PART 1 - QUEENSLAND - Brisbane, Rainforests and Noosa
I travelled to Brisbane or Meeanjin its known Aboriginal name, in October which is their Spring. I think Queensland is my favourite state in Australia out of the 3 that I visited. The climate is diverse, and you can be in green fields one minute and the rain forests the next. In the North of the state, up towards Cairns and the Barrier Reef it is tropical.
We stayed a couple of nights in Central Brisbane at the Next Hotel, now the Hyatt Regency which had a fabulous roof top pool. Driving in the area is easy, as they drive on the same side as the UK. The streets are laid out in a grid pattern and a lot named after British Monarchs. Central Brisbane has a lovely waterfront area and the iconic story bridge across the river, which reminded me of London. Lots of restaurants and river cruises too.
A newish area is the Howard Smith wharves with a waterside walkway and lots of bars and restaurants, under the iconic Story Bridge.
Next stop was to drive over to the Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve around an hour away up in Montville. The reserve has wonderful views of the Glass House Mountains. From there we travelled a short distance to stay in an amazing peaceful retreat in the rain forest. The chalets are all set in the peaceful forest with the bathrooms open to the forest area. This was so relaxing and just what we needed after our long flights. I spent the first evening lying in a hammock on the veranda while Hubbie cooked a BBQ. All the food was available to pre order- amazing selection of steaks, salmon and in the morning fresh croissants are left outside the door. I loved seeing the wild birds, parakeets mostly and the resident possums!
After a couple of relaxing days we then drove to Noosa we stopped off at Montville a lovely little town with art galleries and some very green pastures with dairy farms.
I would describe Noosa as similar to the south of France. We walked around the famous Hastings Street in Noosa Heads. Great beach, with free roaming Turkeys everywhere - quite a common sight.
We stayed in Noosa Blue which was within walking distance of the shops and beach and had a huge underground car park. Lovely swim up rooms too.
Parking in the town is difficult with a lot of car parks limited to only 1 hour. My advice would be to leave your car at the hotel and then walk.
A short drive from Noosa heads is the Noosa woods, easy to park and not far from the sandy spits at the other end of the beach. There are outdoor toilets, BBQ spaces, and a couple of food vans. Beware this part of the beach is not suitable for swimming, just paddling.
A nice evening walk is up into Noosa Head national park, again just in the main town, easy to walk to. In the evening you can see Koala in the trees and the surfers start to gather. If you want you can walk sections of the path from 15mins to around 1.5 hours depending on your fitness levels. There are lots of vantage points and paths down to the coves. We walked to Dolphin Point, unfortunately didn’t see any Koalas. The paths are wide and smooth and well maintained, suitable for wheelchair users. There are accessible toilets and BBQ spaces at the main car park.
In Noosa, like many parts of Australia, they eat early. Sometimes 5-6p.m. Be aware a lot of places can stop serving at 8p.m. My favourite eating places in Noosa were the surf beach club, Bistro C and coffee aromas.
A lot of Australians start work early, and then finish at 3-4 p.m. and have family time before eating. It can go dark early too, so bear this in mind.
I would recommend Noosa for a family as there a lots of places to eat out, Noosa has a large supermarket, Coles, and lots of shops and bars. Most hotels have apartment style accommodation suitable for self catering or room only.
If you wanted to stay nearby I would recommend also the Noosaville area, a smaller town just outside Noosa with good family parks, water sports and children’s play areas. It is better for parking too, so a good option.