Our ascent from the first floor to the 77th is measured by a digital counter. Progress is unrelenting, thrilling and slightly uncomfortable. The journey takes 42.7 seconds. Ears pop in response to the changing air pressure. We began our journey at sea level; and when the doors open, Queensland’s tourist mecca, the Gold Coast, is 1,000 feet below.

We have come by express elevator to the observation deck of the world’s tallest residential building, Q1 — “Q” for Queensland. Australia’s Sunshine State stretches away from us on three sides. On the fourth side, the wrinkled blue sheet of the Pacific spreads to the horizon.

Inevitably, Q1 is angled toward the sea. Most of our fellow visitors on the observation deck appear mesmerized by the constant roll of the breaking waves far below.

Australia is similarly spellbound by the ocean. Around 80 percent of the country’s population lives close to the coast. The vast hinterland — the Outback, the Big Empty — remains largely untouched by human habitation.

Q1 stands head and shoulders above a dense jostle of high-rise hotels and apartment blocks. It requires a leap of imagination to picture this stretch of coastline a century ago. Back then, this was the sleepy district of Elston, with little to recommend it. A few farmers eked out a precarious living growing maize and sugar cane in the sandy soil. Most travelers passed it by.

In the early 1920s, an enterprising hotelier, Jim Cavill, set foot on Elston’s beach, which stretches almost unbroken for 37 miles. He recognized that with the right facilities and shrewd marketing, there was enormous potential.

He opened Surfers Paradise Hotel in 1925 and began a campaign to rename Elston after his business. The district officially became Surfers Paradise in 1933. By then, other hotels had been established and new settlements were springing up: Southport, Broadbeach, Mermaid Beach, Nobby Beach and, proclaiming the developers’ aspirations, Palm Beach and Miami.

This idyllic coastal strip — later collectively dubbed the Gold Coast — had embarked on the course that would eventually establish it as Australia’s premier holiday destination, the Miami of the Southern Hemisphere.

From the top of Q1, it is clear that Jim Cavill’s grand design was built on solid demographic foundations. To the north, we can see the clustered skyline of downtown Brisbane, Queensland’s capital, while to the south, through the salty haze, we can make out Byron Bay in the state of New South Wales. Much further down the coast, beyond sight but linked by the coastal highway, is the industrial city of Newcastle, and then Sydney.

Stroll along the beach at Surfers Paradise first thing in the morning and you can still gain a sense of the rustic, barefoot beginnings. A few tanned, sun-blonde surfers trot into the lapping water, paddle out to the depths, then ride the waves back. As long as you keep your gaze fixed seaward, it is as if nothing has changed for decades.

But behind you, thousands of apartment windows glint in the early sun, and tinny music echoes from the cafés serving breakfast. Cranes loom over new construction sites. Local newspapers proclaim the latest dreams and schemes of the politicians and real estate developers.

The Gold Coast is never static. It is constantly reinventing itself, striving for new attractions to keep the visitors coming. More than 10 million tourists flock in each year, generating earnings of $4.4 billion. They are lured not just by sun and surf but by theme parks (including Warner Bros. Movie World and Sea World), brash hotel resorts to cater to all budgets and tastes, and headline-grabbing developments such as Q1.

Along with the tourists there is an unceasing influx of new residents. Since the 1970s, the Gold Coast’s permanent population has increased from 70,000 to 500,000. And still they come, at an average of 13,000 each year.

Luxury housing estates fringe the maze of canals that separates the coastal strip from the hinterland while new developments steadily creep toward the backdrop of rainforest-cloaked hills. The pace of growth cannot be sustained. Vacant building land will run out in 2020.

So Q1 is not just a bold symbol of the Gold Coast’s current success. With its 527 apartments, neatly stacked on a postage-stamp plot, it is the way of the future. The skyline is set to rise dramatically.

In order to cope with the rapidly expanding population as well as the tidal wave of tourists, construction has begun on a light railway, the Gold Coast Rapid Transit. The first stage, costing $850 million, will stretch approximately four miles north and south of Surfers Paradise and should be complete by 2014. Eventually the system will run the entire length of the coastal strip.

Another mega-project, a multimillion-dollar cruise ship terminal, is currently shelved due to vehement opposition from local environmental campaigners. The proposed site is The Spit, one of the last stretches of the Gold Coast seafront that remains relatively untouched by development.

Alongside the bitter arguments about The Spit, there is a more worrying environmental concern affecting the whole of the Gold Coast. Tide by tide, the ocean is steadily eroding Australia’s seaboard. The national government estimates that 250,000 homes could be lost to the sea within a century and that there is a very real threat that the gleaming high-rises of Surfers Paradise and neighboring districts could also be inundated.

Immediately to the north of Surfers Paradise, a 300-foot-wide isthmus known as Narrowneck was particularly vulnerable. If it had washed away, the coastal strip would have been split in two. The solution was to create an offshore artificial reef. As well as reversing the impact of erosion, the reef provides improved surfing conditions and is therefore a tourist attraction. Attracting tourists is the ultimate measure of success on the Gold Coast.

Until as recently as the 1990s, the Gold Coast catered primarily to homegrown tourists. The peak season was traditionally “Schoolies Week” at the turn of November/December, when tens of thousands of students descend on Surfers Paradise for a riotous vacation comparable to spring break.

It is the one time of year that is best avoided by regular tourists. But for the rest of the time, the Gold Coast’s efforts to move away from tacky excess toward cosmopolitan sophistication have reaped dividends. Expensive international boutiques and upmarket malls now overshadow the tawdry souvenir shops that used to predominate. And rising above everything — a sleek, glass-and-steel symbol of refinement — is the Q1.

Yet as you mingle with the international holidaymakers on the sun-shimmering sidewalks of Surfers Paradise, you can’t help but be distracted by one tradition that has survived all efforts to move upmarket.

Periodically, your eye will be caught by leggy women clad in gold lamé bikinis and cowboy hats. The famous Meter Maids have been patrolling the streets of Surfers Paradise since 1965, topping up parking meters before they expire and saving tardy motorists from a fortune in fines.

The Meter Maids may seem anachronistic in these politically correct times, but their survival on the Gold Coast is entirely appropriate.

Despite the relentless pace of change, the introduction of bigger and more thrilling attractions and the uncomfortable remolding of history and the natural environment, one thing has underpinned the Gold Coast’s success: the Aussie sense of irreverent fun.

Info To Go

The easiest access point to the Gold Coast is Brisbane International Airport (BNE), served by regular non-stop flights from Los Angeles (LAX). Coach transfers to the Gold Coast take about 90 minutes and cost from $30 per person. Gold Coast International Airport (OOL) connects to all major Australian cities and also offers international services to New Zealand, Malaysia and Japan.

Diversions

Let’s be different. The main attractions of the Gold Coast are clustered along the coastal strip, but they can wait. Once you’re in the beach routine, it is not easy to find the motivation to head inland. So we will start in “the green behind the gold,” as the marketers have dubbed the hilly, rainforested hinterland. Day trips by rental car are easy enough, but to really appreciate the unique ambience of the forest, you need to be there at dusk and dawn. The ideal base is Binna Burra Mountain Lodge, a get-away-from-it-all retreat located within the 20,000-hectare expanse of the World Heritage-listed Lamington National Park. Birdlife within the park is spectacular.

Closer to the coast, Tamborine Mountain is home to a scattering of picturesque communities; it’s the perfect place for a day trip, taking in the incredible views as well as visits to some of the many handicraft businesses and tea shops. If that sounds a little too sedate for you, then why not explore Tamborine Mountain on the back of a Harley-Davidson? Guided Harley tours are offered by Wildfire Tours.

Back on the Gold Coast, a visit to Q1’s 77th-floor SkyPoint is an excellent way to get your geographic bearings. Summer opening hours are from 9 a.m.–9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 9 a.m.–midnight on Friday and Saturday. Back at street level, Aquaduck Safaris offers hour-long combined bus and boat tours in amphibious vehicles.

There is no shortage of water activities available. If you’ve never surfed, where better to start? Lessons can be booked at Cheyne Horan’s School of Surf. In two hours, you’ll go from learning the basics on the beach at Surfers Paradise to riding your first waves. Most of the lessons are conducted personally by Cheyne, who is a former world champion surfer.

While you’re in the water, it’s probably best not to think too much about the critters you’re sharing it with. The main beaches are protected by shark nets (though they occasionally sneak through). Beyond the nets, there is excellent deep-water gamefishing, and several companies offer half-day fishing safaris, including Gone Fishing. From June to November, humpback whales migrate along the coast. Australian Whale Watching offers voyages on a $2 million catamaran and boasts a 99 percent success rate of whale sightings.

If you like theme parks, you’ll be spoiled by the choice on the Gold Coast. Combined tickets are the most cost-effective way of making the most of them. Slightly out on a limb is Sea World, located on The Spit north of Surfers Paradise. As well as impressive aquaria, rides and daily shows, Sea World also offers the chance to snorkel or dive with sharks in the purpose-built Shark Bay lagoon.

The main cluster of theme parks is inland, on either side of the Pacific Motorway. Dreamworld is Australia’s largest theme park and features the Big Six Thrill Rides. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to fall 38 floors, try the Giant Drop. Next door, WhiteWater World offers more of the same in the way of hair-raising rides, but you’ll need to wear your swimsuit. Along the road is Warner Bros. Movie World, with rides dedicated to Batman, Superman, Scooby-Doo, Looney Tunes, Shrek and many others. Beside Movie World is an attraction that is much more “fair dinkum” Australian, the Australian Outback Spectacular. Housed in a venue that looks like an Outback farmstead, it’s a great place to enjoy dinner and an Aussie-themed equestrian show.

Weathering the Storms

Queensland was hit by devastating floods in January and Cyclone Yasi in February. By a quirk of geographic fate, the Gold Coast has been largely unscathed. However, the Gold Coast tourist industry was subsequently hit by a wave of cancellations. “Guilt by association,” one tourism officer called it. At the time of writing, the city’s tourist infrastructure is operating normally. For current updates visit www.goldcoast.com.au.

Lodging

Palazzo Versace Australia

This beach resort has marble trimmings and crystal chandeliers. If you’re a fan of all things Versace, this is your mecca. Sea World Drive, Main Beach, tel 61 7 5509 8000 $$$$

Q1 Resort & Spa

Be a temporary resident of the world’s tallest residential tower; rent a luxury apartment by the night and enjoy the spa, fitness center and pool. Hamilton Avenue, Surfers Paradise, tel 61 7 5630 4524 $$$$

Surfers International Apartments

At the heart of Surfers Paradise, with sea-view balconies, these fully equipped apartments provide a home away from home without breaking the bank. 7-9 Trickett St., Surfers Paradise, tel 61 7 5579 1299 $$

Dining

Beluga Restaurant

There’s an inventive Italian take on Aussie seafood dishes at this restaurant owned by Michael Platsis, a mainstay of the Queensland dining scene. 26 Tedder Ave., Main Beach, tel 61 7 5591 1366 $$$

Bumbles Café

Charming and unpretentious, this is the ideal place for breakfast or lunch, with great food cooked simply. 19 River Drive, Budds Beach, Surfers Paradise, tel 61 7 5538 6668 $$–$$$

Grumpy’s Wharf

Picturesquely sited on the Nerang River on the hinterland side of Surfers Paradise, the restaurant serves fine seafood with an Asian twist. Tiki Village, River End Cavill Avenue, Surfers Paradise, tel 61 7 5531 6177 $$$