Sunshine Coast

The Sunshine Coast in Queensland is one of the most stunningly picturesque places in Australia.

An hour north of Brisbane and caught somewhere between little beach community and regional metropolis, it is an essential (and often overlooked) travel destination.

Aside from the well known attractions like Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo and the somewhat ageing Big Pineapple, the Sunshine Coast is home to some of Australia’s most prestine beaches and untouched greenery.

Places like Sunshine Beach in the north are reminiscent of the tiny surfing towns of northern New South Wales, while the hilly regions around Doonan and Cooroy and the hinterland communities of Montville and Maleny speak for their own graceful beauty. Mix this with the CBD areas of Maroochydore and Caloundra and the somewhat understated tourist appeal of Noosa, allof them set against the backdrop of the pacific ocean, and you have the untapped haven of South East Queensland.

What exaggerates this point is the local council’s resistance to big development; to not go down the path of other tourist destinations in the region. This gives the Sunshine Coast a very simple but affective appeal; you get the feeling that things haven’t changed that much lately, and hopefully never will.