Another Monday, done and over with...well, the school part at least!

The Gold Coast was fun, as usual! However, we happened to be there when "schoolies" was going on so we avoided certain areas...honestly, I am constantly hearing about cultural stuff that is totally different from Canada and schoolies is one of those things. Curious yet? Let me find som info...

Schoolies or Schoolies week refers to the Australian tradition of high-school graduates (known as "Schoolies" or "Leavers") having week-long holidays following the end of their final exams in late November and early December. Schoolies week first began at Broadbeach, Queensland in the 1970s, in the week after final exams. [1] Schoolies Week events began to be organised and the Gold Coast, Queensland attracted schoolies from all over Australia for celebrations. Since then, the tradition spread as Australian high school graduates celebrated their graduation with a week-long party at many popular tourist destinations around the country.
Schoolies week is considered by some as a cultural rite of passage in Australia. The most enduring Schoolies Week tradition is the first run down the beach and dive into the ocean after school is finished forever. That plunge of freedom is the essence of freedom Schoolies symbolises.

So in other words, it's a lot of 17 & 18 year olds having a whole week of partying and drinking when they finish high school. As you can imagine, there is alot of controversy surrounding schoolies. Evey year there are a lot of arrests, bad accidents, etc. Anyhow, we didn't see anything worth reporting, but that was probably because we stayed away from the problem zones!