Press Release

Monday, June 16, 2014

Goway's Long-Stay Specials Take Snowbirds to an Australian Beach Gem

20 years after Muriel's Wedding, Muriel's home town is a timeless getaway.

2014 marks twenty years since Australian film Muriel’s Wedding debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. Uniting the world in its love of ugly ducklings and ABBA music, the film was an international success, making stars of Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths, and grossing almost $60m at the global box office.

Muriel’s Wedding told the story of a socially awkward young woman escaping her dysfunctional family and running off to big city Sydney with a free-spirited friend from high school. While Sydney played itself in the film, the Queensland coastal town of Coolangatta stood in for Muriel’s hometown, ‘Porpoise Spit’. The title is ironic, given there are no porpoises to be found anywhere in Australian waters. Even more ironic is the film’s portrayal of Coolangatta. While Porpoise Spit was shown as stifling and provincial, the real Coolangatta is an ideal place to experience a classic Gold Coast holiday, away from the relentless pace of Surfers Paradise.

With barely 5,000 people calling it home, Coolangatta has all the amenities of a beach getaway town without the crowding, pretence or tourist sheen. Even at one of the local resorts, a stay here immerses guests in local beach culture. Unlike Muriel, visitors frequently make a beeline here after the excitement of a Sydney adventure, then find it hard to leave. Coolangatta is within easy reach of the rest of the Gold Coast, with Surfers Paradise just a 40-minute drive away. Day trips over the border into northern New South Wales are particularly tempting. These might include Mount Warning National Park or Byron Bay, mainland Australia’s most easterly point.

Coolangatta’s everyday pace makes it ideal for a longer stay too, particularly for snowbirds looking beyond the usual Caribbean destinations. While some travellers shy away from Australia’s cost, Goway is offering discounts on travel insurance, in addition to competitive room rates at partners including Outrigger Resort.

Discounted insurance rates are available to guests booking a Snowbird Longstay Vacation before March 31, 2015. These packages leave guests’ time completely at leisure to focus on what interests them about a location. Included are international airfares, transfers, accommodation for the chosen length of stay, and all taxes and fees. ABBA songs are not included, but are easily obtained locally.

Since 1970, Goway has been providing unforgettable travel experiences to Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, idyllic island destinations and Latin America. Today Goway is recognized as one of North America's leading travel companies for individuals, families and groups to select exotic destinations around the globe. Goway has offices in Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto, and Sydney (Australia).

For reservations and information, visit h ttp://http://www.goway.com, or call your Travel Professional on 1-800-387-8850.