About a 2 hour drive North of Brisbane is a common vacation spot for Aussies: Noosa Heads. Based in the greater Sunshine Coast area, there is a lot to do and see around Noosa. In terms of accommodation, you will never be far from water; whether that be a lake or the ocean. Mark and I decided to stay in an Airbnb in Sunrise Beach which is a small suburb close to the beach on the East Coast.
Dunes of Sunrise Beach
One thing you want to enjoy in Noosa is just relaxing. We slept in on our first day and enjoyed coffee on our deck which overlooked the beach. Once we got dressed we then took a 5 minute stroll to the beach. The waves were pretty crazy but it was nice to hear them crashing onto the sand. It was overcast however we brought some books and just enjoyed a lazy Friday in the sand. We did brave the water and to our surprise was much warmer than what we are used to in New Zealand.
View from our Airbnb
That evening we went to the Noosa Boardwalk to enjoy Oyster Happy Hour at “Boardwalk Bistro”. The Bistro was right on the boardwalk and had a great view of the water. Along the boardwalk and main street (actually Hastings St) there were lots of boutiques, bars and restaurants. We even enjoyed some ice cream from “Happy Pops.”
Happy Pops has vegan options available
From the boardwalk we hopped in the car to board a Sunset Cruise. This was about a 15 minute drive to the “Noosa Marina” where we boarded the Party Boat.
Main Noosa Beach & Boardwalk
The cruise was about 2 hours and the captain told us about the surrounding marsh area. It reminded me of Louisiana a little bit, until the bats came out at sunset!
“Noosa Queen” was the name of the boat and they offered food and drinks. Most people brought their own food (you cannot bring your own booze because they are a licensed bar) which was a good idea. The sunset wasn’t that great because of all the clouds, and we even got rained on twice, but for $10/person it really was too good to pass up. There were covered sections and a bathroom on board as well. Although we didn’t have the best weather, we would highly recommend doing this cruise.
For dinner we walked around the marina and chose the nicest looking seafood restaurant: “Pier 11.” The marina itself was pretty lively with lots of bars, restaurants, shoppes, ice cream parlors and people eating outside with their family & dogs.
Saturday morning we took a short 30 minute ride to the “Eumundi Markets.” In their 40th year of weekly markets, this outdoor venue has something for everyone. From kids gifts to furniture it took us a good 2 hours to walk through all of it. This is not a place to get ‘touristy’ gifts, it is a place to get one of a kind, handmade, local Sunshine Coast items.
There were food trucks but not stalls for stocking up on groceries. What I appreciated about this market was that every stall was a small business that created things made locally with sustainable materials. My only purchase was an anklet.
From there we had lunch at “Copperhead Brewery” (link = post on Sunshine Coast breweries) and then headed to “Coolum National Park” to climb the mountain.
Vegan meal with beer sampler
The hike took us about 30 minutes to get to the top but we were going at a fast pace. I really enjoyed this hike due to the green foliage on the bottom and then the rocky climb to the top.
Mark enjoying the view
Once at the top you could see airplanes flying into the Sunshine Coast airport, Coolum Beach and mountains to the West.
Stone Stairs
This climbing got us hot in the Oz sun so we went down to the beach. Again it was overcast but Mark was brave enough jump in.
View North to Noosa
For dinner we went to “Miss Moneypenny’s” back in Noosa Heads. Known for its cocktails, this buzzy restaurant has guest DJ’s on Saturday nights. All the windows and doors were open so we were able to enjoy the amazing weather as well.
View Westward from the top of Mt. Coolum
Before we left Noosa on Sunday morning we hit the “Noosa Farmers Market” where we loaded up on sourdough bread, cheese and grabbed a quick breakfast.
Noosa was the second stop on our trip and we were only there for 3 nights. Looking back, it is my favorite region in Australia so far! To recap:
- Eat: Boardwalk Bistro, Miss Moneypenny’s, Happy Pops and Pier 11.
- Stay: Sunrise Beach, Sunshine Beach, Noosa Heads, Noosaville.
- Do: Noosa’s Farmers Market on Sunday, Eumundi Market on Saturday, climb Mt. Coolum, sunset booze cruise, chill on any beach.
- See: Noosa Marina, Hasting St in Noosa Heads.
- Drink: Sunshine Coast Breweries.
Noosa’s Farmers Market
Tip: Don’t forget to pack a small, super quick drying beach towel. We figured our Airbnb would provide beach towels, but we only got towels to shower and thus could not bring them to the beach!