August 27-29: Sunshine Coast

It has been an exceptionally long and cold winter in Melbourne this year, according to the weather forecasters – just our luck! It has rained so much that Rick has barely been able to get outside to mow the lawn of our new digs! We are basically always cold, and wear layers of clothing to “rug up” as they say in Australia. They tell us that spring is on the way, but it is hard to believe! Even this week I wore an undershirt and thermals for teaching at school! Of course we get much colder temperatures in Winnipeg, but the cold out here is a very penetrating damp cold and the buildings are just not built like ours back home – they are not insulated, and have only single-glazed windows with doors that don’t seal tightly, exposing cracks through which one can usually see and feel the outside elements! Luckily our present house can be made to feel cozy and warm!

In such a state, we received an email one day from an airline, offering relief from the cold through a visit to the Sunshine Coast. It was too good a deal and too appealing a thought to refuse! The airport code was MCY and we didn’t even know what that stood for nor where it was, but we were hooked and booked a flight! So, on August 27-29 we took an extended weekend to what we hoped were warmer climes in Queensland! We were not disappointed! We stepped out of the airplane into hot and humid weather, sunshine and palm trees - for what more could one ask?

We soon learned that MCY actually stood for the town of Maroochydore, but we also learned that the Sunshine Coast is comprised of quite a number of little resorts along the eastern coastline. We settled upon lodging in Noosa at the French Quarter on Hastings Street! We were told that this resort town with its many gorgeous hotels was where all the beautiful people hang out! We had met a lovely couple from Queensland on our central Australian trip, Murray and Carmel Harris, and they decided to join us for the weekend. Carmel and Murray picked us up from the airport and we headed straight to our accommodation. What a lovely place it was, with our front window opening up onto the pool area! Next order of business was a walk along the Noosa Beach down the boardwalk. It was a beautiful warm and sunny afternoon, and Rick and I had perpetual smiles on our faces, because we had actually escaped the Melbourne cold! On our trek back to the hotel we checked out all the little boutique shops on Hastings Street! Many designer outfits at $339 a blouse or $995 a dress were eliminated from our purchases! Still, we managed to add to the Australian economy!! We enjoyed a delicious three-course dinner special at the famous Berardo’s Restaurant, which is touted to be Noosa’s finest eating institution, according to our Tiger Airlines magazine!

Carmel and Murray had planned the next day for us, to introduce us to all the finest the area had to offer. So, we drove first to the famous Eumundi Market.

Everybody in Queensland seemed to be there! The market is huge, reminiscent of a page out of the 60’s era with every conceivable craft or merchandise available! I loved the Christmas Cafe! We even found a stall that promised to teach people to read music in just 30 minutes! So what have Rick and I been doing all these years? From street entertainers to vaudeville entertainers,

Eumundi Market had it all! In the afternoon we drove further down the coastline to the town of Caloundra. We met a couple of friends of the Harris’ and had lunch together with them at the Caloundra Bowls Club, watching a lawn bowling tournament. Then we spent some time at the beach itself,

We could see the Glass House Mountains clearly in the distance.

We thrilled to see some sky divers land perfectly on the sand. We drove on to the resort town of Mooloolaba - aren’t the names of the towns fabulous? This resort was a very classy place with huge houses along the water and mammoth yachts.

We returned back to Noosa, tired and hungry, and found a great little restaurant for steak dinner.

The next morning after an early swim in the pool, we had a sumptious breakfast in our apartment. Then Rick and I went for another long walk along the beach

while Murray and Carmel checked out the local market. It was still beautiful and warm outside, and the sand was so fine, that it actually squeaked as we walked on it. Walking back to the hotel, we discovered a nearby historic building, Halse Lodge.

After we checked out of our hotel later that morning, we all headed to the Noosa National Park to do some hiking. Our first hiking track followed the coastline up to Dolphin’s Bay and back. There was much beautiful flora and fauna to be seen,

and the rugged shoreline was most picturesque with the blue water and an occasional ship in the foreground.

Our second little hike was inland into a forest grove.

We were thrilled to spy a koala up in a tree at the end of the walk. We had a final pizza, ice cream and a glass of wine in Noosa, before beginning our drive back to Maroochydore. We stopped at some beaches along the way, to check out the coastline. Alas, the weather turned cold and rainy as we stopped first at Sunrise Beach, probably to acclimatize us back to Melbourne weather!

Still, the inclement weather did not stop us from watching some windsurfers later at Castaways Beach,

nor from enjoying our last coffee together with Carmel and Murray at Coolum Beach.

Murray and Carmel dropped us off at the airport and then continued home. When we cued to check in, we discovered that our flight was indefinitely delayed – the plane was still in Melbourne due to engineering problems - and it only arrived in Maroochydore to pick us up some 3 hours later. This meant that we finally arrived back home in Melbourne close to midnight, four hours after the scheduled arrival, and just a few hours before I had to get up and go back to school teaching. Still, the weekend diversion was well worth it!