Noosa to Brisbane via the Sunshine Coast and Glasshouse Mountains – A report by Barb We woke at 5 a.m. to more heavy rain and wind and realized the dinghy, attached to the rear of the boat, was causing us to fishtail about the anchor because it was HALF FILLED WITH RAINWATER. Let me repeat that: the dinghy had filled half way up with rainwater (over a foot deep) from the past 24-hours of non-stop rain we were getting. So I put on my rain gear, loaded up on bug spray, grabbed the large stockpot and went out into the elements to bail out the boat. All just part of the adventure (or so I kept telling myself).
Upon return, Emmett brewed me up a lovely cup of coffee and we watched the sun rise over the Noosa River. The rain let up a bit for the 2-hour cruise back down the river to base where we returned the Happy Jack and decided to take a gamble on the weather and follow the coast road back down to Brisbane.
The gamble paid off as we found the SUN on the Sunshine Coast. It couldn’t have been a more lovely afternoon. We had an Indian curry breakfast (take away from a restaurant in Noosa) on the Sunshine Beach just south of Noosa Heads.
Then we stopped off for a quick bluff walk in Coolum before having a wonderful vegan lunch at Oliver’s in Mooloolaba, where I had TWO bottles of sparkling wine while basking in the beautiful weather on their outdoor patio.
After lunch, we walked the Mooloolaba beach and enjoyed the sun, surf, and watching the sail boats. Back in the car, we made the last-minute decision to take the “Tourist Route” through the Glasshouse Mountains and stumbled upon a scenic overlook not even in the guide books. The views were outstanding—we couldn’t believe how blue the skies were after two weeks of gray rainclouds and how far we could see…all the way back to Morton Bay 60 km away.
After a quick hike around the lookout, we headed to our hotel near the Brisbane airport, checked in, and then spent the evening packing for our departure and finishing up the last of our snacks and beer.
So by the end of the trip, we returned the rental car with an extra 802.9 km on it…almost 500 miles! It didn’t feel like we had traveled that far, just like it didn’t feel like it had rained every day except for two the entire two weeks we were here. Whatever it is about Australia (combined with whatever it is about the way we travel), it never seems tiring, disappointing, or boring. You can drop us in the middle of the wettest season in 120 years, throw all the mozzies and leaches and spiders at us that you want, leave us scratching our heads about why none of the places we rented had any damn potholders even though they had full kitchens…and we’ll still have the grandest of times. The people, the land, the general attitude of all leaves Australia our spiritual homeland.
Until next time…CHEERS!
