Sunshine Coast A Magical Mixture

Newcastle Herald

Tuesday May 6, 2008

Chris Watson

Just one hour's drive north of Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast

is a mix of picturesque coastline, surf beaches, hinterland

attractions, award-winning cuisine and a relaxed lifestyle.

Its 100 km of beaches stretches from family-friendly Caloundra

through the coastal towns of Mooloolaba, Maroochydore, Coolum,

Noosa and Rainbow Beach through to Cooloola, the gateway to

Fraser Island.

National parks and state forests, lakes, everglades and dive sites

are the setting for some memorable outdoor adventures, or visitors

can indulge in a pampering spa treatment, browse galleries in

the hinterland, or relax with a glass of wine overlooking the rolling

waves.

The Sunshine Coast has all that, and more.

HOWTO GET THERE

? Location: The Sunshine Coast is a one-hour drive north of

Brisbane.

? Airport: Fly into Sunshine Coast Airport (Maroochydore) or

Brisbane Airport.

? Train: QR services operate from Brisbane Central Station to the

Sunshine Coast with connecting bus services to coastal centres.

WHERE TO STAY

An extensive range of accommodation ranges from country

cottages in the hinterland to five-star resorts, riverside selfcontained

family apartments, houseboats or eco-accredited

organic health retreats.

DINING OUT

Some of Australia?s top chefs call the Sunshine Coast home,

lured by the lifestyle, fresh - often organic - local produce, and

locally-caught seafood.Dine overlooking the surf of the Pacific

Ocean, al fresco in stylish Hastings St, or enjoy a meal by a fire in

the hinterland. Learn how to make the most of local produce at a

cooking school or visit a boutique winery.

MUST DO!

? Explore the volcanic Glass House Mountains.

? Visit the Eumundi Markets, Australia?s biggest (motto: ?make it,

bake it, grow it or sew it?).

? Swim with sharks at Under WaterWorld.

? Spot a koala in the wild at Noosa National Park.

? Visit the home of the late Crocodile Hunter, Australia Zoo.

? Join a 4WD tour along the sand highway past the sand cliffs of

Rainbow Beach on your way to Cooloola National Park.

? Take a tour or kayak the Noosa Everglades.

? Walk through the rainforest at Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve.

? Browse the chic boutiques of Noosa?s Hastings St and enjoy a

meal at an oceanfront restaurant or with the locals at the surf

club.

? Tackle a section or the whole Sunshine Coast Great Walk.

? Pan for gold in the historic gold mining city of Gympie.

EVENTS

? Noosa Festival of Surfing (March)

? Mooloolaba Triathlon Festival (March)

? Celebration of Australian Food andWine at Noosa (May)

? National Country Music Muster (August)

? Noosa Jazz Festival (August)

? Noosa Triathlon (November)

? Woodford Folk Festival (December)

IDEAS AND INSPIRATIONS

? Head to the hills: Experience the beauty and culture of the

Sunshine Coast hinterland. Perfect for a day trip or short break,

the hinterland is a green haven of mountains, farmland, rainforest,

lakes and mountain villages.

? Outdoor adventures: You are spoilt for choice on the Sunshine

Coast - scuba dive the ex-HMAS Brisbane warship, kayak the

Noosa Everglades, 4WD past the coloured sand cliffs of Rainbow

Beach or hand feed wild dolphins in Tin Can Bay.

? National parks: A range to choose from including the ancient

volcanic plugs of the Glass House Mountains, Noosa National

Park - one of Australia?s few oceanfront national parks - as well as

Kondalilla Falls National Park and Cooloola National Park.

? Attractions: Swimming with sharks or seals, watching

crocodiles being fed at the home of the late Crocodile Hunter, and

tasting delicious tropical fruits are just some of the attractions of the

Sunshine Coast.Choose from dozens of attractions including go

karting and getting up close to Australian wildlife.

? Markets: Australia?s biggest markets, the Eumundi Markets,

are held everyWednesday and Saturday.The market motto,

`make it, bake it, grow it or sew it?, is observed by dozens of farms,

producers, artisans and craftspeople who set up their stalls under

the shade of massive fig trees.While Eumundi is the most famous,

markets are held almost every day along the coast.

? Beautiful beaches: The Sunshine Coast?s long stretches of

sandy beaches, including Maroochydore, Coolum, Sunshine

Beach and Noosa?s Main Beach, are idea for surfing.Why not take

a lesson with an expert or try your hand at boogie boarding? There

are also huge expanses of calm water like Pumicestone Passage

that provide a playground for sailing, fishing and kite surfing.

? Spa indulgence: Indulge in a uniquely Sunshine Coast

treatment - a Cooloola sand and sea salt scrub - or relax with a

massage in an open-air pavilion.There are dozens of pampering

options.

? Valley Rattler: See the Cooloola area?s Mary Valley aboard the

?Valley Rattler? - one of Queensland?s most scenic railway lines.

FAST FACTS

? Did you know you can go koala-spotting at the beachside

Noosa National Park?

? Experience the thrill of hand feeding wild dolphins in Tin Can

Bay.

ADRENALIN HIGHS

? Pedal and Paddle AdventureTreks: Race downhill on a

mountain bike or discover the hidden waterways around Noosa,

or do both in the one adventure. Pedal and Paddle Adventure

Treks Noosa offers their guests these opportunities, taking in the

Sunshine Coast?s hinterland and estuaries.

? Skydive Ramblers: Drop from 14,000 feet from an aeroplane

with some of the most spectacular coastline in Australia fanning

out beneath you, then, after 60 seconds of freefall and five minutes

floating under a parachute, land on the sand at Coolum Beach.

? UnderWaterWorld Aquarium: Ever wanted to get up close

with a shark? Several sharks? Large sharks? At the Under Water

World Aquarium at Mooloolaba you can come within centimetres

of large grey nurse sharks, leopard sharks, white-tip reef sharks,

shovel-nosed and whaler sharks, as well as black bullrays,

coachwhip rays, giant groper, spangled red emperors, sweetlip,

snapper, bream, remoras, wobbegongs and more.

BACKPACKERS

? Halse Lodge: The closest backpacker accommodation to

Noosa?s Main Beach, a National Trust-listed 1880s building set

in rainforest.The lodge is a stone?s throw from the beach and

Hastings St.

? MaroochydoreYHA Backpackers: An activity-based

backpackers in tropical surrounds close to all coastal

Maroochydore has to offer.

? Koala Beach Resort: From here, travellers can launch into

many activities on the coast or look a little further inland. Explore

the Noosa Everglades by canoe or the Noosa National Park by

foot.

? Noosa Heads Surf Lifesaving Club: Right on the beach at

Noosa Heads, the club offers a bar, bistro and a great spot for

breakfast, lunch or sundowner.

DIVE SITES

? Wolf Rock: Four volcanic pinnacles rising from 40 metres that

provide swim-through dives, vertical gutters and overhanging

ledges. Black coral trees, spiky soft corals, hard corals, gorgonians

and spiral sea whips are to be found. Fish life includes trevally,

cod, coral trout, perch, mackerel, batfish and leopard shark, and

it?s home to several giant Queensland gropers. Located off Double

Island Point, specialised dive companies visit the site.

? HMAS Brisbane:Queensland?s newest wreck is off Mooloolaba,

an ex-Royal Australian Navy destroyer that served in the Vietnam

and Gulf Wars before being sunk in July, 2005.The vessel has

been kept in its original condition (where possible) and is now

sitting upright on the ocean floor, 28 metres down. Access holes

allow passage into the forward engine room, boiler room and other

parts of the ship.There is already a large amount of marine life

on the wreck.Only certified divers can access the site through a

licensed dive tour operator.

? Another reef worth visiting is Magic Mountain.

BE AN ANIMAL

Interacting with wildlife always gives a special thrill, and your inner

animal has plenty of company on the Sunshine Coast. Apart from

swimming with seals and sharks at Under WaterWorld, you can

join more than one million visitors a year at Noosa National Park to

spot one of its 130 koalas in their natural habitat, or watch dolphins

ride the waves among surfers.

You can take a camel ride along Noosa?s famous beaches, or visit

SuperBee, a working honey factory where you can see honey go

from the hive (at a live beekeeping show) to the bottle.

And, crikey, don?t miss Australia Zoo.The Crocoseum at the

zoo has daily shows where you can touch snakes, duck under

kookaburras, wedge-tail eagles, owls and a macaw, and watch

crocodiles, cheetahs and tigers feed as well as see Australian

wildlife including Tasmanian devils, wombats, echidnas, tortoises,

dingos, possums and turtles.

GOLF

Play against a backdrop of rolling surf or share the greens with

a couple of kangaroos. Links run beside the Pacific Ocean and

through groves of native melaleuca and eucalyptus, and the

region?s 300 days of sunshine creates a year-round magnet for

golfers.

The Hyatt Regency Coolum is home to the Australian PGA

Championship and is rated one of the best resort courses in

Australia.Designed by Robert Trent Jones Junior, the par 72,

6263-metre course has holes ranging from next to the ocean to

woodland.

The 114-room Ramada Pelican Waters is Caloundra?s only fourand-

a-half star international full-service hotel, and overlooks the

Greg Norman-designed Club Pelican course.

The coast is also home to one of the world?s few organic courses,

the 27-hole Kabi Golf Course, where no toxic chemicals or

fertilisers are used and the greens are hand-weeded.

GREATWALKS

The subtropical wonders of the Blackall Range are displayed on

the Sunshine Coast Hinterland Great Walk.Winding through 45

km of national park, forest reserve and conservation park, you

will experience cool rainforests, gorges, waterfalls, rock pools and

expansive views.

On the wildlife front, at least 107 species of birds, 70 species of

reptiles and 32 species of frogs have been recorded in the Blackall

and nearby Conondale Ranges.

The walk starts at Baroon Pocket Dam, finishing at Mapleton

Forest Reserve. It takes between four and six days to complete the

entire walk. A range of half-day strolls and full-day walks are also

available. National park campsites are provided along the walk

(Book through Queensland Parks andWildlife Services on www.

epa.qld.gov.au).

Montville Getaways are a group of accommodation providers,

including self-catering cottages, treehouse cabins and luxury motel

suites, who offer pick up and drop off points along the walk.

For more information contactTourism Sunshine Coast,www.

sunshinecoast.org

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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