I know thereās a lot more flights to and from the Gold Coast again ,almost as many as there was pre COVID 19.
For a while my parents were getting a break from the constant aircraft noise they usually have to put up with ,they live right under the flight path for Coolangatta airport . Thank goodness this airport has a curfew,no flights after about 11 pm at night until 6am the next morning.
The Spirit of Tasmania will set sail from Port Melbourne for the final time on October 22, after 37 years. The ferry will arrive at the purpose-built terminal at Corio Quay in Geelong the following day.
Will be interesting to see if this has any effect on passengers numbers.
Hi everyone:
I am going on a trip to the Gold Coast in early August this year with my family, from the 4th to the 8th. We have booked it last July, however we havenāt really came up with any ideas on what to do yet. We have planned to go to the theme parks (Movie World, Sea World, Wet nā Wild, not Dreamworld) and have a day at the beach. Any other ideas?
Do you have your own car or planning to rent a car at GC? You can take your family to Gold Coast Hinterland.
Thanks @JohnsonTV. I might be able to as we are renting an 8-seat van (extended family coming as well) We plan to have a meeting with everyone who is coming, I might tell them about this. Unfortunately we would probably not stay the night there as we are staying in Coolangatta.
Thereās places further afield like a day trip to Byron Bay or the Tweed Valley.
You also have all the tourist trap attractions in Surfers Paradise like Ripleyās and Infinity.
Pacific Fair and Robina Town Centre are the places for shopping.
Also Draculaās at Broadbeach is interesting if you want an alternative option for dinner.
The Hinterland is amazing. Iām not a fan of the Gold Coast myself but I really enjoyed the Hinterland. Are you taking children?
Advice heard this morning for anyone travelling on a passport - get in early. There is such a rush on that there is an approximate 6 week wait. Also remember that many countries require a passport that wonāt expire in the next 6 months.
iām hearing its closer to 10 weeks at the moment
i personally donāt understand people who book overseas holidays without a passport in there hand. Iām off to london in september and and the first thing i did was check my passports expiry date (2028 fortunately) - and yes i understand about emergencies, but not all of these are surely.
Yes, whilst Iām not planning on going overseas until 2023, i got my passport renewed in March online (it was due to expire in April). I got my updated passport 2 weeks later and all good now until April 2032 
Yeah I have a work colleague who is going to Fiji next month and she hasnāt sorted her childās passport out. I was just thinking you arenāt going with her.
I personally have never booked a trip without a passport or renewed one. My last trip I waited to book until I had my renewed passport
I applied for my passport back in March and still havenāt heard a buzz from them. Tried to call the APO and the one time I got through I was put in hold for over an hour. Every other time was āWeāre currently experiencing very high demands Blah blah blahā¦ā
Nice job DFAT 
Passports used to be able to be obtained in a few days if āexpeditedā. People just arenāt realising the changed circumstances.
Nine News now has a story
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said it was experiencing āunprecedented high demandā for its passport services, following the reopening of Australiaās international border.
āWe normally receive between 7000 and 9000 applications per working day. Currently, we are receiving 10,000 to 12,000 applications per working day,ā the spokesperson said.
The office said they currently had four weeks worth of work in the processing queue and customers should allow up to six weeks to get a passport or renew one.
Thatās a huge wait. Have you got a trip planned?
No way at the rate the department is processing everything. I need one (a holiday) to get everything of the last two years off my back but I guess the only place thatās happy to have me is work 
I wonāt be going overseas for a while yet so it doesnāt matter to me if thereās a wait to renew your passport.Iāve ever had to get one yet as Iāve never left AustraliašTasmania doesnāt count as going overseas,Iāve been there twice