Christmas Trip 2020 (Part 2): Sunshine Coast

Apr 5

Apr 5 Christmas Trip 2020 (Part 2): Sunshine Coast

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a great weekend and a Hoppy Easter.

Last week I wrote about part 1 of our Christmas trip to Byron Bay. Unfortunately, we had to cut it short due to bad weather and a COVID outbreak.

But we ended up having more time to explore a new part of Australia - the Sunshine Coast!

Once we got our permit and made it back to Queensland, we felt a lot more comfortable. We still cut our trip short by a few days and ended up coming home on Christmas Eve instead of after Christmas but more about that later.

The Sunshine Coast refers to the coast of Queensland, from Caloundra (about an hour's drive from Brisbane), up to the Cooloola National Park.

We have spent a bit of time in this region when we stayed in Brisbane over Christmas 2019. We drove to Noosa to check it out, but we weren't that impressed. It was way too busy when we went, we spent most of the day driving there and then driving in circles trying to find parking. When we finally made it to the beach, it started pouring rain. We didn't have the greatest impression of the area, but we knew we needed to spend more time there.

So when we had to leave Byron Bay and New South Wales, we were excited to have some time dedicated to exploring the Sunshine Coast.

Tj found us a perfect Airbnb night near the Sunshine Coast airport. I think there was a last-minute cancellation because travellers from Sydney were restricted from travelling to Queensland so we got lucky! We were located right across the street from Mudjimba Beach which was so convenient. I love seeing people going for an early morning surf and walking home still soaking wet, barefoot with no towels, just carrying their surfboards. I think they must be so happy with their life choices that allow them to start the day doing something they love haha.

We spent the next few days driving up and down the coast, trying new cafes and new beaches. It was so relaxing! We were finally getting the beach vacation we wanted!

One of our favourite new beaches we "discovered" was Peregian Beach which you should definitely check out if you are ever in the area.

We also went back to Noosa Heads. We went there for dinner at a beachside restaurant one evening and it was so delicious. I didn't like the vegetarian options on the menu, but when I asked the waitress she suggested some other options and I had the most delicious risotto! It was exactly what I didn't know I wanted and I was soooo happy. Also, we went to the early sitting around 5:00 pm which was perfect because we actually got to see the sunset while we were dining. If we went to the later sitting, it would've already been dark and I doubt we would've even been able to see the beach from inside.
We went back to Noosa Heads again to spend the day at the beach. It was much less busy this time, and much more enjoyable. We set up our beach tent and hung out all day. Later we walked around town and explored some of the shops. We'd love to take our families there one day (if they can ever visit!).

One night we drove to a nearby suburb recommended by our Airbnb hosts to drive down a street famous for the Christmas lights. It was the most Christmas-y thing we’ve done in years. We loved it, even if the lights didn’t quite hold up to Canadian standards. It was also funny to see so many people walking around. You could hardly see the houses because so many people were in the way. We also enjoyed the scrooges - there were one or two houses that had no decorations and kept all their lights off haha.

I should note Queensland felt like a lost land, completely untouched by COVID and restrictions. It was weird enough when we were in Byron Bay that we didn't need to wear masks in grocery stores, but Queensland was a whole different ball game. Sure, we had to check-in whenever we went into a restaurant. But that's about it. They had had so few COVID cases that they had pretty much been living life as normal since the start of the pandemic. One day we went to a mall, and I wanted to wear a mask just to be safe, but I got the vibe that it would look a lot worse to wear a mask than not to wear one.

This was never more apparent than on Christmas Eve. We were supposed to fly out that evening and we went to lunch at the Burleigh Pavillion, not too far from the Gold Coast airport. It was crowded, there was a DJ playing music, lots of families and groups of friends congregating for some holiday festivities. I hadn't seen anything like that in months! It was so strange to see people living so freely.

Now in typical Megan and Tj fashion, we were debating all the way to the airport and trying to decide if we should extend our trip an extra few days. Technically we still hadn't cancelled our original return flight. Our biggest concerns were that the borders might close and we'd get stuck. We were also worried about finding a place to stay, and potentially overpaying (it was Christmas Eve after all).

We looked up some nearby Airbnbs that were still available and decided to drive around to check out the area. While we were driving around, we almost got in the strangest accident!

The car in front of us suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. We couldn't see what was going on, but then a guy (clearly under the influence of substances lol) picked his bike off the road and walked off laughing with a friend. But the car in front of us still wasn't moving and then all of a sudden they started backing up very quickly! Tj slammed on the horn but they still didn't stop! And we couldn't back up because of the cars behind us. I swear, they finally must've braked when there was less than an inch between the cars. It was such a close call! It seems there was another woman under the influence of substances that had been approaching their vehicle or something, I don’t know. It must’ve scared them into backing up and ignoring the blaring horn for a good 15 seconds haha.

Anyways, after that close call, it was an easy decision to stick to the plan and go home that night. The last thing we wanted to deal with was an accident in a rental car.

And of course, shortly after we got to the airport and got checked in, our flight was delayed by a few hours. So the trip ended just like it began - very eventfully haha.

We had to pivot a lot on this trip and at times it didn’t feel like much of a holiday but it was so worth it to get away and have a change of scenery while we good. We completely love the Sunshine Coast and can’t wait to go back (we may already have flights booked for later this year!). Hopefully next time we will be able to show our families and friends around this little part of Australia that we love.