After the recent mention of my trip to Fiji I was reminded of a holiday I had on Australia’s Sunshine Coast six years ago. Similarities between the two were the holiday resort feel and my friend Hannah.
Left to our own devices Hannah and I have been known to get up to a bit of mischief, however this trip included the moderating factors of her partner and 11 month old daughter. They had planned a holiday in Noosa and for whatever the reason, I joined them for part of it. Maybe I invited myself?
Brisbane is three hours by air from Auckland and Noosa for me was another couple of hours away via a shuttle van that deviated here and there. Hannah picked me up in town for the five minute drive to a flash gated community containing the friend’s holiday house where they were staying.
Over the next few days we did a lot of local tiki-touring. Noosaville the town was great, nice to wander around though it seemed quite high-end and boutiquey, not somewhere to do much holiday shopping. The restaurants along the beachfront were conducive to frittering away afternoons and evenings with cocktails and desert concoctions while looking over the beach and water.
During a dinner out I had one such cocktail, a very rich creamy number, and as a result had to spend much of the next day in bed. (Or maybe it was something I ate.) Anyhow – bit of a wasted day.
We spent a fair bit of time on and around the main beach. It may have been winter but the climate was very mild and we relished the sunshine. Other local attractions included the Noosa River, a good place for pelican spotting, and the Noosa National Park, featuring a lovely shaded walkway through tall gumtrees and the like. I was kept busy looking up for koalas and birdlife, down for lizards and snakes, and pretty much everywhere for spiders. Whether this was reasonable or not I don’t remember, but heck it was Australia.
Thankfully during my holiday I didn’t see any of the monstrous spiders (basically man-eaters) that I’d heard horror stories about.
A little further afield there were some great day trips including the fantastic Eumundi markets. Among our efforts that day I bought a photo album, Hannah had her palms read and wee Sarah had a caricature drawn. Also excellent was the sprawling Australia Zoo with its huge assortment of Aussie wildlife. At one point while being transported between attractions we saw Steve Irwin drive by in the opposite direction. He gave us a wave. A little over a year later he died.
All too soon the week was up and we headed home back to the NZ winter. I haven’t been over there since but on the basis of this holiday I wouldn’t take much convincing!
Enjoying the late afternoon sun on Noosa beach with Hannah and baby Sarah
Sarah on the boardwalk at Noosa beach
Noosa National Park borders the coast
Pelicans on Noosa River
Gum tree
Sunset from the golf course next to where we were staying
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