Last month we were fortunate enough to go with my family to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia! It was a lovely holiday and we really did have a great time! I thought I’d tell you about the things we did and places we stayed incase you want to go check it out for yourself.
Where We Stayed:
We stayed at Alexandra Heads, right opposite the beach! It’s about half an hour walk or a 5 minute drive down to Mooloolaba where shops, restaurants and a supermarket are. A five minute drive in the opposite direction and you’ll find Maroochydore. Maccas, KFC, and all those restaurants are up there as well as a huge mall with a great variety of shops and places to eat.
We stayed at Breakfree Alexandra, which is a large apartment building. I honestly could not recommend this place more! You’ll struggle to find anywhere on the whole of the Sunshine Coast that has better pools. They have a huge lagoon pool that stretches the whole width of the apartments. At each end the lagoon pool opens up into a large family pool, with waterslides, heated pools and spas. The pools are honestly AMAZING. We were in the pools at least three times daily. Our apartment fitted the 7 of us nicely, had a decent kitchen (essential for feeding a tribe) and was comfortable.
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What We Did:
Went Shopping at the Eumundi Markets
The Eumundi Markets run in the town of Eumundi (north of Noosa) every Wednesday and Saturday and are HUGE. They have a huge variety of stalls from food, to jewellery, to homewares, to clothing and more. There are a lot of really unique stands there that you wouldn’t find anywhere else. I found a stand with gorgeous plywood art (as featured in my guest room) and bought one to take home. There are a lot of hippie/new age type stands which I wasn’t really into but the rest of the markets were really interesting!
Visited Noosa
Noosa is about a half hour drive North from Mooloolaba and Alexandra Heads. It’s kind of like the Queenstown of the Sunshine Coast. It’s pretty busy and pretty upmarket. It has a gorgeous beach that’s lovely for swimming at, with beautiful sandy shores. The shopping is definitely a bit more classy there with more expensive boutique type stores rather than chains.
Went tiki touring in the Hinterlands.
The Hinterlands are inland from the coast and are really stunning! You can take a route through a few wee towns up in mountains that have the most gorgeous views. There’s waterfalls and bush walks and all kinds of adventures to be had. One of the towns, Montville, is definitely worth stopping in at. It is a cute little town with a bunch of quaint shops.
Went to Australia Zoo.
The whole family spent a day at Australia Zoo. Australia Zoo is the old stomping ground of Steve Irwin, and was started by his parents. As soon as you drive into the carpark you’ll notice photos of Steve and his family EVERYWHERE. The main show at lunch time is one that you don’t want to miss! Besides walking around and looking at all the animals, there’s a few times where you’re able to see them being fed. I was kind of disappointed in the zoo only because of all the hype around it, it really is a great zoo though! One thing I would suggest, is to come as soon as it opens so you can make the most of it and WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES. That place is ginormous and you’ll do a tonne of walking. Oh, and we rode camels.
Visited IKEA.
Ok, this was a highlight for me. Since we don’t have an IKEA in New Zealand, I had never been and ohmygosh, what an experience! IKEA lies about half way between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. It’s nestled in a giant Westfield Mall so there’s a tonne of shopping to be had there.
We really had a wonderful time on our holiday! Can’t wait for round two!
