After a few days exploring northern Queensland, we were looking forward to our next stop in Australia – the Sunshine Coast, which is in southern Queensland. One of my closest friends from high school, Shannon, currently lives in the Sunshine Coast with her fiancé Nick, who is from New Zealand. She moved to Australia about 5 years ago, so we had planned to stay with them for a week. I was looking forward to getting an insight into her current life in Australia.
We took the 2-hour flight from Cairns back down to Brisbane, where Shannon and Nick picked us up. After exchanging excited “hello’s”, we made our way to lunch at a place near Shannon’s old house in Brisbane. We had arrived in Brisbane around noon, so Shannon had decided we would spend the day exploring Brisbane, and then head up to their house in the Sunshine Coast that evening, which is about an hour north of Brisbane.
After lunch they took us to an amazing lookout point in Brisbane called Mt. Coo-tha. We could see the entire city of Brisbane from the top of the hill and were able to capture some great pictures.
Mt. Coo-tha Lookout Point
Next, Shannon and Nick took us to South Bank, which is an area on the southern bank of the Brisbane River that has an outdoor pool area, shops, restaurants, and grassy areas to relax and listen to live music. It was a pretty incredible area and Andrew and I thought it was great that something like this was completely free to the public. We figured something like the large pool area, where a ton of families and young adults were gathered, would cost at least $10-15/per person in LA.
Hanging out on the grass listening to some live music
Another thing that was free to the public was the ferry on the river, which took you to different parts of the city. After grabbing a few drinks at one of the breweries in South Bank, we hopped on the ferry to a Bavarian brewery down the river.
Shannon & Nick
View of Brisbane from the river
We grabbed dinner at a Turkish restaurant back in the South Bank area before heading up to their home in the Sunshine Coast.
When we woke up the next morning, we quickly realized how different life in the Sunshine Coast was, compared to life in Brisbane. Brisbane is a big city, so you definitely get that “big city vibe” in the area. However, the Sunshine Coast is much more laid back and the epitome of a “beach town.” Shannon and Nick’s house is about a 10-15 minute walk to the beach, so we spent a few hours at the beach, playing Frisbee and enjoying the amazing weather. One very unique thing we noticed was that the sand squeaked when you walked on it because it was so fine – very cool! The ocean water was also much warmer (and bluer) than what we’re used to back home, which was nice. However, the warmer water also brings in many more jellyfish, which wasn’t so nice. A recent change in the tide had brought in more jellyfish than usual, so we had to keep a lookout while in the water, but overall it was a beautiful day at the beach.
Shannon and I took a short bike ride to Currimundi Lake from her house that afternoon to have our own little happy hour as the sun was setting, and we got a great view of the beautiful lake area.
Currimundi Lake
Since Andrew and I never got to celebrate Thanksgiving, we had all decided we would have a ‘pseudo-Thanksgiving’ dinner that night. Instead of turkey, the boys cooked chicken over the rotisserie, while Shannon made some mashed potatoes and salad, and I baked a French Apple pie for dessert. Their Australian neighbor Tim came over to join us and we enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving meal.
We woke up extremely early the next morning, around 4:15AM, since we were heading out to Double Island Point on Noosa North Shore to go camping on the beach. Part of the trip requires you to drive on the sand, so we had to leave before 5 in order to get on the beach before high tide. Since the sun rises around 4:45AM in the Sunshine Coast, it was already light out by the time we left, which felt very weird since it was still so early. We did get to see a beautiful 4:45AM sunrise.
Getting to the spot on the beach where we were going to set up camp was definitely an experience. We drove for about an hour before we had to take the car onto a ferry to cross the river. We soon arrived to the beach, where we drove about 45 minutes on the sand to get to a good area to camp on the beach. It was a pretty bumpy ride since the tide was already fairly high and we had to drive on the dry sand.
We found a great area to set up camp, which had a pretty spectacular view.
View of the ocean from our campsite
Our campsite
Nick cooking us a delicious breakfast
After breakfast we all took a nap, as we were exhausted from waking up so early. Once we all got some much needed rest, we headed over to a place called Rainbow Beach, which was a secluded beach about 15 minutes from where we were camping. It was absolutely stunning. The water was extremely blue and there were different pockets of water that had formed during different tide changes.
Shannon and Nick have always enjoyed surfing in this area, so they took their boards out to go catch some waves, along with a few other locals.
Nick catching a wave
Shannon’s turn!
Andrew had spent some time surfing in college, so he headed out to catch some waves. I only managed to get a picture of him waiting for the perfect wave to come in.
I have only tried surfing once, and it was years ago, but Shannon offered to teach me the ropes, so I got out there and attempted to surf. After many failed attempts, I finally was able to stand up for a second or two, so overall felt it was a successful experience. Definitely a lot of fun though!
We enjoyed a delicious meat and cheese platter later that afternoon while Nick spent some more time surfing. It was so relaxing out on the beach that day and we felt like we were in paradise.
We spent the rest of the evening relaxing around the campsite, playing some fun games of Rummy Club, and witnessing the most amazing starry night we have ever seen. Since there are absolutely no lights around to obstruct your view of the stars, the view of the sky is incredible.
We were able to head back out to Rainbow Beach the next morning for a couple of hours to get some more beach time and surfing in before packing up and heading out. I even managed to get stung by a jellyfish on my 2nd day out surfing, which didn’t feel the best, but fortunately wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. On our way back to their house, we checked out the town of Noosa, which is an affluent beach community.
So many crabs at Rainbow Beach!
Goodbye Rainbow Beach – you were amazing!
Grabbing a drink in the town of Noosa
Back in the Sunshine Coast, Shannon, Andrew and I took a bike ride the next morning out to another beach near their home called Moffat’s Beach. It was another beautiful day in the Sunshine Coast.
Shannon & I at Moffat’s Beach
After we got back from our bike ride, we decided to head out to hike a mountain area known as Mt. Tibrogargan. We hiked for about 15 minutes before we started to see signs that mentioned needing to be an experienced climber before continuing on. We didn’t think much of it and decided to continue on with the hike, however, the rock climbing started to get really tough so we felt it was best to head back.
Mt. Tibrogargan Hike
We made it up the rocks in the picture below before realizing we weren’t confident in going any further. (Well, Shannon and I weren’t confident…the boys would have kept going if it was up to them, but with a storm coming in, we figured it was best to head back)
Since our hike was cut a bit shorter than expected, we headed over to this cute country town in the Sunshine Coast called Maleny, where we experienced a few Aussie firsts. We tried a couple of the famous Aussie pies, which are different from our “pies” back home. The Aussie pies are savory in taste and usually consist of some type of meat – we thoroughly enjoyed them. While we were enjoying our pies, we also had our first Queensland thunderstorm experience! Thunderstorms are very common in Australia in the summer, and out of nowhere it started to downpour and even hail. We never get thunderstorms in LA, so we enjoyed the amazing streaks of lightening we were able to witness! Most thunderstorms tend to occur in the afternoons in Australia, so it can be a beautiful day at the beach and then around 4pm or so, a thunderstorm can roll in and completely downpour.
Town of Maleny
When we got back to the house, Andrew helped Nick make some delicious venison burgers for dinner that night, before enjoying a few fun hours of karaoke in their living room.
Thunderstorm rolling in back at their house!
Shannon and Nick had taken the time off of work to hang out with us Monday through Thursday, but Shannon had to work on Friday, so Andrew and I decided to check out the Australia Zoo, which is the zoo that Steve Irwin spent so much time developing. We really enjoyed the time we had spent at the Wildlife Habitat up in Port Douglas, so we wanted to spend some time checking out a few more Australian animals. While the Wildlife Habitat was great, this zoo was on another level! The Australia Zoo is spread out over 100 acres, but there are over 650 more acres that the zoo utilizes for the animals, so it is HUGE.
Koala Bears
Checked out the Wildlife Warriors Show with snakes, birds and crocodiles!
Crocoseum – where the show took place
Murray the Crocodile – Star of the show!
After watching the wildlife show, we headed over to see some Eastern Tail Kangaroos, which we were able to pet and feed. They were bigger than the wallabies we had fed at the Wildlife Habitat and they were so cute!
Kangaroos Lounging
Selfie with the Kangaroo!
Tigers, Camels, and Lemurs
Checking out Bindi’s Island (As a reminder to those that may not know, Bindi is Steve Irwin’s daughter)
Headed over to the AFRICA area, where we saw giraffes, zebras, and rhinos
Red Panda
Dingoes
Sea Otters
We met up with Nick after the Zoo and went go-kart racing at a nearby track. I had never been, so I was a bit “slow” on the track, and the boys seemed to lap me at least 2 times. I thought the whole experience was fun, yet a bit scary, but the boys definitely seemed to love it.
Andrew and I had wanted to make dinner for Shannon and Nick one night, so we cooked some ribs (which Andrew had brined the night before and slow-cooked for 3 hours), as well as some au gratin potatoes and salad. Andrew’s ribs were a hit, as usual, and everyone seemed to enjoy the sides. Massive food comas resulted from this delicious dinner.
Since Shannon and Nick both had some work to do the next day, Andrew and I spent some time at the beach before heading down to the Esplanade near Shannon’s work for a water-front lunch at Drift. Shannon came and met up with us after work and we spent some time exploring the Caloundra area.
Shannon and Nick had a couple of their friends come over that night and we all enjoyed a nice BBQ of pork roast and chicken, as well as some delicious sides Shannon cooked up. It was nice to meet a few of their Australian friends. We spent the evening witnessing some more amazing lightening from an incoming thunderstorm, as well as partaking in some more karaoke at the house. It’s pretty crazy how you can literally see the thunderstorms “rolling in.”
Unfortunately, the week with Shannon and Nick had come to an end. As we packed our bags the next morning, Shannon let us know that she had one more surprise for us before we left. On our way to the car rental location, we stopped in the town of Mooloolaba. The town sits on the water and is known for their fresh seafood. We sat down for lunch at a local restaurant and enjoyed fresh caught King Prawns while overlooking the water. Andrew and I had never eaten prawns this way and were fortunate that Nick showed us how to remove the shell. Each prawn had more meat than any other type of prawn or shrimp we have tasted back home. The experience was truly amazing!
We left lunch and headed for the airport to pick up our rental car. After spending the last week with some of our closest friends, it was hard to say goodbye. However, we enjoyed our time on the Sunshine Coast and had such a great time getting an inside look at their life in Australia. On to the next part of our Australian adventure!
Andrew + Allison Around the World 