We arrived in the Gold Coast Monday afternoon after a very easy flight from Newcastle.  We flew Jetstar which is one of Australia’s budget airlines, and all found it quite comfortable.  Neat thing about those flights … you can get on and off the plane from both a front and rear door, so it really speeds things up.

Adam from Bond was at the hotel to greet us and ensure that we all arrived safely. We had rooms overlooking the harbor, which happened to face west … and we arrived just in time for sunset, which was really great timing.  We went out to dinner that evening at Al Fresco, this amazing Italian restaurant that the hotel recommended.  Some of the group had spaghetti bugs … bugs are these crazy looking sea creatures … larger than a prawn, smaller than a lobster, and taste a bit like scallops.  It was an early evening for us, as we knew we had a busy day ahead of us.

Tuesday started quite early and we caught a cab to Bond (our hotel was in Surfer’s Paradise, which is about a 20 minute ride away from Gold Coast). Bond is a really amazing campus! The school is only 20 years old, and you can tell by looking at it that this is a really new, modern, well-funded campus. Bond is one of only two private unis in Australia.

The morning was packed full, with presentation from all of the major faculties (Law, Health Science and Medicine, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Business) and then a campus tour.  Our guide was a student, and it was clear that he really loved and was making the most of his time at Bond.  He took us for a look at the health science facilities and made a really great statement as we were ohhing and ahhing at what we saw. “If it’s high tech and state-of-the-art, we have it. If it’s out-dated, we don’t.” And that’s really apparent.

After lunch, we were taken to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, where we could hold a koala, pet a kangaroo, and have lorikeets land on our heads.  Not quite lions and tiger and bears, but it will do!  We also took a stroll on the beach and got to watch the sunset from the top of elephant rock.  I don’t know how Sally (our main host from Bond) was able to time the sunset so perfectly both nights, but she certainly did! We had another wonderful dinner that evening at the Elephant Rock Café, where we were joined by some other folks from the Bond international team.

Wednesday morning we met back up at Bond for a tour of their multi-media studios, which are truly impressive! After a quick tea, we were off to the airport and our time in Melbourne.

So, reason I could choose Bond, as a student, include: amazing location! It was 70 and sunny while we were there, and it’s pretty much 70-85 and sunny almost year-round! Amazing facilities, great student to teacher ratio (11-to-1). Small campus with a great campus community.

As an advisor, reasons I would recommend Bond to my students: small campus size. Great student to teacher ratio, with professionals at the top of their field. Smaller city location is ideal for students who want to be in Australia, but do not want to study at a large institution. Highly innovative, hands-on approach to education.