Sunshine Coast

We just had a fabulous four day weekend on the Sunshine Coast, which is about 2 hours north of Brisbane.  We stayed in Sunshine Beach, a small village that is part of the Noosa area.  This is our second stay in this place and it won't be our last.

Ocean View from our apartment

We had good luck with the weather and didn't get a drop of rain, unlike last year when we were inundated for all three days.  We had a great hike from Sunshine Beach through the national park to Noosa, about 5 km or 2 hours of easy walking.  It was a beautiful walk through forests, along beaches and some nicely kept trails.

Looking back at Sunshine Beach from the Noosa trailhead

The water was a little rough for swimming but it was great fun to run into the waves and get pushed back towards the shore.  Right now further north it is stinger season, when the jellyfish are a real problem for swimmers.  We saw a few little ones but nothing too major.  Their bodies are small but their tails can trial out behind them for almost a metre!  It is the tails that get you, not the the jelly part.  Even long after the jelly has come up on the beach and died, the tails can still sting if they are rehydrated.  These little ones are okay, JT stepped on one by accident and didn't feel a thing.  The big Blue Bottles can be deadly so happily we didn't step on one of those!

Stinger with a very long tail (the long blue stringy thing)

We are now in our last week of work before the Christmas break.  Like everyone else, when it comes to the end of the year we are very ready for a break and cannot wait for our Sydney trip next week.  We just need to remember to relax!

Hang-glider at one with the birds