Bush Turkeys, Paint & Wild DRAGONS?! 🇦🇺 | Scousers' First Week on the Gold Coast

Our first week on the Gold Coast, Australia — and it was absolute chaos (the good kind). 🇦🇺 Two Scousers land on the Gold Coast for Beth's mural residency and end up meeting water dragons, bush turkeys and our first ever whales… pretty much before breakfast. Then we tried LINE DANCING for the first time, painted the sunset with a pizza in hand, found the local jiu-jitsu gym, and I got honest about the stuff nobody shows you... If you're planning a trip to the Gold Coast, moving to Australia on a working holiday visa, or you just want a real, honest look at slow travel and building a life you actually love — this one's for you. New here? I'm Mr Hodge — ex-PE teacher turned full-time traveller, documenting the real version of chasing your dreams with my partner Beth. No staged nonsense, just two people figuring it out as we go. Aussies — I've got a couple of questions for you in this one (you'll know them when you hear them 👀). Be honest in the comments. 📌 In this video: Gold Coast Australia, water dragons, bush turkeys, whale watching, Burleigh Heads, line dancing, mural art, jiu-jitsu, Aussie supermarket tour, working holiday visa, slow travel, Scousers in Australia. 🌍 PLANNING YOUR OWN TRIP? DISCOUNT BELOW! You can book tours and experiences with GetYourGuide — what I use for booking excursions when I travel. 👉 Download the app: https://gyg.me/whereshodgie-app 👉 Use code WHERESHODGIE5 for discount on your first booking! 🧭 MORE DISCOUNTS FOR GEAR & PRODUCTS I USE https://linktr.ee/travelforless I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you purchase through them. I only recommend gear I genuinely use. ☕ SUPPORT THE CHANNEL AND MY MISSION TO INSPIRE MORE PEOPLE! If my content brings you value and you'd like to support what I am doing, you can buy me a coffee here as a one off or a monthly subscription: https://buymeacoffee.com/whereshodgie CHAPTERS: 0:00 Welcome back — our first week on the Gold Coast 0:52 Water dragons, bush turkeys & our first ever whale 2:09 Standing in two states at once (the QLD/NSW border) 5:17 Burleigh Heads at sunrise + a bit of gratitude 5:57 What Beth's mural residency actually is 7:31 A local's coffee spot & another wild dragon 9:33 Spray painting, sketching & a moment of reflection 15:32 LINE DANCING for the first time (Cotton Eye Joe carnage) 18:06 Why you should stop caring what people think 22:00 Day 4: finding the local jiu-jitsu gym 22:54 How to travel the world by trading your skills 25:53 What an Aussie supermarket actually looks like 29:38 How to read food labels & eat well for less 36:16 Evening walk, steak night & words from home 39:31 Morning walk, journalling & Tony Robbins 41:25 Miami Beach & the wild wallabies of London 43:49 New here? Why I quit teaching to travel 49:39 The Aussie takeaway coffee cup debate 51:29 The power of reading (how one book bought us a house) 59:52 Sunset painting with pizza… and a dragon guest 1:04:28 Saturday jiu-jitsu & murals everywhere 1:05:32 The honest low: my teaching qualification battle 1:10:35 Next week: the retreat + a wildlife sanctuary HASHTAGS #GoldCoast #Australia #travelvlog #WorkingHolidayVisa #Scouser #BurleighHeads #SlowTravel #Queensland #AustraliaTravel #TravelCouple #linedancing https://linktr.ee/whereshodgie - all other links including podcast and socials! 🎥 ABOUT MR HODGE I'm Mathew — a UK teacher turned travel and wellness creator, sharing the lessons that school could never teach through self-diagnosed cinematic masterpieces!! 🤝 FOLLOW ALONG Instagram: @whereshodgie TikTok: @whereshodgie Facebook: Wheres Hodgie Threads: @whereshodgie Bethany's Art Work: Instagram: @bethanypayetartist TikTok: @bethanypayetartist Website: bethanypayetartist.co.uk ──────────────────── 📩 BRAND PARTNERSHIPS & INQUIRIES whereshodgie@hotmail.com ──────────────────── Thank you and have an amazing day wherever you are in the world - see you next time!