Author: Mr A
Location: Cooroibah, Sunshine Coast, Queensland
It was time to tear ourselves away from the hospitality of our friends Ray and Wendy and head back to the Zone, which had been stored up the road on a small campsite we had stayed at before the weekend.
But firstly there was the serious business of some brekky and deli food shopping at our favourite spot… Belmondo’s. This place stocks some seriously good food, even by Noosa standards. It all comes at a suitably high price of course, but at least you feel you are buying something special. I mean just look at these breakfast tacos! My excuse is it did sort of explode on me, oh and it was a “Miserable Monday” fasting day yesterday!
Next door to the deli is Eumundi meats, an equally amazing treasure trove of some of the finest, and most expensive, meat goods I have ever seen. Tiny pieces of silverside enough for one at $35. We “just” brought some nitrate free bacon and organic pork sausages that had combined price ticket about the same as our weekly bill at Woolies! I’ve only just learnt about nitrates and why they should be avoided (if you can afford to). I can see why health and life expectancy is so clearly correlated with income. We spent $125 on breakfast, a few veggies and enough meat for a decent fry up. Blimey…
A few minutes drive up the road on the outskirts of Noosa and we were at our little oasis. A hectic few hours of sorting out the car and van and we were in Zone bliss again. The local farm chickens paid us a visit, much to Tassie’s consternation. This is a great place to come and escape Noosa’s pace. We have power, water, brand new toilet, shower, even a firepit and wood! All for $25 a night. Check on WikiCamps for Noosa Acreage Private Stays, then text the owner, Reon, on 0498 141118. He is full of useful tips for what to do around the area, a top bloke. It’s very low key, no website or anything, I think he enjoys chatting to the travellers as much as anything. I wish all our camps were as well kept and inviting as this one. I’d put it in our top 10 sites of the whole trip around Australia, and that’s a big call, as we’ve had some crackers.
As we ambled down the street, checking out clothing stores, art galleries and jewellery shops, we watched people sitting outside busy restaurants with glasses of rosé, people watching. It so reminded us of Provence, except everyone speaks English and they accept Aussie dollars!
A relaxed afternoon continued, with Mr A heading out on his bike to try and find some swimming goggles (a failed mission).
We had a quiet evening, alcohol free with a vegetarian dinner shared with all. It was a fasting day, after all! We are so grateful to Wendy and Ray for their friendship and kindness over the past few days, we didn’t know them that well when we arrived last Thursday afternoon, but certainly now hope we have them as friends and soul mates for life.
It was sensory overload, and bike panniers were filled at a rate of knots. We tore ourselves away and cycled back, to find Ray and Wendy cooking up a storm of a breaky with their friends Sue and Chris who were house sitting in the apartment downstairs. The nitrate free bacon was definitely the tastiest I can ever remember.
Catherine and I then jumped on the bikes again to explore around town, finding ourselves on a network of shared paths and ending up at the stunning main beach at the river mouth.
We headed back through a packed out Hastings Street. Sunday would be a day to avoid coming down here, especially with a car, but we cruised past the traffic jams on our bikes of course.
Ray negotiated the sandbanks today very carefully, and pulled us up on the other side of the river mouth where the water was rapidly draining out, making for some fun fast floats with the current. We watched kite surfers racing across the water in the stiffening breeze, what amazing skill – it looked exhilarating.
Sea eagles again soared overhead. What a place.
The walk continued along the coast, with a lookout at Dolphin Point (but no dolphins this morning), giving us a view up the coast towards Fraser Island.
We were rewarded with fabulous views as we went, our walk concluding at Hell’s Gates, which promised Ospreys but failed to deliver!
We strolled back along the coast to Main Beach, where Wendy and I threw ourselves into the water for a refreshing dip and jump in the waves, a fabulous treat after our warm walk. Mr A declined, and instead joined Ray for a coffee at his favourite café.
Back at the ranch, we enjoyed a delicious scrambled egg breakfast outside on the balcony. We could definitely get used to this life, and Miss Tassie quite enjoys it too – she’s so adaptable!
A relaxed afternoon followed and the day concluded with a delicious meal, for which we were joined by Chris and Sue. The goal of this meal was to use up all the food left in the fridge, in preparation for the farmer’s market tomorrow morning. The fun is never ending!
We love having this view of the river, it changes frequently and is always seductive.
Tassie also enjoyed the attention from Charlotte.when we got back:
In the evening we went to Sum Yung Guys restaurant at Sunshine Beach, a 10 minute drive that gave us one of the best dinners we have ever eaten. Thai food cooked with the freshest local ingredients, served by knowledgeable young folk clearly passionate about providing a first rate experience for their customers.
Below: Charlie (Charlotte) took this of Wendy and I
Below: Chris and Sue
We sped across the water, enjoying the fresh breeze that came with it.
Charlie even helped skipper the boat, with the help of Ray of course.
Reaching the other side of the river, we set off for a short walk across the dunes, watching jet skiers leaping over waves on the incoming tide at the river mouth. Ray and Charlie jumped in for a dip in the water. The rest of us stayed relatively dry, not quite feeling the need to swim and enjoying a glass of chilled Chardonnay as we watched them and the gradually setting sun.
As we headed back to the apartment we diverted alongside the river bank where a beautiful White Bellied Sea-Eagle kindly posed for a few photos.
Mr A and Ray returned the boat to its dock…I don’t think Mr A actually skippered, unless Ray hasn’t heard the stories yet…
Following showers, a lovely evening ensued with a delicious chicken meal which had been cooking while we were out…wine was drunk, laughs were had, and geckos hunted (by Tassie, not us, though we did try to encourage them down off the ceiling so Tas could chase them!). Fabulous fun.
And what an end to the day, Mrs A produced for dinner the most amazing Thai basil chilli stir-fry. It was just so delicious. She knows just how much heat we like, all the ingredients are made up from scratch, and there’s been many a Thai restaurant I’ve been to over the years that have turned out a lot less tastier food. Mmmm
Late afternoon and we were back at Zone with all the jobs having been ticked off.
It was almost dark though as we headed off to find our camp for the night on a property north of Noosa. We pulled into the farmyard and there’s another Zone! Fellow Sydneysiders as well from the northern beaches enjoying their “gap year” travelling around Australia. We are looking forward to hearing their stories in the morning!
We left our bikes, sprayed copiously with deet (the mosquitoes were out in their millions and feeling hungry), and explored the boardwalks. 
Mosquitoes aside, it was a great area to explore, a rare chance to walk amongst the mangroves, spotting the Orange-clawed Fiddler Crabs on the mud flats, and birds flitting around catching flies.
Above – Mr & Mrs A, behind us looking out to Yaroomba and south to Maroochydore.
And here looking all the way south to Mooloolaba…
Looking northwards to Noosa Heads in the far distance…
And inland, to Coolum Creek Conservation Park and beyond. Stunning scenery. The climb down was probably harder on the legs than the way up!
Our afternoon was far less interesting, consisting of a visit to the local car wash, downloading some Netflix at the local library and picking up some supplies at Woolworths!
