ballina. This … Continue reading The Big Prawn, Tweed Heads, NSW
Put the hot chips away, because the Gold Coast has been taken over by a behemoth beach chicken with an amazing appetite. Fortunately, Katey Seagull is as hungry for hugs as she is for deep-fried potatoes. Named after glamorous Married… With Children actress Katey Sagal, this super-sized seabird has made her nest out front of the Tugun Domestic and Commercial Waste Facility. Leggy Katey was … Continue reading Katey Seagull, Tugun, QLD
The Man on the Bike has been the heart and soul of the Tallebudgera Valley for more than four decades, and anyone who says otherwise is pedalling misinformation. The dapper gentleman, complete with boater and bowtie, coasted into the Gold Coast in 1970 when the tandem of Cliff Douglas and shock jock Bob Rogers bought him from a ski school. I guess he could snow … Continue reading The Man on the Bike, Tallebudgera, QLD
The mournful cry of a kookaburra swept across the frozen valley, and then the world was blanketed by deep, velvety silence. Within our lonely cabin, a carefully-prepared platter of calamari linguine lay restlessly upon the kitchen table, unloved and cooling as the interminable minutes ticked by. Gordon Shumway, my lifelong partner and bosom friend, was late home from work again. Welcome to the worst days … Continue reading Maddie and Mike, Southport, QLD
“While My Big Guitar Gently Weeps” I look at the Hard Rock Cafe, see the people there eatingWhile my Big Guitar gently weepsMy love for him will not be fleetingStill my Big Guitar gently weeps I don’t know why nobody told youThe Guitar was installed in ’96It cost half-a-million to mould youI long to hold you In 2004 I noticed the Big Guitar was burningYes, … Continue reading The Big Guitar, Surfers Paradise, QLD
Believe it or not! The Gold Coast is home to the largest octopus in the whole dang world! Ladies and jellyfish, please welcome Ring-O, starr of the glitter strip! The nine-metre-wide Big Octopus wiggled into Cavill Avenue, Surfers Paradise, in Octo-ber 2020, making a home for himself above the popular Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! odditorium. He was cephala-produced by local company Pico-Play, and I … Continue reading The Big Octopus, Surfers Paradise, QLD
The Gold Coast is all about sun, surf and squamates, because the city’s been seized by a set of bug-eyed bad boys who love laying the smackdown on each other. Welcome to Geckomania! These beaut newts are in a three-way battle to become the Heavyweight Champion of Your Heart. I’m not sure what style of wrestling they’re practising, but I’d assume it’s Gecko-Roman. The suave … Continue reading Geckomania, Southport, QLD
Bigfoot is sick of hiding, and has retired to an exclusive beachside chateau on the Gold Coast. The legendary monster now spends his days perusing the local tattoo dens, dodging drunks in Cavill Avenue and tanning himself to a crisp on Surfers Paradise beach. Bigfoot’s Cave can be found in the midst of the verdant McIntosh Island Park, and can be reached via a baroque … Continue reading Bigfoot, Surfers Paradise, QLD
Feeling famished on the long trip between Brisbane and the Gold Coast? Then bake a stop in Yatala for the best snacks money can pie. The pastries from world famous Yatala Pies receive g-rave-y reviews and are truly to pie for! This crust-see attraction is easy to spot – just keep a pie out for the super-sized snack out the front, which sits atop a … Continue reading The Big Pie, Yatala, QLD
I’ve bin everywhere, man, I’ve bin everywhere! But few places can rival the majesty and mystique of Helensvale Waste & Recycling Centre – home of the Otto-ly delightful Big Wheelie Bin. At a dump-foundingly impressive three metres tall, the Bin is wheelie easy to find in the heart of the Gold Coast. He’s fun for Big Thing enthusiasts of all garb-ages, so bring the whole … Continue reading The Big Wheelie Bin, Helensvale, QLD
