Sunshine Coast Queensland ‘12 of the Best ’ The Sunshine Coast has an enormous range of attractions and activities. Here ’s our pick of them – 12 of the best: 1.
Relax. Water ’s warm, even in midwinter, beaches almost all white sand and safe, quality boardwalks go for miles. Shorts, t-shirts and thongs standard dress. Dusk comes suddenly about 5.15pm in midwinter, laugh then at the lorikeets making merry in the beachside trees and, sympathetically, at freezing friends back home.
2.
The beaches, scores of them, for mile after sandy mile, glorious in-town beaches like Hyatt Regency Coolum ’s privately patrolled beach, Mooloolaba and Kings Beach (Caloundra), isolated idylls like remote Rainbow Beach. Changing, toilet and picnic facilities are universally first class. Wet suits are laughed at, summer or winter – even oldies surf here.
3.
Australia Zoo, established by the late Steve Irwin. Among the top zoos in the world, a must-see. Free bus service from Sunshine coast towns. Close by are Aussie World and the Ettamogah Pub.
4.
Noosa Everglades tour. Six-hour boat trip into the extensive waterways around Noosa and Cooloola National Park Everglades. Almost half of Australia ’s bird species live here, plus dangerous bull sharks. Black-water reflections are amazing, on-land barbecue lunch real bonza.
5.
Get out and golf or fish. Golf courses range from championship resort courses like Hyatt Regency Coolum ’s PGA course, Twin Waters, Peregian Springs and Club Pelican to dozens of great club courses. Charter fishing boats, large and small, operate everywhere. Locals cast from beaches, boardwalks or ‘tinnies ’ in the rivers, Sunshine Coast Daily tells fishers what ’s running where.
6.
Drive the Hinterland beyond. Maleny, Montville and Mapleton are endearing towns to visit for handcrafts, cheese, art and local flavour. Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve offers delightful walks through 52ha of subtropical forest and views of Glass House Mountains.
7.
Go shopping. Massive Sunshine Plaza at Maroochydore has hundreds of shops, nearby Mooloolaba is full of boutiques, upmarket Noosa caters for the designer set, towns and villages all around specialize in parting people from purse.
8.
Eumundi market. An institution – locals skite that if it ’s bakeable, makeable, growable or sewable, it ’s available at the 550 stalls here every Wednesday and Saturday. Buses run from the nearby coast. Plenty of great farmers ’ and street markets elsewhere at weekends.
9.
Canal cruising. Mooloolaba offers the most extensive gape at the waterfront mansions of the rich, from the luxurious through the ostentatious to the downright gaudy. Crocodile hunter Steve Irwin owned a $10 million mansion, with a $10 million boat outside, on ‘Crikey ’s Canal ’ there are hundreds of other homes in the $5 - $15 million range. Others can be spotted on the Noosa River and at Pumicestone Passage, Caloundra.
10. The Ginger Factory at Yandina, home of Buderim Ginger. Factory tour is revealing, cafeteria and tasting rooms rewarding, and the 100year-old sugar cane train great for a ride. Kids chase the Gingerbread Man around the globe by boat. Daily cooking school classes are popular with visitors. 11. Fraser Island, the world ’s largest sand island in the north of Sunshine Coast offers unusual environment – deserted beaches fronting a rainforest hinterland with huge trees, kauris included, growing in nothing but sand. Whizz the beaches in four-wheel-drive trucks, swim in fresh-water lakes. 12. Underwater World. Get up close and personal with creatures from the deep! Explore the world of stingrays, seals, sharks, starfish and more – the ‘Touch Pool ’ is a treat for those who are game.
Book Hyatt Regency Coolum at the Sunshine Coast for your next escape! Call us on 61 7 5446 1234, email coolum.regency@hyatt.com, or visit our website www.coolum.regency.hyatt.com.