NOOSA

A family holiday on the Sunshine Coast

 

As we know we’re going to be living in Asia for the foreseeable future, I decided that the November break was an ideal time to take the family to Noosa on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia.

 

It had been on my list of places to visit for a few years, especially as one planned trip was thwarted when we moved to China instead. We took an overnight flight from Hong Kong to Brisbane (8.5 hours) and arrived in Brisbane the following morning, picked our car up and drove for 1.5 hours up the coast to Noosa. I’d booked the apartment over the internet and we were staying in a resort called Ocean Breeze which is on Hastings Street at Noosa Heads.

 

Hastings Street is where it all happens. An abundance of restaurants, shops, coffee bars and of course a fabulous sandy beach which is perfect for the kids. We couldn’t have been staying in a better location. The whole of this area of Australia is packed with things to do. To the south of Brisbane is the Gold Coast, another holiday destination, and this is where all the theme parks are, eg WetnWild, Warner Brothers Movie Park and many others. To the north is the Sunshine Coast, miles and miles of glorious sandy beaches, spectacular mountains, everglades and rain forest. I was determined that this was not going to be a holiday where we spent every day by the pool or on the beach, but we were going to get out there and do STUFF!

Therefore, I determined that our first full day would be spent at Australia Zoo, the home of the late Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter. For those of you who missed the recent news, Steve Irwin was something of a national hero in Australia, known for his daring work with crocodiles and his TV show which was broadcast around the world. He was tragically killed a couple of months ago by a sting-ray barb. The zoo is not your traditional zoo with animals from all over the world. The main theme of the zoo is crocodiles and we arrived just in time for the main show in the Crocoseum! It was a very educational show as we watched the keepers handling the exotic birds, then the snakes and finally the crocodiles. We were advised on what to do if you get a snake bite and where to stand if you are near crocodile infested waters. We heard the crocodile’s jaws snap together as they grabbed the meat from the keeper – you wouldn’t want to be too close to that!! After the show was over we spent the day wandering around the rest of the zoo. Hannah particularly loved feeding the animals in the kids zoo and both girls enjoyed getting up close to the kangaroos and stroking them and feeding them. We watched another demonstration with Acco who is the zoo’s biggest croc. He is 72 years old, 5 metres long and weighs 1000kg – you wouldn’t want to turn your back on him! The next day was spent on the beach and Hannah, our 6 year old, had the time of her life spending the whole time in the sea on her boogie board. A brief storm had swept through in the morning and the wind was up but the waves were fantastic for surfing. Even Lucy, who’s not that keen on the sea was having a go. Hannah rapidly made friends with an 8 year old boy called Jake and the pair of them had to be dragged kicking and screaming out of the water at the end of the day! The next day was designated as Mum and Dad’s day, so we chose the activity! Our choice was a day trip spent driving up the coast along the beach in a 4WD vehicle, followed by a return trip to Noosa by boat through the Everglades (but no crocodiles in sight!). Our guide for the day picked us up from our apartment and just a few miles north of Noosa we headed onto the beach and up the spectacular coastline. On one side of the beach is the Ocean and on the other are some amazing sand dunes known as the Coloured Sands. These ‘cliffs’ are formed from sand and the colours were many different shades of reds, yellows, oranges and golds. 
We stopped for morning tea on Rainbow Beach and were lucky enough to spot a couple of whales . We then headed through the bush and the rain forest for a barbecue lunch and the final part of the day, cruising back down the river to Noosa. All was going remarkable well until we hit the sandbanks in one of the lakes and there we were stranded for the next hour. Only the mothers and children were allowed to stay on the boat whilst everyone else jumped into the knee deep water and tried to push the boat back into channel. The children thought this was all hilarious as did the passengers on a different tour company’s boat as they sped past us! Eventually we were free and returned back to Noosa. An exciting day! Another activity for the girls was a bicycle trip. We opted for 2 adult bikes with tag-a-longs for the girls so that they didn’t get tired and we could go a bit further than if they were pedaling under their own steam. Fish and chips and ice creams by the river bank were the order of the day after our cycle ride! We’d been told at the apartments that we should try and visit the market at Eumundi which is a short drive inland. It is held twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays and Saturday is definitely the better day to go as there are many more stalls. It’s a great place to go to buy gifts, Australian arts and crafts or just listen to the bands play and hang out. Christmas shopping completed it was back to the beach for the final afternoon. Unfortunately for Hannah the waves were disappointingly small, but she soon found herself a group of friends to hang out with for the afternoon! Of course, it would be remiss of me not to mention the great restaurants that we ate at whilst in Noosa! Hastings Street has an abundance of great places to eat and further along the river in Noosaville and Tewantin there are many more. Our particular favourite was Bistro C in Hastings Street. Every restaurant we went to had a kids menu and many of them did great seafood platters. But beware. Eating out in Noosa is not cheap, we paid around 175RMB for most main courses, but the portions are big and the food is great!
All in all, I can recommend Noosa as a great place for a family holiday. The weather in November was great – around 28oC during the day and cool enough at night to wear long trousers. There is loads of information about the area on the internet but here are a few websites to help you: www.beyondnoosa.com.au – 4WD tour and Everglades cruise www.breakfree.com.au – Stella Resorts Group have a number of apartments in Noosa www.tourismnoosa.com.au – Noosa tourist information www.britz.com – we booked our car through Britz – they also rent campervans! www.goldcoasttourism.com.au – if you’re looking for a different kind of holiday then look at the Gold Coast.

 

Claire Adam