Surfers Paradise Sunset River Cruise

Cavill Avenue jetty and the start of the cruise

The cruise boards at the jetty at 63 Cavill Avenue, at the western, river end of the pedestrian mall that runs through the centre of Surfers Paradise. It is the easiest departure point on the Gold Coast: the light-rail stop is a few steps away, most Surfers Paradise hotels are within a 10-minute walk and the beach is at the other end of the same avenue. Travellers looking for a Surfers Paradise river cruise in the evening find that this spot lets them finish dinner nearby and walk straight onto the boat.

Check-in opens 15 minutes before the late-afternoon departure; the time changes slightly through the year to follow the sunset and is shown in the booking panel. The vessel has an open upper deck for photographs and a covered lower deck with seats for anyone who prefers shelter.

The Surfers Paradise canals and waterfront homes

Behind the beach towers, Surfers Paradise is a city of water. The Nerang River was dredged from the 1950s into islands and canals, and the cruise threads through the best of them: Chevron Island, Isle of Capri, Paradise Waters and the Sovereign Islands lie along the route, each lined with large homes whose gardens run down to private jetties and moored yachts. Guides tell the stories of how the estates were built and point out the most striking houses, which is the part of a Gold Coast canal cruise that most guests remember.

The canals are calm and sheltered, so the boat moves slowly and quietly; this is when the nibbles are served and when the light starts to warm as the sun lowers. Sea eagles nest in the taller trees along the banks and are often seen hunting at this hour.

The Nerang River and the Broadwater at dusk

From the canals the route follows the main course of the Nerang River north, past the marinas and the cultural precinct on the Southport side, to where the river opens into the Gold Coast Broadwater. The Broadwater is a wide, shallow estuary between the mainland and the sand spit of Main Beach, and in the evening it is usually glassy, which is why bottlenose dolphins are so often spotted feeding here as the boats head back in. The Gold Coast Broadwater at sunset is the open-water highlight of the cruise.

On the Broadwater you look south to the full skyline of Surfers Paradise and north towards the Seaway and South Stradbroke Island. The boat turns here, so the return leg puts the sunset and the lighting-up of the towers directly ahead.

Sunset over the Surfers Paradise skyline

The Gold Coast skyline faces east over the ocean, so from the sea the sun sets behind the towers; from the river and the Broadwater on the western side, however, the sun drops behind the hinterland ridges and the whole wall of high-rises catches the last light. This is the reason a Surfers Paradise sunset cruise runs on the river rather than the ocean: the towers glow orange, then pink, then switch on their lights while the water reflects everything twice.

Guides point out the best vantage points on the sundeck and suggest when to shoot. Expect the colours to peak about 10 to 15 minutes after the sun disappears. By the time the boat returns to Cavill Avenue, the mall is lit and the beach is a short walk away for an evening stroll.

Gold Coast wildlife on the waterways

The waterways that make the Gold Coast famous are also a habitat. Bottlenose dolphins live year-round in the Broadwater and the lower Nerang River, feeding on the fish that gather around the canal mouths; white-bellied sea eagles and ospreys nest along the banks and hunt at dusk; pelicans, cormorants and herons line the pontoons. Guides on board are used to spotting them and call out sightings so that everyone gets to the right side of the deck in time.

Sightings are not guaranteed, because these are wild animals, but the evening hour is one of the most active. For families this wildlife element turns a scenic cruise into something children talk about afterwards.