While this vast embankment and ungated spillway across Nerang River’s primary function is to provide water security and flood mitigation to Gold Coast, it has also become a popular destination for locals and tourists alike because of its stunning views as you can see from the above photo.

This Open Space was my first view of it as seen from the coffee shop that’s above the parklands and the lake.

While my friend waited for our breakfast, I headed to where the walking trails were and was utterly charmed by these views.

So pretty.  And the weather’s perfect for walking.  (I was in Gold Coast during winter, so it was still cold despite the sunny weather.)

I lingered here for sometime to read a couple of signage that tell the history of the place, and found out that the dam was named in honor of the Hinze family who lived in the valley that got flooded by the dam.

Don’t get confused by the Little Nerang Dam in the above signage as this forms part of Hinze Dam.

When I felt my tummy grumble, I headed back to the café to eat.  I’ll share more details about my dining experience at View Café in a future post.  In the meantime, here’s a teaser photo of my latte.

After my filling breakfast, I headed to where the dam itself was.  On my way there, I got sidetracked by the information center, which was still closed when we arrived.  I spent some time here too learning about Hinze Dam’s design and operations.

While the views by the circuitous pathways were lovely, the views along the top of the dam wall were just as pretty.

The views were so picturesque I felt it’s worth a selfie shot.  Te he.

I was so in love with the views I have dozens of photos from this spot.  Here are some of my favorite pictures.

Blue happened to be my favorite color, and it was just so relaxing to watch the tranquil vivid-blue waters against the paler blue sky and the cottony white clouds and lush mountains.

From the same spot, I could also see the village and parts of the dam.

I’ll end this post with a panoramic shot of the dam taken while I was on the bridge.

It’s definitely one of the prettiest sights I enjoyed in Gold Coast and among my many travels, so if you do find yourself in GC, make sure to include Hinze Dam in your itinerary.