Cruising The Sunshine Coast With Kids
Caravanning on the Sunshine Coast
Caravanning around Australia is the best feeling ever, we have loved our journey so far and we do not have any regrets about packing up our lives in Perth and travelling full-time around Australia. Yes, we have had our ups and downs of family life but who doesn’t! It has also brought our family closer together and our bond stronger than ever before. It has now been well over a year and a half and we are still loving every moment and cherish the memories we have made together.
Caravanning along the sunshine coast is busy. I say this because we are used to driving kilometres without seeing one single car and sitting back gazing at the beautiful scenery that Queensland has to offer. So when you arrive towards the Sunshine Coast you get a bit of a culture shock! Or for us it brought us straight back to what we were trying to avoid…which was the hustle and bustle of city life. But in saying that we really enjoyed our time on the Sunshine Coast and in Brisbane city.
Noosa Heads
Our first big stop was Noosa Heads, we stopped here because we were craving some real good swimming beaches. We love a good beach and enjoy when we find that soft fluffy sand that squishes between our toes. Our kids also love a beach that has some good waves where they can bodysurf on. Noosa is very well known for having some of the best beaches in Queensland which is why we made a stop here.
Our first day here was a really sunny day and then the following day was cloudy and it really made a difference to our beach experience. Although the weather never stops us from playing a game of beach cricket or catching the waves with the good ole boogie board.
Check out some our best and favourite places to visit below
- Hells Gate
- We love lookouts and you will find that every place we visit we search for the highest point to climb or drive. Hells Gate is a gorgeous lookout and on the right the day the water gives off a green colour. Along the shore, you will find the exposed coastline which shows off the lovely coastal rocks.
- Noosa National Park
- Noosa National Park is a great place to explore when in Noosa, the National Park offers walking trails for all walking abilities with coastal views. To gather more information I would suggest you head to the Information Centre and they can provide you with a map to help guide you on the best route for you.
- Noosa Main Beach
- This is the most well-known beach in Noosa, it has a Surf Living Club, lifeguards during the day and has showers and change rooms which is always a bonus. The information centre is only a short walk from here as well.
- Noosa Stand Up Paddle Company
- Hire a SUP (stand up paddleboard) along Gympie Terrace and explore the inlet. This is always a lot of fun and when we can, we always hire a SUP. We thought about purchasing an inflatable SUP but decided against it. We found we can usually hire a board just about anywhere in Australia and now we don’t have to carry the extra weight of the board when travelling.
Bribie Island
If you are passing by or are in the area of the Sunshine Coast then I highly recommend heading over to Bribie Island for a day trip. It would be even better if you could stay here for a few nights to explore the entire island. Unfortunately for us, there were no availabilities to stay at any of the caravan parks when we wanted to stay so we did a day trip or two.
On both days we packed up the fishing rods, swimming gear and headed off on an adventure to explore Bribie Island. It was a hot day so we knew we were going to be spending a lot of time at the beach catching waves. We headed straight for Woorim Main Beach, the beach was great in the morning time but my advice is check for notices on the board near the red and yellow flags. When we went in the morning the board had stinger warnings forecast for 3 pm with the change of tide.
What To Do On Bribie Island
- Butterfly House
- This is great for everyone of all ages. It has a reasonable admission price and gives some great information about butterflies. We have come across so many butterflies as we have travelled around Queensland that it was great to learn about these lightweight creatures in person.
- Museum on The Esplanade
- This Museum is free and gives a wonderful history lesson about Bribie Island. It was great to stop in and have a read about the history of the island. We find it great learning about the different places as we travel. History lessons are every day for our kids!
- Bribie Island Jetty
- Let’s go fishing! If you have been following our blog for a while then you will know we love to flick a line out and you will also know how many times our kids get snagged, which is usually all the time. This is why we head to the jetty for fishing if we can find one.
- **Tip- We found it extremely hard to find bait, some places had sold out and other places were closed. My suggestion is to bring some bait with you before arriving on Bribie Island.
Brisbane
This would be our very first time in Brisbane city. We always find it a little bit exciting when exploring a states capital city for the first time. The cities in all the states we have been to are much larger than our city in Perth. We had planned to go in for the day and explore as much as possible. We made the silliest mistake of coming into Brisbane with no plan! This isn’t really any different to any other day because we rarely make plans, we just wing it and hope for the best.
Which is what we did in the city, we came and hoped for the best. I had a plan to go to the Information Centre and find out what we could do while we were here. I always first find out any main events that might be on, free events and then kids places to visit. Then as always we usually walk through the city centre and the mall to grab some lunch.
What To Do In Brisbane City
- Brisbane Foreshore
- Take a selfie with the Brisbane sign and walk along the foreshore. The sign is massive….can you spot us hiding in the photo?
- Queensland Museum and Science Centre
- This is great to visit and has four floors of exploration to see. We spent a good two hours here exploring and this is where you can park your car for $25 for the day.
- City Hopper Ferry
- The ferry is free and allows you to visit both sides of the city. Southbank has heaps to offer and so does the city central.
- Southbank Aquativity Water Park
- Whether you have kids or not, the pools are set along the river and have sandy beaches for you to lay a towel and relax or kids swimming designated areas. After your swim you can get changed and head to one of the many high-end pubs and restaurants that are found along the foreshore.
Accommodation
We like to stay within our budget and we found as we travelled further south towards the Gold Coast that our caravan prices were going up. Our cheapest stay was going to be $100 per night at a caravan park for our family of five. We did however find a place called Watson Park Convention Centre in Caboolture. This was only $30 a night and we also had access to the pool when the school children had left for the day. This place welcomes everyone.
As always we would love to hear your thoughts and other points of interest within the area. We welcome all comments below.
From Kylie and Dan