Surfer’s Paradise is one of the Gold Coast’s main tourist attractions. It is not something one would typically expect from a touristic site; Kangaroos and koalas do not run amok there, nor does the place play homage to the world renown Sydney Opera House. Surfer’s Paradise is a place teaming with crowds of people by day and by night. By day, people flock there to enjoy the pleasures offered by the white sandy beaches and the aqua blue sea. By night, the place is almost unrecognizable. Music blares from every corner shop and every hidden bar. Sports and luxury cars make their debut as they crawl around the narrow roads. High heels, short skirts and hair extensions are visible with every turn of one’s head. Drunken voices assail one’s senses and the bright lights of the many bar or club’s sign posts blur one’s vision.

Surfer’s Paradise is the place to go for a good time on a Friday night… or so we’ve been told. However, has anyone ever warned you about the things you shouldn’t do on a night out? This site will explore the many taboos one must refrain from doing on a night out in Surfer’s Paradise!

Read… take notes… and enjoy your next Friday Night in Surfer’s!

And the ending:

The police and Security Guards have their hands full in Surfer’s Paradise!

Why do people start fights in the first place??? Are they alcohol induced fights? Fights of passion? Inter-male fighting for a mate? Fights for the sake of fighting? Who knows!!! Our police force have to endure them.

Is there any way to avoid fighting???

Of course there is!!!!

In fact, here is a list of ways to avoid getting yourself into unnecessary fights:

1) When queuing to enter a club or a bar, do not push or shove anybody next to you. People do not generally like to be pushed or shoved.

2)While queuing, do not fidget. Your hand may accidentally brush against the posterior of another person. Now, this person or this person’s girlfriend will not be too pleased about having their posterior brushed against… so raise your hands in a sign of surrender and leave the queue … find another club to go to.

3) The bouncers are always right. Even when they are wrong, they are right. Do not argue with them. People side with the bouncers. They are a source of power. Underage teens who want to enter the club will beat you up in the hope of attaining the bouncer’s approval!

4) Once inside the club, make your way over to the bar. Be friendly to people … nobody likes a creepy guy who looks moody and skulks over to the bar. But don’t overdo it… smiling widely at strangers as you walk by is creepy.

5) Do not bump into a semi-drunk person. A fully drunk person will topple over and dribble happily onto the carpet. A semi-drunk person will bash you with a chair.

OK, you’ve broken one of these rules and you’ve found yourself in a pickle….you are being dragged into a dark alley or pressed up against a wall by a group of unruly men with bulging biceps… what would you do? Would you try to fight? Go down like a trooper? Or would you completely throw away your dignity and avoid, what would have been, a painful beating and a possible loss of teeth? Here are several ways in which you can do this:

1) Play dead. Going limp in a person’s arms may shock the men into dropping you or letting you go. It would probably be less satisfying for them to beat you up while you are unconscious anyway.

2) Go to the bathroom … right then and there. Now that would definitely shock them.

3) Yawn! Nothing is more powerful than a yawn!

4) Just plain embarrass yourself. If there happens to be a glass of water/a taco/ a sticky bun in your hand or nearby …. dunk it on your head. You would become a laughing stock… but would probably be saved from a bashing.

5) If you are being yelled at or having accusations being thrown your way… change the subject.  The only thing that will ease or redirect the tension that’s feeding a potential fight is if you learn how to change the subject to something else, whether it’s by cracking a non-threatening joke or, better yet, asking a question. This one may only delay the bashing, though, but at least it will buy you some time to think of some other way to get out of the pickle you’re in.

For more information about avoiding fights or what to do about them, click here.

This video is an interview of a police officer who is based at Surfer’s Paradise. He tells us about what his job entails and the things he has to endure while on the job.

Police

This interview was conducted to evaluate the kind of problems Police Officers have to encounter in Surfers.

 1.      Which kind of problems do you usually encounter at Surfers Paradise on Friday nights?

Generally intoxicated teenagers starting fights.

2.      At approximately what time do these problems tend to occur?

Late at night to the early hours of the morning.  

3.      Which time of the year do you feel is more dangerous at Surfers Paradise?

In the Summer time, because it is about the time when many young people from every part of the world come to Surfers Paradise, while on holiday, with the intention of drinking a lot of alcohol and possibly taking drugs.

4)   How severe will punishments be to international students who have caused trouble in Surfers?  Will immigration become involved?

It depends on the kind of problems the students have encountered, but immigration may very well get involved, depending on the severity.

Let's hear it for Angela!

It was Ladies night. We made plans to go to the Casino but changed our minds and decided to head down to Surfers. The guys got drunk and decided to head to a stip club, so Emma and I followed. We were the only two girls there … other than the strippers. My guy friend, Nick, suddenly starts insulting the stripper and she empties a drink on him. Not knowing what had happened, we start yelling at the stripper… who then promptly finds another glass of wine to splash at us. Nick laughs and walks away … leaving us drenched and being evil-eyed by a stripper.

Yep … that was a typical night in Surfers.

Let’s hear it for:

Billy

“My experience of Surfer’s Paradise… well I work there so I get to see heaps! Drunk people…falling over….getting into fights … but that’s only when it gets really late. Earlier on in the night it’s pretty calm.

I don’t really have any embarrassing stories… I guess I don’t embarrass easily. It also helps that I’m not a big drinker. I have witnessed other people’s embarrassing moments, though.

Last weekend, for example, I saw this really pretty girl waving in the general direction of a group of guys. One of the guys thought she was waving at him so he waved back like an idiot. Then this other guy gets up and goes to hug her and they leave together… while the other guy was still waving!”

Let’s hear it for:

Danny

“This picture clearly defines one of my most embarrassing moments. I do not even remember that picture being taken!!! No idea what the hell was happening to me – completely clueless. I do know that this was taken at schoolies last year, though. I don’t even know the guy next to me!

I guess it was an embarrassing night for other people too! Glad my friends caught this poor dude on camera!”

A helping hand

This is Cavill Avenue. This is where most of the action takes place!!!

Clubs, shops and restaurants line both sides of this street and there is an endless flow of people.

Memorise this street when looking for the ‘life’ of Surfers… if you do not recognise this place, then you are probably lost.

A honey shop …. right next to a club…. so grab some honey and head into ‘The Bedroom’!!!

Clubs/Shops/Restaurants are so close together than you could literally hop from one and straight into the other!!!

Yet another bottle shop

Unfortunately, temptation is everywhere…. so all you recovering alcoholics/binge drinkers or very thirsty people … wear a pair of blinkers or duck straight into one club or restaurant and stay there until the bottle shops close!

The man with his arms outstretched was intoxicated and was slurring rude comments  to eveyone around him, as though expecting somebody else to react and fight with him. This is a typical scenario which can be witnessed on Friday nights in Surfers Paradise.