Burleigh Sports Club and the Burleigh Bears Leagues Club have undergone some impressive renovations. If you haven’t checked it out yet, what are you waiting for!
Burleigh Heads Rugby League Football club is one of the oldest rugby league clubs on the Gold Coast. It was originally formed in 1934 with Rudd Park as its home ground. In 1971, the club relocated to Pizzey Park, which is still their current home.
The club was founded to produce great footballers to provide a social club for the population of the local area. The two clubs have been hugely popular ever since.
Burleigh Bears – A Silver Favourite
The Over 50s love it. Both the Burleigh Bears and the Sports Club have a range of leisure offerings from a café, to dining, a lounge, a sports bars, and gaming. No matter what your preference you will find something that appeals in both venues. Over 50s specifically can benefit from the fact both of the venues are constructed on a single level, with ample car-parking close to the front entrances. They have a variety of access options for persons of all abilities. They also offer one of the best value food and beverage offerings on the coast and a variety of really fun promotions.
The biggest news though is that they are currently renovating the clubs. The renovations will include the relocation of the entry, a new and modern Sports Bar which is inclusive of an indoor-outdoor dining experience. Plus, the modernisation of the gaming room. The restaurant, lounge bar and gaming room have been open throughout the renovations!
Burleigh Bears Renovations
The work at both Clubs is essential for the Bears to provide a premium hospitality offering to their members and guests. They operate in a very competitive food and beverage environment at the Southern end of the Gold Coast. Residents have no shortage of choice in where they spend their leisure time. It is essential that they continue to serve members and continually improve their offering.
The existing Burleigh Bears Clubhouse had been constructed as a traditional Leagues Club with a strong emphasis on the public bar, limited dining, canteen and targeted at the football-focused customer base. The works they will undertake will modernise the venue and broaden its appeal to general members as well as respecting their Rugby League roots.
The Burleigh Sports Clubhouse was a purposebuilt Club from the early 2000s. The venue is well built and practical but aesthetically dated. It is important to modernise the venue to continue to offer an exciting and high-quality offering to members.
Why Now?
The Club has been trading well despite the disruption brought about by Covid in the past two years. They were in a fortunate position to be able to carry out this work in a single stage at both venues and significantly transform both venues in a short period of time.
With the assistance of the Architect’s Project Leaders, they have been able to package the work at both Clubs into a single contract with Hutchinson Builders. The time was right for them to reset the foundation of what they offered to members.
What’s New?
At Burleigh Sports Club, the primary emphasis has been on aesthetics and modernising the venue. At the Bears Club, the emphasis has been two-pronged. They are modernising the venue but are also making significant changes to the internal layout. This is to increase the café, lounge, and food offerings including outdoor dining and to make the venue more broadly appealing. The work should please existing members and guests and also appeal to a broader cross-section of the community. The changes should be very positive.
With the Gold Coast population expanding at such a fast rate, the clubs are well placed. Both Burleigh Bears and Burleigh Sports were originally built with some ‘future proofing’ in mind. The venues are large-format and can accommodate large crowds regardless of whether it is a special event, a game day or some other unique occasion. They have ample car parking, and the venues have been specifically designed to have a mix of large open spaces and intimate spaces. They are appealing regardless of how busy the venue is.
All profits made by the club go back into the community, supporting members, charitable organisations and sporting groups. The clubs welcome growth in the region and look forward to continuing to serve the Gold Coast community regardless of how much expansion there is! ■
Gourmet Meals: Even if you don’t have a problem with gluten, you might want to skip it anyway, just because you will feel better. Here’s how to make it easy.
GOURMET MEALS is a company that makes well-balanced, nutritious and great-tasting snap frozen meals. The Gourmet Meals are prepared by internationally trained chefs. No longer do you need to worry about what to have for dinner each night; simply remove your Gourmet Meal from the freezer, heat and enjoy!
This is good news for those who have issues with gluten. Gourmet Meals owner Daniel Wuthrich said that for many, meals containing gluten aren’t an option. “Whether it is by choice or necessity, it is quite a challenge to avoid glutenous foods. It is particularly challenging for people with serious intolerances to prepare meals every day, making sure that no gluten ingredients are used, and no cross-contamination occurs. Fortunately, Gourmet Meals has made it easier than ever to live a gluten-free lifestyle. You can now have a huge variety of ready-made meals delivered straight to your door, and, have peace of mind knowing that you won’t have any gluten reactions.”
If it is dairy that’s bugging you, there are dairy free options as well. When you have a friend or relative coming over who has either of these intolerances, you can always keep a meal in the freezer for them. That way, they can be guaranteed to not have to worry about what they are eating.
Lamb koftas. Yummo!
Gourmet Meals in 2022
The best thing about these meals is that it’s 2022 and things are a lot easier than they used to be. Forget grocery shopping, cooking meals and cleaning up afterwards. You can also forget trying to nutritionally balance your food yourself.
Gourmet Meals is a company that specifically caters to many dietary and nutritional requirements. In fact, their meals are so nutritionally sound that Gourmet Meals qualifies as a registered NDIS provider of home-delivered meals.
Chicken with almond and apricot
If you want to stop wasting time in the supermarkets and slaving over the stove, then take the smarter route by checking out the menu. ■
Log on to gourmetmeals.com.au to see their delicious menu ranges or call 1300 112 112 to speak to an actual human!
Border Ranges National Park: Jan and Peter (both 74) took to their caravan to explore.
BORDER RANGES NATIONAL PARK
The World Heritage-listed Border Ranges National Park has scenic walks and breathtaking views surrounded by ancient landscapes. We took off in our caravan for a break inside the Gondwana rainforest.
Mt Warning is a dominant feature of the Tweed Valley in Northern New South Wales. It sits in Wollumbin National Park. This remnant core of a volcano was active 23 million years ago. Today, the core is less than half its original size. The surrounding caldera once covered an area of 80 x 100 kilometres. The erosion activity over the past 20 million years created a large cauldron- like landscape. It has one of the highest levels of biological diversity in Australia.
Mebbin National Park sits inside the caldera rim. We spent our first evening camped in this National Park. We travelled there along the Tweed Valley Way then via Murwillumbah, through the quaint village of Tyalgum, Brays Creek and pot- holed Byrrill Creek Roads to Cutters Camp. The campground, in a cleared forest setting, has recently been refurbished. New barbeques, picnic tables, toilet facilities and fireplaces have been installed to a very good standard. We enjoyed having the whole area to ourselves, (perhaps because it was cold.)
An upgraded walking track winds around a two-kilometre loop to Sweetmans Creek and back along the edge of Byrill Creek. It passes through subtropical rainforest between giant, ancient fig trees. In the late afternoon red-necked pademelons grazed happily on the grass close by.
LOCAL LEGENDS
An elderly farmer in the area caught our interest in an area further to the west near Wadeville. He shared legends and stories from the turn of the century when timber getters wandered the lands. They worked in the forests, winding their way with bullock teams to harvest the giant forest logs. There were stories of blood-stained floors and family feuds. It was late in the day when we ventured along the track that is the Old Tweed Road. It was here that a bullocky was murdered with a blow from a bullock yoke. And that wasn’t the only ghost that haunts the area.
A German settler, spurned by the one he loved, shot himself. Halfway along the track, the crumbling wooden Cranes Bridge carries a legend of an apparition that appears on the bridge. The late afternoon breeze created moving shadows across the rough track, creating an eerie feeling. We hoped a ghost of the past would linger but alas, none visited us.
A short distance away at Hanging Rock Bridge on Barkers Vale Road, incidents from the past have also added to local folklore. Apparently, a local businessman from the past abandoned his journey along this road when an apparition appeared on that bridge. A Nimbin village resident reported that his reliable horse refused to set a hoof anywhere near the bridge. We were disappointed to see that the old bridge had been replaced with a new model. But we were able to view the original crossing of the river. The mournful hoot of an owl and the approaching evening caused us to move on.
NIMBIN
The showground at Nimbin was a convenient next campsite with plenty of space and clean facilities. The village, overlooked by impressive rock formations, is a central base for exploring the natural wonders nearby. Forests of red cedar first attracted timber getters to the area in the 1840s. The 1973 the Aquarius Festival brought alternative lifestylers and communes sprouted up in the surrounding hills. The streets of the village are predominately named after the early farmers, mostly in the dairying industry.
A nearby excursion was via the village of The Channon and along a fifteen-kilometre (part gravel) diversion leading to Protesters Falls. In 1975 local residents Nan and Hugh Nicholson raised the alarm when they discovered the logging plans for the area. The Terania Creek Protest was organised in 1979 against logging old growth forest. While the original protesters’ intentions were non- violent and peaceful, not everybody supported that ideal. However, this was the first-time people physically defended a natural resource. The mill was closed down as a result. The New South Wales Premier at the time, Neville Wran, made the historic ‘Rainforest Decision’ in October 1982. It saved approximately 100,000 hectares of forest from harvesting.
The picnic ground offered a pleasant venue in the rainforest for our lunch before a one- and-a-half-kilometre walk. It followed along the pretty Terania Creek through Bangalow palms to eventually emerge at the base of the impressive long drop of the falls and pool. This is the home of the endangered Fleay ’s Barred Frog. No swimming is allowed.
MT NARDI
Our original plan was to hike the Pholis Gap and Mt Matheson Loop starting from Mt Nardi in the west Nightcap National Park. This is the starting point for several walking tracks including the Historic Nightcap track. This was once the principal route taken by travellers and postal workers in the 1870s between Lismore and Murwillumbah. The journey required an overnight camp hence the name “Nightcap.” With pack horses, the mailman took three days to travel the muddy track. Today, the mountain can easily be identified by the television transmitting tower on its summit.
Mt Nardi was named in memory of Terania Shire Councillor Angelo Nardi (born in 1899) for his services to the community of Nimbin. He was a descendant of the pioneer farming settlers of New Italy – now a historic rest stop on the Pacific Highway. Pholis Gap received its name in memory of Athol Pholis, a timber worker, who was killed on the track by a falling tree.
We were disappointed to find the access road leading to the commencement of the Nightcap track at Mt Nardi closed for repair. However, we made a booking at Rummary Park campground where we could access part of this historic track from the south-east end. We were delighted to find another upgraded National Park camping ground. And, once again we had the camping area to ourselves. We expect the low temperatures kept away all except us hardy campers.
CECIL C.JONES CABIN
A cabin in the campground commemorates Cecil C. Jones who was a forest foreman in the Whian Whian Conservation Area. He lived there in the red mahogany cabin with his wife and four young children. It is the last remaining cabin of the ones constructed during late 1940 and early 1941 by the Forestry Commission in this forest setting, then named Boggy Creek camp. A cottage was also constructed for visiting for VIPs, especially the Forester in Charge of the Whian Whian area – Tom Rummery. The campground is named after him. Tom and Cecil planted a big kauri pine which can still be seen there today. When Cecil died in 1993, the Forestry Commission installed a memorial plaque with the words, “the bush has friends to meet him and their kindly voices greet him.”
Our hike the next morning was a grade three, six-kilometre return hike to Peates Mountain. It went through forest which is regenerating after recent bushfires. It was a steep climb towards the summit. Disappointedly the tall eucalypts at the top blocked what could be a spectacular view to the coast. We enjoyed a packed lunch before hiking back to camp along the historic Nightcap track. Unfortunately, the Boggy Creek walk from Rummery Park to Minyon Falls was also closed for maintenance. However, before moving on the next morning, we explored the Blue Fig Track for a couple of kilometres. We relaxed by a pretty cascade and watched a pair of Rufous Scrub-Birds fossicking in the dense eucalypt forest.
BORDER RANGES NATIONAL PARK
Our journey continued via Kyogle and Wiangaree (the eastern access road was closed) to the Border Ranges National Park. The 44-kilometre gravel Tweed Range Scenic Drive travels along the elevated edge of the caldera of the Mount Warning volcano, affording stunning views from the lookouts. This dramatic escarpment is the rim of one of the largest calderas in the world. Sheep Station Creek campground, a large area also recently refurbished, was our campsite for a few days. It is well set up with large campsites for vans and tents. We enjoyed the numerous hikes in the area.
From the campground, we hiked through eucalypt and rainforest for 2 kilometres to lovely Brushbox Falls and Palm Forest. Following the line of an old logging and bullock trail across the creek, we came across a sandstone rockface where early loggers carved their names. Beginning in 1886 the Red Cedar was harvested from the plateau with bullock teams. The bullock wagons were unloaded on the hill and taken empty around the steep descent to Sheep Station Creek. The sandstone rockface was used as a reloading ramp. Logs were hauled to the Richmond River where they were floated downstream for shipment. We continued on for 4 kilometres, connecting up to The Rosewood Loop circuit in old-growth Rosewood and Flooded Gum trees.
BRINDLE CREEK WALK
Because the Brindle Creek Walk is 6km one way and not a loop, we decided to hike it in two sessions. We parked the car at the Brindle Creek picnic area. We followed the line of Brindle Creek through lush rainforest for a five-kilometre return hike to Evan’s Falls and pool. Swimming is not recommended in the creek as it is also a habitat for endangered frogs. It was a pleasant spot to enjoy our lunch. Before returning to Sheep Station Creek campground, we drove further on to The Pinnacle Lookout. The short walk to the viewing platform revealed a view 1000 meters below into the Tweed Valley and across to the rugged volcanic core of Mt. Warning. It is stunning!
On our final morning, after morning tea in the Antarctic Beech picnic ground where we left our vehicle, we hiked 6 kilometres return. It was through huge hoop pines and large Antarctic beech trees to Selva Falls, again on the Brindle Creek walk. It was an uphill climb back to the picnic ground.
Back at Sheep Station Creek we hitched up the van to commence our homeward journey. We were reluctant to leave after spending a very enjoyable week of staying and hiking in these ranges. We decided this area has some of the best views and walks in New South Wales. But, the Gold Coast was calling us back!
Got some dark patches on your face? Did you know you can remove them with a couple of laser treatments? Here’s how you restore your smooth, youthful looks. Roisin Murphy checks out the latest tech.
Pigmentation problems are a b*tch. I had a problem with my liver a few years ago. While I am better now after many surgeries, the end result is a scar across my body and a face full of horrible brown splotches. I hate them so hard. They make me look like I have had mud thrown at my face, especially in photos.
CAUSES
There are other ways you can end up with dark patches on your face. Hormones can cause pigmentation. This is known as melasma (or chloasma when pregnant). Menopause or pregnancy are times where you can get blotches or patches on your face. It’s caused by fluctuations and changes in hormone levels. You can also get patches from oral contraceptives, medications (creating sensitivities to sunlight) and just genetics… if your mother had them, then watch out!
There’s another type too. Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation is another form of pigmentation that is caused by trauma to the skin. Trauma can include acne, physical trauma (such as an accident or wound), and misuse of skincare (such as chemical peels).
And lastly, ageing is one of the common causes of pigmentation. Those damn liver spots! By the time we are over 50, skin has experienced sun damage, neglect and the impact of environmental stressors. These factors trigger our melanin production into overdrive. Whilst ageing is a fact of life, looking our age is not. The dark patches across your face are all pigmentation problems that can be fixed with lightwave technology.
My brown patches annoyed the heart out of me. So I went to SkinEnergy at Southport, on Ferry Road. Upset at the ‘mud’ on my face, I was hoping that they could help me. They could and did. Phew.
SKINENERGY
The owner of SkinEnergy, Gay Wardle, is Australia’s leading industry expert in skin analysis, anatomy and physiology. This isn’t a beauty expert with a 3-week certificate behind her. Gay has completed a Bachelor of Health Science in Dermal Therapies and has lectured at universities both in Sydney and Brisbane. She is at the science end of the game. And you can tell. Her salon is high tech with a vast array of equipment with blue lights and red flashing things. It’s pretty impressive. She keeps herself at the cutting edge of the tech.
Beauty equipment and product manufacturers regularly seek her advice for the development and delivery of their salon training and education programs. Gay regularly travels the world to attend skin symposiums and medical conferences. In 2015, she was awarded Educator of the Year at the Australian Beauty Industry Awards. This is someone you can trust. So off I went with my stupid blotchy face and pleaded with her to fix it.
IPL SKIN TONE CORRECTION
Gay used an instrument called Intense Pulse Light, known as IPL. Pretty much, it’s an intense lightbeam that is shot into your face. First, a conductive gel is applied. Then your face gets the going over by the light wand. When the light is shot at your face, the pigmentation absorbs the light and heats it to the point of destruction. The skin then renews itself with healthy, regenerated cells to replace the pigmented skin. This parts hurts a little, I am not going to lie. But it’s like pinching. It’s not a big drama of tears and flailing arms. But it stings a little.
The week after you get light shot into your face, the pigment literally rises to the surface as your skin heals itself. Your face becomes darker and you look like you have had a grated brown crayon thrown at you. A good concealer covers it though. And you can’t get any sun on your face for two weeks after the treatment.
But after the two weeks? The pigmentation was all gone… And my skin had the baby butt feel that we all long for – It. Was. Amazing. I literally had a clear face again, like before my liver decided to have a tantrum and cause brown blotches on my face. I was so happy, and I am not even vain, particularly.
AFTER CARE
Gay gave me a lightening cream to put on to keep the patches at bay. And, a few weeks later, I got a follow-up treatment in case any new patches were even thinking of appearing.
I have never done beauty treatments before. Never been botoxed, never had a facelift, I only barely get my brows waxed. But I got this treatment because I knew it would make me feel better. And it did. The price isn’t in the thousands of dollars. It’s in the low hundreds. I am a lifelong fan and I can’t wait to see what else Gay can do for me.
TREATING PIGMENTATION
If you want to get rid of pigmentation, call SkinEnergy. They will have an initial meeting with you to work out what is causing the pigmentation, and then tailor the treatment to the cause. To book your consultation, dial (07) 5528 3100 or email reception@skinenergy.net.au, or call into 232 Ferry Road, Southport
Are you looking for something to do with friends while sipping your favourite drop? Then have we got news for you!
Pinot & Picasso is an interesting little business that is proving to be quite the hit with Silvers. It’s everything an activity with friends should be. There’s creativity, there’s conversation, there’s music, and there’s your favourite tipple.
LOCATIONS
There’s 3 venues you can choose from on the coast: Broadbeach, Palm Beach or Southport. You book in online, turn up, and Pinot and Picasso supply everything except the wine (or whatever you drink). Yes it’s BYO! You can also bring your own snacks!
THE PROCESS
You get shown a picture, and everyone gets invited to try to recreate it, in your own style. An instructor will tell you how to do it, but you can go off-piste and do it your way. In any case, if there’s 30 people there, there will be 30 different interpretations. It’s fascinating how different we all see the world. By the end, you’ll have a whole room of new besties, so be sure to try to have the best pic!
Wendy and Dennis Powell are the Owners of Pinot & Picasso on the Coast. Says Wendy, “I was born in Sydney, and moved up to the Gold Coast in 1994 when I was 28. I have been a beauty therapist, a nurse, a phlebotomist and had my three sons later in life. So I love change and a challenge! The paint and sip industry was my next go to! “
“Our paint and sip studios are for all ages, from 6 to 96. But I must say that the large number of over 50s that have been drawn to this is impressive. When you sit in one of our studios you are lost in your own little world of creativity. If you add a glass of wine, which is up to you, our space becomes its own little getaway of peace and tranquillity. Not to mention our playlist that resonates with the over 50s with the odd ABBA song or two!”
