Sunshine Coast (Mar 22)
14th March
A couple of days of rest at our friends place and a new addiction to Bundaberg Ginger Beer later and we were back on the road.
Our destination for today was the Sunshine Coast. Specifically Alex Beach Cabins & Tourist Park in Alexandra Headland.
First leg was a trip down the Warrego Hwy (A2), east towards Brisbane before taking a left around Gatton heading north on the Gatton-Esk Rd. Passing through Esk, where the road becomes the Brisbane Valley Hwy, we continue north. A little over an hour into the trip we stopped for a bite in Toogoolawah at the Have’A’Chat Cafe.
Back on the road, and continuing north, we turn right at Harlin, heading east on the D’Aguilar Hwy. A short while later and we stop in Kilcoy. This stop had two purposes… the first was to visit the local supermarket and stock up on some supplies, and the second was to do a drive-by of the childhood home of one of our Toowoomba friends.
What followed was an uneventful drive from Kilcoy, east towards Woodford, where we turned north onto the Kilcoy Beerwah Rd towards Booroobin. Along this section of road we could see the peak of Mount Beerwah (see image). We then headed east again on Peachester Rd to Beerwah. From there we continued east on Roys Rd until reaching the M1 where we headed north once more. We leave the M1 near Sippy Downs onto the Sunshine Motorway. Taking the Sugar Rd exit, followed by Oloway Cres and Okinja Rd brings us to our destination.
Alexandra Headland
Alexandra Headland is a suburb of Maroochydore – which is another name ticked off our I’ve Been Everywhere list – and part of the region known as the Sunshine Coast. It is also close to where a friend of ours – Kerrianne – lives, and so we spent the first few days exploring the region with her.
15th March
This morning Megan and Kerrianne organised to go paddle boarding on the Maroochy River near Cotton Tree Pier. Megan was unsteady at first, but soon got the hang of it, though it was made a little more difficult when Neo joined her. For his part, Neo was unsure of the water and even more unsure of the paddle board, but eventually he seemed to enjoy himself.
16th March
Apart from shopping, eating and lazing about, the highlight of today was a visit to Point Cartright in Mooloolaba. Mooloolaba also happens to check off another name in the I’ve Been Everywhere list. Yay!
Normally this would also check off a Silo Trail item, but the painted water tank was undergoing maintenance at the time of our visit and we didn’t get to see it.
We did get to visit the local beach, where Neo and his new best friend, Bosley, had a great old time.
Gold Coast
17th to 21st March
We left the caravan at Alexandra Headland and Neo with Kerrianne’s daughter while Megan and I headed for the Gold Coast. This was for a business conference that was the primary purpose of this trip. Being business, it’s not really part of this blog, but I’ve included a couple of pics of our hotel room and the final night Gala…
Back to the Sunshine Coast
Just before heading to the Gold Coast, Megan and I decided we wanted a longer stay on the Sunshine Coast, and so extended our park stay at Alex Beach, happy as we were with the facilities. This gave us more time to explore the area and we didn’t have a fixed date to get home.
21st March
The drive from the Gold Coast – via Brisbane to pick up Neo, was uneventful – so the first order of business on our return was to have a bit of time with our furry boy. After all, he’s only 4 months old and has never spent time away from us since we got him in December. So back to the beach we went, with his new bud Bosley, of course, after which he was one very tired boy.
22nd March
There were a few local attractions that Kerrianne was adamant we had to see, so we gave her free reign as we had not done any investigation of our own.
First up was Buderim Falls, also known as Serenity Falls, in Buderim Forrest Park. We entered at the upper end of the trail, accessing the falls via a steepish, winding walk of a few hundred metres that is not too difficult for anyone of moderate fitness.
Once at the falls, the pool at the bottom is reasonably easy to access so long as care is taken on the slippery rocks, and many people take to the water, which we did.
From the falls, we hiked back up to the car park, and then out to the lookout for a view over the area.
From here we stopped for a bite to eat and then did a drive-by of the Big Pineapple in order to check it off our Big Things list. We didn’t stop as Megan didn’t feel the need and I had visited it several times as a kid. This signalled the end of our day.
23rd March
Today Kerrianne suggested a visit to Noosa, which seemed like a good idea. We toyed with the idea of a beach drive, but while I’m sure our car is up to it, I’m not sure about my own driving skills and we don’t as yet have any recovery gear, so we decided against it. Nevertheless, Noosa was still a great place to visit for the day.
We went for a bit of a drive to check the place out, had a nice lunch and visited Noosa National Park, but we didn’t capture much of this visit on ‘film’. We are definitely still amateurs at the whole YouTube thing.
24th March
Today was to be our last on the Sunshine Coast. Kerrianne was otherwise occupied, so Megan and I had a leisurely morning before heading up into the nearby mountains for a drive. It was a totally unplanned route, just looking about, but eventually we came upon a lookout near Maleney, which we found to be called Gerrard Lookout. The view across the Sunshine Coast, while expansive, was mostly of tree tops. It was beautiful while also being somewhat uninteresting. A strange combination.
While we were there, though, two gentlemen arrived to assemble and fly a remote control glider.
Later that evening we joined Kerrianne once more for a dinner cruise on the Maloolah River.
… and tomorrow we are back on the road.
