There is always a steady queue of ships coming and going from Brisbane. At night you can see their lights along the horizon.
We are still wary of catching COVID, so cooked for ourselves or dined on fish and chips at the beach. On our last night there we took the plunge at dined at the Caloundra Hotel (below). It seemed ok because the table was outside, so well ventilated.
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| Last supper at Caloundra |
Coolum
Jayne and Stephen set out for home after Caloundra, and Sue and I pressed on further north for a little bit more of doing very little, by a beach. Next stop was Coolum, where the apartment is very modern, large, and has a 180 degree view of the sea. The whole front is glass, across the bathroom, bedroom, and living areas, so the view is wall-to-wall. Apart, that is, from a large power pole right in the middle.
We leave the blinds up so we can wake up to the sunrise (we are trying to stay on NZ time).
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| Coolum dawn |
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| Our apartment is the second storey of this house. |
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Sue's favourite reading chair
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We have noticed there are (a) no seagulls here, and (b) no sparrows. In general you see both all over the world - but not here. Is it too hot, or have the local birds driven them away? Instead of sparrows eyeing up our food at the cafe, we saw only blue-faced honeyeaters, which have very sharp beady eyes.
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| Australian "seagull" - the ibis. |
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| Sparrow substitute - the muffin-eating "blue-faced honeyeater" |
We walk the 1 km into the town most mornings for a coffee. The french "Ma Boulangerie" seems to have the nicest coffee and patisserie.
We noticed that even when waking soon after 5 am local time, we see quite a few vehicles gathered in a carpark below us in the near-darkness. It seems they belong to surfers, who are in the water off the bay below us by daybreak! In the weekend the number swelled considerably, to perhaps thirty or so.
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| This small rocky cove below us is very popular with surfers. |
Mount Coolum
One day we climbed nearby Mount Coolum, along with dozens of locals puffing or jogging their way up and down. It is quite steep, but has stone steps almost the entire way, assembled from the natural stone of the mountain. From the top we could see down the coast to Maroochydore, Mooloolaba, and beyond.
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| The path is almost entirely these nice stone steps. |
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| A comfy stone seat |
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| View from Mount Coolum summit. |
Noosa Heads
Yesterday we drove north to Noosa Heads for a look. We have been there a couple of times but that was quite a long time ago. It was very busy around the beach area, and is generally much more touristy than Coolum or Caloundra, with expensive hotels and resorts along the whole beach front. Hastings Street behind the beach is lined with eateries and fashion outlets, and was quite crowded and busy even at this time of year.
The beach is very nice, which no doubt is why it is so popular, and the adjacent headland is the Noosa national park with bush and walking tracks. There is a boardwalk the length of the beach. We found a nice coffee outlet and sipped our coffee while eating a fresh pain au raisin sitting on the edge of the beach.
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| The boardwalk along Noosa Beach. |
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| Another day, another beautiful beach (Noosa). Sigh. |
Coolum Beach
Sunday. Almost time to pack our bags and head for home.
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| Coolum coffee spot |
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| I care for some wildlife more than others |
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| Coolum Beach |
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| Catching the drone as it comes in to land |
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| Our apartment is up on the skyline in the distance |
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| "Never turn your back on the sea", right? |
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| Experimental shark-spotting drone |
Many photos were taken of the power pole at dawn!
