Sunshine Coast: Maroochydore, Kondalilla, Noosa, Rainbow beach, and the Great Sandy

Trying a different strategy to our burning hot Italian summer from the 2022, we thought visiting somewhere cooler might be a good idea for a summer vacation. Australia has been on all our bucket lists, and the added incentive of visiting Rohit and family in Sydney sealed the deal.

Our rough plan for this vacation was:

• A week in the Sunshine coast
• A week in Port Douglas, visiting the great barrier reef and somewhere more tropical
• A week in Sydney, with friends, family and more Urban experiences.

A collection of video clips from this part of our vacation.

Day 1 - Maroochydore beach, kayaking, and a short walk on a view of Mt Coolum

We had arrived the previous day. The flights were mostly uneventful, but some of our bags missed the connection from Sydney to Brisbane, but by early morning, we were all sorted and our bags had been delivered to our AirBNB.

We woke up to a lovely sunrise off the balcony of our condo, a daily delight that we enjoyed every single day.

Since we anticipated some tiredness and jet-lag, we decided to take it easy that day. But the beach and the waves and the water was way too appealing, and so we spend the morning walking around the beach and playing in the water. Despite being the peak of winter, the water was perfectly pleasant. Maybe just a tad bit too chilly for us to swim in, but the Sunshine kept us in good spirits.

After some lunch and some recovery naps, we decided to try kayaking on the maroochy river. The tide was coming in and it was quite the workout for us to paddle faster than the oncoming tide. We managed to make a couple of laps around Chambers island, where Purni and Parents went for a nice walk.

We drove to Mt Coolum, imagining that we would walk up to the top of it. Not quite finding the trail and being daunted by the height of it, we decided against, and went to a nearby boardwalk with a view of Mt Coolum instead, and enjoyed the nice sunny evening light.

Day 2 - Kondalilla forest and Noosa Everglades cruise

Day 2 was also only somewhat planned. We had booked a river cruise into the Noosa Everglades later in the evening, so we decided to go for a short hike somewhere in the nearby mountains that morning. We randomly chose Kondalilla falls, and had a nice relaxing drive away from the beach, into surprisingly hilly terrain.

Kondalilla offered a short trail leading up to views of the falls, but the trail was steeper than we had expected, and people of varying abilities dropped off at various points. It was still a lovely day and we enjoyed being outdoors and with each other.

After lunch at the nearby “Barn on Flaxton”, we drove to Habitat Noosa, off lake Cootharaba to make our everglades cruise reservation.

The cruise through the Noosa everglades was quite relaxing, with the guide regaling us with various stories about the history, geography and the flora and fauna of the area.

Returning back to Habitat Noosa, our starting point for the cruise, we were lucky to run into a mob of wild kangaroos, our first Kangaroo sighting in Australia!

A rainy, dark and video-game like drive home capped a beautiful day.

Day 3 - Great Sandy National Park, Rainbow beach and colored sands.

A last minute chance booking with Craig of Great Beach Drive Tours turned into the best part of our visit to Sunshine coast. Craig took us on a drive from Tewantin, in a 4WD car, driving right on the beach sands all the way up to Rainbow point for an all-day excursion.

Craig picked us from from Noosa Marina, and drove us across the Tewantin Ferry to a beach access, where he drove right onto the beach. The Tide had come in and flattened the sand into nicely packed roadway for us to be able to drive (no faster than) 50 kmph (there were posted speed limits on the beach!)

There were camping sites all along the beach, all accessible only by 4wd drive vehicles, and Craig said they were quite popular on weekends!

We stopped for some breakfast, and drinks, at a surprisingly well maintained day-use area all catered out of the back of Craig’s truck.

Our next stop was Double Island Point Lighthouse, which we had special access to. We were able to enjoy beautiful views of the ocean, the cliffs, and the full expanse of the great sandy from at the top of the point. We spotted a shoal of dolphins playing in the surf below us, as well a migrating herd of whales, on their way north to feed in the great barrier reef.

Leaving the lighthouse, we headed to the object of this trip, Rainbow beach, famous for the rainbow colored sand dunes, caused by mineral rich sands deposited over many millennia by the ocean.

Craig drove us close to the colorful cliffs, and we had a wonderful time looking at, and playing with the colored sands, but the rising tide prevented us from staying too long, and we had to re-locate a short ways away before stopping for another wonderfully catered car-side lunch, followed by water and beach play time.

We were really sad to leave, but an unforgettable, once in a lifetime experience!

Day 3 - Noosa Heads, lunch and more time at the beach

A slower day, we made a morning trip to oh-so-busy Noosa heads national park, and went for a short stroll along the coastal walk. Sights of surfers was entertainment, and once again, we split into groups based on ability, with Aarav and I making the most progress by going all the way to a view of Hell’s Gates.

Day 4 - Travel to Cairns

After one last lovely sunrise view off Maroochy, we spent the day in transit to Cairns!