April 2009 (ROTM #4) Surfers Paradise, Queensland Australia

In case you were wondering, there is absolutely no connection with the rip picture and the actual month! I'm just putting them up randomly. These pictures were taken from the relatively new Q1 Tower at Surfers Paradise. Whereas most skyscrapers are in the middle of big cities and often all you see is smog, this one is unique as it's RIGHT ON THE BEACH and the views are incredible. From this height you can see straight through the water and I wouldn't be surprised if the media has a photographer permanently hunkered down trying to catch the money shot of a man-eating shark close to swimmers. Of course, what they should be focussing on are the rips. Surfers is notorious for large surf, lots of rips, and lots of tourists. A pretty dangerous combination.

 In the close up picture you can clearly see 3 rips in deeper, dark channels. They are about 200 metres apart which is pretty common for fixed rips along the east coast. The picture showing a longer stretch of beach shows that the rips go on and on and on. It's very difficult to actually avoid a rip, which is why swimming between the flags is your best bet. The Lifeguards on the Gold Coast do an amazing job and pamphlets on rip awareness and beach safety are handed out at the Gold Coast airport and are available in many motel rooms...something NSW doesn't do, but should.

The Q1 Tower should be called The Rip Spotting Tower