The Gold Coast was once an informal name for the stretch of coastal towns from Surfers Paradise in the north to the state border with New South Wales in the south. With a warm climate and miles of beaches, the towns have grown rapidly, especially with migrating southern retirees. The merged towns are now suburbs of the City of Gold Coast, and the city has also stretched out to take in more areas to the north and west. The northern end (especially Surfers Paradise to Broadbeach) is more commercialized, with plenty of action for backpackers and schoolies (school leavers celebrating the end of exams). The southern end still caters mainly to families holidaying from the colder southern states. Away from the coast, the western side, called the hinterland, consists of mountain ranges covered with rainforest, much of it national park. http://wikitravel.org/en/Gold Coast