Cooly Rocks On turns Coolangatta into Australia’s biggest nostalgia festival, where more than a thousand classic cars, hot rods and customs line the beachfront.

Weather Permitting Slip out onto the Gold Coast Broadwater, a boat cruise here is the easy way to see the coast the locals know: calm channels, hidden bays, and the chance of dolphins riding the wake while the afternoon light turns the water gold.

Laguna's Op Shop Tour is a treasure hunt with a bus seat and a coffee stop, wandering from one second-hand shop to the next until someone finds the jacket, the vase, or the ridiculous bargain they did not know they needed.

Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, set among the gardens at Mount Coot-tha, where the Cosmic Skydome turns the ceiling into a living map of planets, stars and constellations.

Trade the coast for the hinterland and spend the day at Hinze Dam, where Advancetown Lake sits between green ridges and the dam wall opens onto one of the Gold Coast’s widest views

Weather Permitting Slip out onto the Gold Coast Broadwater, a boat cruise here is the easy way to see the coast the locals know: calm channels, hidden bays, and the chance of dolphins riding the wake while the afternoon light turns the water gold.