As things turn out, a five-day family holiday in Noosa was my last international trip before Things Happened… and I’m so grateful we had this time together! We beached, walked, and ate very well, which is most of what I want from a holiday. Check it out here…
Sunshine Beach
Joe and I flew into the Sunshine Coast airport, where the rest of his family, and the heat, met us. From there it’s about a half hour drive along the coast to Noosa itself. From NZ you can also fly into Brisbane, but that adds an hour or so to the drive.
We stayed in Sunshine Beach, which is a slightly quieter area of Noosa. It has its own beautiful beach, a few shops and some great cafes, making it the perfect spot to retreat back to after the bustle of town!
Altogether we had six adults and one gorgeous four-month-old, so we hired a large apartment with, crucially, a shared pool. There was barely anyone staying in the complex so we had it nearly to ourselves, bliss.
Fomo was one of our favourite spots, with a great menu catering to our various dairy-free, coeliac and vegetarian needs, as well as some excellent margaritas!
I also had the best Crab Spaghettin at Fratellini, and the pizza looked exceptional. I really wanted to try Sum Yung Guys but they were fully booked – I’ll just have to go back! And Entity Coffee had all our caffeine needs sorted, plus a lovely shady deck.
Parkrun Noosa
Balance in all things… I also did my first international parkrun with Joe’s brother-in-law Alistair. I didn’t keep up with him for long, but it was really fun to run somewhere new. It was boiling hot even at 7am, so I was grateful for the shade of the gum trees!
Eumundi Markets
When we felt like venturing slightly further afield, we headed to the Eumundi Markets. They’ve been running since 1979 and have huge amounts of stalls selling delicious food, handicrafts, art, clothes and so much more. I particularly liked that there were lots of different areas nestled in the trees or down winding alley ways. Some had a loose theme like clothes or handicrafts, and as we wandered we kept discovering!
Noosa Heads
Noosa Heads has a hugely bustling strip of cafes, restaurants and shops fringing the beautiful white sands of Main Beach. We had a superb celebratory family lunch at Bistro C, but otherwise mostly kept to the quieter vibes of Sunshine Beach.
Also highly recommend the sorbet pops at Happy Pops!
Noosa National Park
One of my favourite parts of the holiday was our long walk through Noosa National Park – despite the end being a bit hairy! We set off at a relaxed pace along the boardwalk, frequently stopping to admire the beautiful views.
Shortly after it became a track, but still a gentle one as we strolled through the dappled sunshine.
As can so easily happen in Australia, however, a storm blew up quickly. We ended up pushing over the steepest part of the Heads, only to be greeted by incredible views of the thunderstorm down the coast!
Fortunately, we made it back to Sunshine Coast just in time for huge rain drops to begjn falling, in a true tropical rainstorm. Cabs were hard to find but we were just glad to be under shelter… certainly a memorable adventure!
Have you ever visited Noosa? Where was your favourite spot?
Check out more of my Aussie posts here!
