As we were heading south we stopped at a few of our favourite places, starting with Maryborough.
This heritage city was one of the first two ports in Australia that processed thousands of immigrants from 1861. Despite being named a heritage city, the city is best known as the birthplace of Pamela L. Travers, the author of Mary Poppins. Walking down the main road, you can’t miss the Mary Poppins themes around you. Even the traffic lights at the pedestrian crossings are Mary Poppins themed.
Pamela Travis was born Helen Lyndon Goff in the residence above the Australia Joint Stock Bank, where her dad was the bank manger. The old building still welcomes visitors.
The little statute outside the bank celebrates this supercalifragilisticexpialidocious history and story.
After walking through the weekend market in the CBD, we visited the town hall where local artists Arkos Juhasz and Gary Madden transformed the walls and the ceiling of the rest areas.
Italy may have the Sistine Chapel, but Maryborough has the Cistern Chapel. The highlight is the Golden Throne in the ladies public toilet.
Just outside City Hall is a memorial for two nurses who lost their lives while treating patients during the 1905 outbreak of the pneumonic plague.
From Maryborough we moved to Cooroy. Cooroy is close to Coolum where we had the caravan booked in for a service. We were treated to a car show, right next to our campground in Cooroy.
We completed a few boardwalks in Coolum and had lunch at Point Perry.
Two Peregrine falcons were sitting in a tree just below the lookout.
Even on a dreary day, the view from the boardwalk was spectacular.
Coolum is approximately 120km north of Brisbane. We still had two weeks before our commitments in Brisbane. In the next two posts we will touch on places we visited on the way home as well as some of our old favourites from previous trips.
Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world sustaining a lush rainforest with fresh water lakes. You can drive 120km on the beach to the top or criss-cross the rainforest in the centre of the island. It does not take long to realise why this island is World Heritage listed.
Lake McKenzie is a crystal clear fresh water lake in the middle of the rainforest. The lake has a sparkling white silica sand beach.
Champaign Pool on the north eastern side of the island is a popular swimming spot amongst the bubbles as the waves crash over the rocks.
The SS Maheno shipwreck was beached during a cyclone in 1935, and is still a popular stop for visitors.
As you drive along the beach, you can see the pinnacles towering over the rainforest. The pinnacles consist of iron stained sand that slowly erodes over time.
Back on the mainland, Borumba Deer Park is a popular family owned camping spot on the Yabba Creek. When we visited, different types of deer were grazing next to the campsite.
On the way back, we passed Hangar O. This was our first camp after receiving the caravan. This site is known to Zoners as the Zone RV handover site. Zone support staff guide new owners through their caravans during a weekend in a beautiful and relaxed environment.
There are many level and clean sites to camp, right next to the creek.
The site has glamping options available and you can even book a massage, get a fresh coffee, relax at the pool or walk the creek in search of the elusive platypus.
You don’t even have to bring your own dog…
Another old favourite on the way home is Kenilworth Homestead. The site has endless views over green pastures, hilly horizons and blue skies.
Gold panning is available for the fortune seekers.
Kenilworth is not only popular for dairy and cheese but the local Kenilworth Country Bakery is also known for Australia’s first Coffee Doughnut.
As the mural on the bakery states, you will be back.
Our next stop was Noosa. Noosa is known for its vibrant business area and stunning beaches. Noosa is surrounded by bushland with great walking tracks, hugging the coastline.
We were surprised by the birdlife and had a close encounter with a Macaw on one of the walks. It looked like a lost pet!
A bit further afield, the Noosa river offers many activities and great sandy beach areas to relax.
The Botanical Garden in Noosa was established on a reclaimed rubbish dump on the bank of Lake MacDonald.
From Noosa you can cross the river at Tewantin on a barge. Once on the other side of the river you follow the road through the Paperbark trees to Noosa North Shore.
As you reach the shore you can either go left onto the beach or right into the camping area. When we were there the beach at the campsite was patrolled by coppers on horseback.
The camp site is on the beach. From the dunes we had a great view on the growing full moon.
Just north of the camp you can access the beach and we spent a day exploring the area up to Rainbow Beach.
Just south-west of Noosa in the Hinterland we stayed at a macadamia farm known as Hidden Valley. The campsites are next to the macadamia orchard.
This emu was roaming the sites and took a keen interest in our salad.
In true zig-zag fashion we were back on the coast at Cotton Tree at Maroochydore.
There is no need for cooking at this campsite with many restaurants and take-away options. We bought some woodfired pizzas in the camping area.
On the way west we stopped at the Sunshine Castle at Bli Bli.
The Big Pineapple at Woombye is more than just a photo opportunity. You can walk around the pineapple or buy anything pineapple themed inside the store. There is also a train to ride, a zoo and a treetop challenge.
We based ourselves at the showground in Kilcoy. This was a great spot to visit a few high lying areas in the Hinterland. We started at Montville. Montville is a very popular tourist attraction with old buildings, many art and craft stores and a few cosy restaurants. The Montrose water wheel adds some charm to the main street.
From Montville we stayed on the mountain and headed to Melany. On the way we passed Gerrard’s Lookout from where we could see the ocean on the horizon.
On the way to Melany, we had lunch at Lake Baroon. Lake Baroon is a great picnic spot in the mountain with shaded picnic tables.
Our first stop in Melany was Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve. We did a section of the rainforest walk. The view over the Glasshouse Mountains is spectacular.
On the way down the mountain we did a walking trail next to the Obi Obi Creek and then to the Gardens Waterfall.
The three major islands east of Brisbane are Moreton, Bribie and Stradbroke Islands.
When approaching Morton island from Cape Moreton on the north, the white sandy beaches are blinding.
When you get closer to land, the Tangalooma wrecks appear. These wrecks form an artificial reef close to the beach where visitors to the island can safely snorkel.
Bribie Island has a bridge connecting it to the mainland. The island has a few camping spots as well as inland and beach tracks to explore.
The 23 kilometre beach track takes you past a few creeks and camping spots.
North Stradbroke island is another popular camping, fishing and 4wd location. To get across from the mainland, we had to book a 25 minute barge trip, departing from Cleveland.
There are great beach camping at Amity Point, Cylinder beach or along the eastern beaches. We did the walking track at Point Lookout.
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is just outside the Brisbane city and offer sheepdog shows, bird feeding and the main event, the Koalas.
Just 10 minutes north of the sanctuary is Mount Coot-Tha. This is a popular lookout, overlooking Brisbane CBD. There is also the Summit Café at the lookout, offering great food with a fantastic view.
The small island of Coochiemudlo is the closest white beach to Brisbane City. This island is named after the red rocks on the main beach. The island is just a quick ferry ride from Victoria Point.
North of Coochiemudlo is Wellington Point. Just off the point is Kings Island, accessible by an easy walk at low tide.
Being back in Brisbane was a great time to catch up with friends and family. After a picnic at West End on the river, we visited a few Brisbane icons, like the Story Bridge.
We walked through Southbank, past The Wheel of Brisbane to the new Neville Bonner Bridge, as the sun set.
This bridge has been completed since we left Brisbane and links Southbank to the new Star Casino.
The Casino has a great view over the Brisbane river especially with the Victoria Bridge illuminated.
You can access the Sky Deck from the Casino to get a great vantage point over the city.
While we stayed in Brisbane we visited some of our favourite spots west of Brisbane as well as the Gold Coast. We will cover those areas in the next blog.