The Gold Coast, one of the world’s best surfing spots The Gold Coast is located in Queensland in northeastern Australia, the same state as Cairns. Currently, Jetstar is the only airline that offers direct flights from Japan to the Gold Coast, operating flights between Narita and the Gold Coast from 4 times a week (daily from July 12 to October 13). Like Cairns, it is a night flight, arriving at 6:30 AM. Burleigh Heads, on the way from the Gold Coast Airport to the city center, offers a dynamic view of skyscrapers beyond the endless white sand beaches. The atmosphere is completely different from the relaxed Cairns (wow, a city!), and I was a bit confused. ), I was a little bit confused, but my excitement was growing. As an aside, I was surprised to learn on this trip that “Surfer’s Paradise” is the name of a place. It is the same as the name of a place called “Surfers Paradise” in the Shonan area, right? (Not quite right, is it?). On the way to the hotel, we stopped at “The Langham Gold Coast” and enjoyed a real afternoon tea. The savory was decorated with edible flowers and looked very gorgeous and cute. The pastries were decorated with “Kiken! Kiken! （My stomach was in knots,” but once I put one in my mouth, I couldn’t resist biting into them one after another. No wonder this is a very popular afternoon tea among the locals.
The craft gin blending experience was too much fun! Cauldron Distillery Craft gin is booming worldwide, and it is no different here in Australia! So we visited the Cauldron Distillery, located about 10 minutes by car along a peaceful country road from where we trekked. Around the distillery, there are vineyards, pastures, and a farm where you can stay on a farm. First, we tasted craft gin on the open terrace with a great view. After understanding that the flavors and aromas of the different blends can be so different, we moved to the indoor laboratory-like area. A worksheet was handed to us in front of the bottles of gin lined up in front of us. There are four major steps in blending gin. First, decide on the concept of gin (this is important), second, make a list of possible botanicals (consult the trio), third, taste and mix (like a chemist), and fourth, write the name and list of ingredients on the label, cork the bottle, and you are done! (an accomplishment), but this was more fun than I thought it would be! The blends are chosen from one of four botanical base groups: citrus, flowers, spices, and herbs/fruits & nuts. The concept for my gin was “refreshing Gold Coast ocean (I think it was ……),” so I blended four types of lemon, honey, pink pepper, and mint in a 120mL juniper base. I added coriander at the end because it was a little too much. The result is an original gin blend that is one and only in the world. The craft gin blending experience takes about 45 minutes and costs only A$75. Since the Cauldron distillery is scheduled to open in 2020, coinciding with the Corona Disaster, the number of Japanese tourists visiting the distillery is still very small, but I think it will become a popular one-day trip spot in the future. If you are planning a trip to the Gold Coast, why not put it on your list? The original blended craft gin makes a good souvenir.
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