Noosa Heads for

Last weekend was Mariana's Birthday so we headed up to Noosa Heads to spend a day in the sun, out and about.

Noosa Heads is a state park located about two hours north of Brisbane's CBD, on the top of The Sunshine Coast. It is a beautiful parkland teeming with native wildlife, gorgeous beaches, and stunning views up the coast and inland to the mountains that dot the Queensland interior. There is also four points that line the headland and are considered some of the best surf spots in Australia when they are on. It was flat that day but we'll be back for sure.

We drove up but half way there we almost had to turn around as I was not sure if I had turned off the coffee pot. After some drama and contemplation we decided to risk it as there was still coffee in the pot and would probably not melt if left on. My rationale was that a modern coffee maker probably has a auto shut off switch but that was wild speculation. We gave caution to the wind and just went for it.

We arrived in Noosaville which is the town that borders the beaches. It is a beutiful town that reminded us of Laguna Beach but smaller. Artsy with money was the theme. We walked for a bit then had a bite of brekky and headed on.

We then went to the beach for a couple of hours. The water is starting to cool down here but is still about 72 degrees which is cold considering it was 80 last month. With the sea breeze it was nippy but the sand was warm and it was a nice afternoon none the less. We eventually took a swim and found that as long as you stayed "neck deep" it was warm.

We then took a hike around the headland and then had a nice lunch with some food we brought with us.

There is an abundance of wildlife in the park and all of Australia for that matter, we saw many interesting species including, wild turkeys, kangaroos, a koala, and some interesting wild birds.

All in all it was a beautiful day. We were relieved when we got home that the coffee maker was indeed off and the house was still in one piece.

Mt Tambourine

This weekend we packed up, got in the car and headed to Mt. Tambourine in central Gold Coast. It is a pretty mountain with a nice village on top that is surrounded by wineries and some serious rain forest that is open for hiking.

When we got up there we grabbed some coffee and then took off up a trail that led through the jungle to some beautiful waterfalls. On the way we got scared out of our shoes when right at Mariana's feet, something big, black, and about three feet long (no jokes please) scurried acrross her feet. It was about the biggest lizard we ever saw in our lives. He stopped just off the trail and we marveled at his creepyness and moved on. The waterfall and mountain stream were amazing. It wound it's way through multiple canopy jungle and looked like something out of Jurassic Park. Lucky, we forgot the camera in the car and were not able to take any pictures of this part of the trip.


After our jungle adventure, we headed up to some of the wineries and did some tasting. AU winery was the best and had quite a few tastes and talked with the girl that worked there. We got a few pictures of us and the ducks that populated the pond nearby.


The drive down the other side of the mountain was less interesting as it was more populated with some spectacular homes with some impressive views.

Mt. Nebo and Mt. Glorious

Saturday, Mariana and I were at a loss of what to do. Can you imagine not knowing what to do in Australia? So, we pulled out the map and just picked a spot and said "there". We got in the car and headed to what turned out to be Mt. Nebo and Mt. Glorious. It was a short drive, around forty five minutes from the CBD. It is amazing in Queensland how little you have to drive to be out in the middle of no where.


The mountains while not huge, are indeed mountains and covered in rain forests. I have been many places but this is my first time ever in a real rain forest and it was very cool. We pulled off to one park by the road and there were some really creepy looking hiking trails that wound off into the bush and looked like, dark, spooky caves. We wandered the trail for a few meters but in our shorts, t-shirts and tennis shoes, we were afraid to go to far. We decided to come back to hike but in proper boots, jeans, long sleeve shirts and perhaps some water. It is Queensland so you have to assume that it is full of creepy, crawly stuff that will hurt you.


We did not plan this trip so to our disappointment we did not charge our camera before we left. We did manage to snap a couple of pictures of us with what power was remaining.