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5 Things To Do On The Sunshine Coast

Last week I packed my suitcase with my grand total of 2.5 summer outfits and jetted off to the Sunshine Coast for a few days. Being a Melbourne gal, I’m quite the vampire when I step out into the sun. It’s all wincing and sparkling skin. However I slathered on my SPF 50 and tried my best to be a beach bum for the 5 days that I was away. Here are the best things to get up to while hanging around the Sunshine Coast.

1. Shopping on Hastings Street in Noosa

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The main strip of shopping in Noosa is heaven. Tiny little boutiques with awesome dresses, little gift shops full of overpriced things with pineapples stamped on them and about 4 kgs worth of summer weight gain in the form of gelato shops. Walk right down to the beach, grab a gelato Massimo (the local’s choice) and have a sunset walk along the water. All you need is a marriage proposal from Channing Tatum and you’ve got yourself the perfect day my friend.

2. Stand up paddle boarding

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I signed up for a session before the trip that was called ‘water activity‘, imagining myself peacefully floating on a lilo in a sparkling pool with a fruit flavoured cocktail in each hand. What I ended up doing was stand up paddle boarding which was so much better. We went on a boat ride around the islands with Noosa Dream Boats. Our boat driver said that he can always tell if a guy is going to propose to his girlfriend on a couples cruise because the dude will be weirdly clingy and protective with his backpack. After our peaceful and informative cruise we were dropped off at Stand Up Paddle school and the super rad Donna Lee gave us a quick info session before sending us off paddling around the island. It was an absolute blast but extremely nerve-wracking trying to keep your balance. I had a killer cramp in my foot for hours afterwards because I was clinging on so tightly with my toes. It’s so much fun and such fabulous exercise. Highly recommended.

3. Eat breakfast on the beach

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This was one of the most amazing breakfasts I’ve ever had. The sun was shining, we were being serenaded by a very cute and very scruffy musician and the coffee wasn’t terrible. It was kind of like a breakfast degustation and one of the little morsels had lemon curd on it and that’s all I can remember about the food because lemon curd is the greatest. There are heaps of restaurants and hotels that face the beach (Season Restaurant put on this amazing breakfast for us) and there’s no better way to start the day than looking at an amazing view while eating your breakfast lemon curd.

4. Take a cooking class

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Our evening at The Spirit House was hands down one of the most amazing experiences of my life. When you rock up out the front, it’s like being in the movie Ferngully. If Ferngully was in Thailand and everyone was a bit drunk. When we arrived, we got all aproned-up and went outside to the alfresco cooking area. Making summer rolls at dusk, while sipping wine. So pleasant. In a wine fueled moment of creativity I made a short video of my time at The Spirit House. I hope you enjoy it. Note: People make weird faces when they’re concentrating on cooking and it’s hilarious.  I also won 2 prizes. One for The Best Julienne and one for being The Most Fun. So if you translate that, it means I’m an anal retentive loud mouth. I’ll take that.

5. Stay at Spicer’s Tamarind

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This place is FAN-CY! Giant bathtub, fireplaces in every room, perfectly poached eggs for breakfast and they even have a cow. All the cabins are about a 5 minute walk away from the reception but it’s such a pretty little stroll it makes you feel as if you’re in an Enid Blyton book. We had the best evening just drinking wine by the fire and watching TV. Sometimes it’s really lovely to just sit there and enjoy your accommodation rather than rush around trying to see everything.

Here’s a wee little gallery of the photos I took on my travels.

Have you ever been to the Sunshine Coast? What did you get up to?

I was a guest of Tourism Queensland, Tourism Sunshine Coast and Tourism Noosa for this event. For more information or to book a Sunshine Coast holiday, visit Queensland Holidays.

20 Comments

  1. It looks like you guys had an absolute blast. I would love to hit up the Sunshine Coast one day very soon. In the meantime, I’ve got ProBlogger on the Gold Coast and my birthday in Byron Bay…so I guess that’ll have to do…!

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      Oh Problogger at Goldie is the BOMB! I’ll be seeing you there love! Byron Bay is AMAZING! We went there last year and I went there for a friend’s wedding. So gorgeous.

  2. oh that video is gold! Great work xx

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      Your face is priceless! ‘Oh hello! Gosh, look at me! I’m a mess!’ (sparkle, sparkle, looking gorgeous.)

  3. Bek 10 years ago

    How flipping cute are you on the paddleboard?! I am dying to stay at spicer’s tamarind and just go to Noosa in general. I can’t believe I have never been – is it kind of like a Byron Bay vibe? Xxx

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      Kind of not as laid back as Byron and teeny bit fancier. Everyone walks so slowly on the Sunshine Coast! It’s amazing, I had to re-learn to slow the frock down.

  4. Sar Cullen 10 years ago

    Oooh! It looks like too much fun! I went to Noosa when I was a kid but haven’t been back since. I think it looks way more fun as an adult 🙂 I’d love to do the cooking class – I’ve always wanted to have a real lesson. I think it would be gorgeous in the heat with a group of girlfriends and a cool glass of wine. Also- good on you for paddle boarding! I’ve always wanted to try that too! I’ve seen people doing it a bunch of times down the south coast (NSW) but thought I’d get to cold – Sunshine Coast would be the perfect place for precious me to have a go and not freeze. Now – must start saving to stay at Spicer’s Tamarind….

  5. Author
    Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

    Apparently the locals never do it in winter but it was 25 degrees and I was like ‘Yeah, that’s summer!’. The cooking class was unreal, I’d do it again in a heart beat!

  6. Dr Na 10 years ago

    Looks stunning – absolutely beautiful and beautifully relaxing!

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      It was! Highly recommended, especially in winter… it’s 25 degrees during the day in June! Bliss!

  7. mscritique 10 years ago

    Ohhhh, your trip looks amazing. And check out your fancy new digs. LOVE!

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      Thank you! We’ve been working on it for ages and launching this week has been exhausting. Honestly it’s like having a new born baby and you can’t sleep because you’re scared will die when you aren’t looking. The trip was AMAZING! But I’m paying for it this week… so much work to do!

  8. Vanessa 10 years ago

    I love the idea of a slo-mo taste test 🙂 I live shockingly close to the Sunshine Coast and can’t tell you the last time I drove there… shame!

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      You know I think I’m going to make it a regular feature. I do like food and slow mo taste testing is freaking HILARIOUS!!!!

  9. Christine 10 years ago

    I live on SC and have never been to Spicers Tamarind, done.a Spirit House cooking class or stand up paddle boarding. You visitors have all the fun! I have canoed up the Everglades though and climbed Mt Coolum – also walked slowly along Hastings street – sorry! xx

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      Oh my god canoeing sounds amazing! I love boats… I’m not much of a beach gal but give me a boat on a river and I’m a happy chick. Spicer’s is GORGEOUS and The Spirit House was so much fun. I had an absolute ball.

  10. steph 10 years ago

    I WANT YOUR LIFE xxx

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      It’s not all play! But lots of it is! 🙂

  11. Lena 10 years ago

    I’ll be on the sunshine coast in August, and I very much like the sound of “we were being serenaded by a very cute and very scruffy musician and the coffee wasn’t terrible.”!! How can I get that.

  12. Arron McCormick 10 years ago

    Glad to be inside of your story, and even more glad that you liked our sandcastle enough to post it among for pics!

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