The coast north of Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, is beautiful with blue-water beaches and smaller crowds and less development than on the neighbouring Gold Coast. In the southern parts of Sunshine Coast there are Bribie Island, Glasshouse Mountains National Park and the famous Australia Zoo. Further north are Ettamogah Pub, the Big Pineapple and Eumundi with its popular Saturday Markets. Furthest north is Noosa and Noosa National Park with coastal walks and views over emerald blue waters and wild koalas in the trees. And it's close enough to Brisbane to be done on a day trip.
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Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Bribie Island Brisbane Just north of Brisbane is Bribie Island. Northern Bribie Island is covered by a national park with nice camping spots, while in the southern end there is a bridge to the mainland close to the small settlements Bongaree, Bellara and Woorim. There are some good beaches and accommodation in this end of the island, such as Bribie Island Caravan Park and Koolamara Beach Motel.
Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Australia Zoo and Glasshouse Mountains National Park North of Brisbane along the Sunshine Coast you first drive past the dramatic tops of Glasshouse Mountains on your left hand side, and then the Australia Zoo. It is one of the best zoo parks in Australia. It has the usual arrangement of Australian Animals such as kangaroos, koalas, wombats, echidnas, birds and reptiles, and some extras are Australian poisonous snakes, snake shows and crocodile feeding shows. It’s a huge park with shops and food outlets, you can easily spend the whole day here watching different shows and getting your photo taken with a koala.
Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
The Wildlife Warrior of Australia Zoo Australia Zoo used to be owned by the famous wildlife warrior Steve Irwin who was killed by a stingray in waters out of Port Douglas in September 2006. His wife Terri and kids Bindi and Bob continue running the park today. There is a Steve Irwin memorial in the park.
Sunshine Coast Destinations - Mooloolaba East of Australia Zoo, on the coast is Caloundra - a residential town with a nice beach, and north of it is Mooloolaba with Sunshine Coast’s only (or first?) theme park – Underwater World.
Sunshine Coast Destinations - the Big Pineapple North from Ettamogah Pub is Nambour where there is the Big Pineapple - one of the Australia's Big Things. Australians have always liked to build big things, so when you are travelling around Australian countryside, be prepared to come across big bananas, big mangoes, big lobsters, big bulls, big potatoes, even big wine casks and big joints, and Australians love to stop and take photos with them.
Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Sunshine Coast Destinations - Yandina Ginger Factory North of Nambour is Yandina, where there is a Ginger Factory where you can take a plantation or factory tour, and buy ginger products and souvenirs. Inland from Yandina is Mapleton Falls National Park, and south of it is Kondalilla National Park - both nice for a bit of a stroll in the bush and some wildlife-watch.
Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Sunshine Coast Destinations - Eumundi Markets North of here is Eumundi with its famous Saturday Markets, but there is also the Eumundi Historical Museum, and the Imperial Hotel, where you can taste the original Eumundi Lager, now produced on the Gold Coast. You can stay at Eumundi Caravan Park, Eumundi Rise B & B, Eumundi’s Hidden Valley B&B, or if you had too many Eumundi Lagers, in the Imperial Hotel.
Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Noosa and Surfing in Australia North of Eumundi (on the coast) is Noosa - a colourful resort town with speciality shops and good cafes and restaurants. Noosa is a favourite weekend getaway for many Brisbane-people but international tourists and backpackers also visit, Noosa has got great white-sand beaches with waves for some of the best surfing in Australia.
Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Sunshine Coast Destinations - Noosa Australia There is a population of wild koalas in trees in Noosa so look up in Eucalypt trees. Even though koalas are found all along the eastern and south-eastern coasts of Australia, there are not many places where they are so easily seen. Other spots to see wild koalas are Magnetic Island in north Queensland and Kangaroo Island in South Australia.
Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Noosa Heads Sunshine Coast Queensland East of Noosa, there is one of the best places on Sunshine Coast - Noosa National Park with bushwalks to lookouts and beaches with magnificent bright-blue waters. South of Noosa National Park is the Sunshine Beach, great for surfing, but other good places to surf are Noosa Head, Dolphin Point and Tea Tree bay. You can learn to surf with Noosa Adventures and Kite-Surfing, Merrick’s Learn to Surf, Noosa Surf Lessons and Wavesense. Noosa Ocean Kayak Tours offers sea kayaking and Camel Safaris Noosa takes you to camel rides. Longer tours out of Noosa can be done with Noosa Everglades Cruises and Peterpan Adventure Travel. You can stay in Noosa at Noosa Backpackers, YHA Halse Lodge, Koala Beach Resort, Sandy Court or Noosa River Caravan Park.
Here is a map of Sunshine Coast, where I have tagged the places that I mentioned on this web page. You can click on the tags to see what places they are, and double-click anywhere on the map to zoom it in and see the places closer. Drag the map to move around, and if you want to see the satellite image with Google Earth, click on "Sat" in the top right hand corner.
NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.
