FOR Australians, the Gold Coast in southern Queensland is one of the country’s top holiday spots.
It is a place of long surf beaches, mansion-lined waterways and blingy restaurants.
But every November, the I’m A Celebrity circus rolls into town.
Ant and Dec’s jungle juggernaut is based on the Gold Coast.
This sunshine strip features heavily in the challenges, post-eviction interviews and glamorous scene-setting.
If you fancy a piece of the action, a holiday on the Gold Coast gives a glimpse of what the campmates experience.
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Eating awful parts of a kangaroo, however, is strictly optional.
THE JUNGLE
THE I’m A Celeb camp is just over the New South Wales border, near the little hamlet of Dungay. Alas, you can’t visit.
But you can get a taste of the jungle in the neighbouring Springbrook National Park.
A winding mountain drive down Springbrook Road brings you to a series of rainforest walking trails.
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Some are tougher than others, but the top spot is at the end of the road.
It is a 250-metre walk through ferns and towering mountain ash trees from the Goomoolahra Picnic Area to the lookout.
Once there, you are at the top of a 60-metre waterfall.
The view, however, takes in a rumpled green canyon, the ocean, and the Gold Coast skyscrapers.
See parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/springbrook.
THE TRIALS
PARADISE Jet Boating’s 55-minute high speed tour of the Gold Coast waterways has plenty of thrills.
The boat bounces along the water, the breeze rushes through the hair and the turns kick up an almighty spray.
When a jetboat goes into a spin, you need to hold on.
Sit at the back, and you are going to get very wet.
Sit at the front, and you are going to feel some significant G-forces.
But the 22-mile ride also builds in some sightseeing.
Get lucky, and you will see wallabies on South Stradbroke Island or dolphins near the Gold Coast Seaway.
Tours cost AU$46 (£24). See paradisejetboating.com.au.
For alternative tests of nerve, hit the Gold Coast’s theme parks.
Warner Bros Movie World is home to the DC Rivals Hypercoaster — the longest, tallest and fastest ride in the southern hemisphere.
The initial 60-metre, near-vertical drop is a proper stomach-churner.
Movie World day tickets cost from $105 (£55). See movieworld.com.au.
THE CRITTERS
IF you want to see as many Australian animals as possible, then the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is the perfect spot.
It brings together bilbies, wombats, Tasmanian devils and rainbow lorikeets — as well as some less-cute native critters.
Crocodiles, pythons and cane toads also reside in the sanctuary.
For many, the highlight is walking through the kangaroo paddock, hand-feeding the ’roos.
But it is hard to top the koala photo experience.
Currumbin is one of the few places in the country where visitors are allowed to hold one of the marsupials.
They cling on to you as if you are a tree — and perhaps have a nibble at your shirt pockets.
Tickets cost from $46 (£24). See currumbinsanctuary.com.au.
THE LIVE SHOW
AUSTRALIAN Outback Spectacular in Oxenford thrills audiences with a combination of storytelling, songs and stunts.
This massive production takes place in a 1,000-seater arena, but it is no ordinary theatre show.
Here, live horses, cattle and a hilariously naughty dog are all part of the cast.
The horse riders perform death-defying tricks, a helicopter flies under the arena roof and actors are lifted up to do acrobatics high in the air.
Three-course meals are served as a tale of farmers struggling with drought conditions plays out.
But the plot doesn’t really matter — it is all about the spectacle.
Tickets cost from $110 (£58). See outbackspectacular.com.au.
THE CAMP
AFTER they are evicted from the jungle camp, the celebrities get to stay somewhere considerably nicer.
In 2022, that was the £236-a-night JW Marriott Resort and Spa (marriott.com).
Inside, it is all calming 5H plushness, but the real appeal is outside.
Here, a massive saltwater lagoon pool is fed by a series of man-made waterfalls as hundreds of tropical fish swim around you.
For something more affordable, there are hundreds of apartment hotels.
The Solnamara Apartments (solnamara.com.au) in Burleigh Heads overlook arguably the best beach on the Gold Coast.
Sleek family-friendly two-bedroom apartments, with magical ocean views, are from £156 per night.
GET ME OUT OF HERE
RETURN flights from London to nearby Brisbane cost from £1,279 with Qatar Airways (qatarairways.com).
From Brisbane Airport, it’s about an hour’s drive to the Gold Coast.
For more information, see queensland.com and destinationgoldcoast.com.
GO: Australia
GETTING THERE: Qantas flies from Heathrow to Brisbane, an hour’s drive from the Gold Coast, from £1,336 return.
Qqantas.com.
STAYING THERE: Rooms at the 4H Mercure Gold Coast Resort cost from $206 (about £108) per night on a room-only basis.
See all.accor.com.
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