Blog By Noosa

Noosa's favourite sport

The annual Noosa Festival of Surfing is also coming up, from March 11 to 17. It will be six days of surfing, live music and other attractions, down on the beach at First Point, which is one of Noosa's most famous surfing spots (just around from Main Beach and Hastings Street).

I'm not a surfer but I love going along to watch - let's pray for good waves. Along with the standard surfing, they have stand-up paddle surfing, which is a huge sport here, and I imagine the beach bar will be a pretty popular spot!

It's probably a good idea to book some accommodation if you're planning to come, as the festival has become pretty popular and brings a lot of people into town. Anywhere around Hastings Street, Little Cove, Noosa Sound or Noosa Junction would be an easy walk, but there are always buses and ferries from other parts of town if you're looking for an alternative.

For more details on the events of the festival, click here to go to their website.

 

Images courtesy Phill Jackson Photography

Noosa Qld

A better use for golf balls

Because I can't even pretend to be interested in golf, I thought I'd share a different angle on the Australian PGA Championship, which is being held at the Hyatt Regency Coolum next week.

In honour of the annual influx of top golfers and golf fans, the resort's spa has launched a 'Quirogolf' massage, where you get massaged by golf balls. It's supposed to provide great release, through the rolling action of the balls -and it's got to be more enjoyable than chasing them around a golf course.

The spa is also bringing in an 'oxygen bubble', which will only be available next week. The dome-style structure apparently allows you to have a facial or body treatment while breathing in 99.99 per cent pure air, free of any pollutants, bacteria or allergens.

So, there you go, everything you ever wanted to know about golf!

Noosa Qld, Coolum Qld

Golden days at Coolum

If you're into live music, you might be interested in the Golden Days Festival at Coolum on November 19.

They've got bands and artists like The Cruel Sea, The Beautiful Girls, Xavier Rudd and Jeff Lang and the location is within walking distance of Coolum Beach accommodation.

On the Sunday, they've got a free 'chill out day' with more music, plus outdoor cinema, kite flying, sand sculpting, BMX displays, an eco village and all sorts of other things. You can find the program and all the details on their website, but it sounds like you'd better hurry up because they've already sold more than 80 per cent of their tickets.

Noosa Queensland, Coolum Queensland

Don't miss Coolum

Speaking of Coolum, if you haven't been there for a while, you'll hardly recognise the place (although the beach obviously hasn't gone anywhere). The main strip has had a big facelift and there are plenty of good cafes and eateries to chill out in, along with shops to browse. There's a great beachfront playground for the munchkins, and the view from the Surf Club or boardwalk is pretty damn good.

I love the atmosphere down there - you feel like you're on holidays even if you're not.

 

Noosa Qld, Coolum Qld, Eumundi Qld

New look Sunshine Beach

Sunshine Beach is looking very schmick, after a major revamp of its streetscape and landscaping. But more importantly, check out the colour of that water!  We were down there on the weekend and the water was so calm we could see some whales spouting and breaching on the horizon.

The surfers probably aren't very happy, with waves like that, but it's perfect for those who just want to go down and swim.

I really enjoy the shops and cafes of Sunshine Beach, too. There are some very good restaurants down there and it has a lovely village feel. It gets pretty busy on weekends but is often quiet during the week, if you want to escape some of the busier parts of Noosa.

I spend a lot of time at the surf club, which is my local, and I would never get sick of the view from the back deck.

Noosa Qld, Coolum Qld, Eumundi Qld

Have tent, will escape

We had a fantastic camping trip with friends the other weekend. Think red wine around the campfire and marshmallows toasted (burnt) on sticks. The kids rode their bikes around all weekend and only appeared when they needed feeding, so it was a good break.

We usually camp at the beach, on the North Shore, but we felt like doing something different and headed into the hinterland instead.  If you look on various maps and websites, you can find dozens and dozens of campsites within an hour of Noosa, including national parks, state forests and private campgrounds.

We used to drive for hours to go camping when we lived in Sydney and I still can't get over how easy it is here. We have some friends who regularly camp at Coolum Beach, which is only about 15 mins from their house, but they reckon it's far enough away to escape - and they can wander over to the shops if they want a coffee!

Noosa Queensland

 

Stay at Richard Branson's Noosa digs

The latest in Noosa accommodation is not exactly for the budget minded. Sir Richard Branson has opened the doors of his exclusive Makepeace Island retreat on the Noosa River, with prices starting at a mere $7900 a night (you do get to take up to seven friends along for that).

The island is Sir Richard's home when he's in Noosa, which is pretty often, but he is now renting it out at other times. Rates for the whole retreat, which is co-owned by Virgin Blue (Virgin Australia) founder Brett Godfrey, range from $7900 a night to more than $16,000 a night, depending on the number of guests and time of year.

The opening of the retreat comes as Formula One driver Mark Webber is reported to have paid about $5 million for a Noosa house formerly owned by tennis player Thomas Muster. The property is on the hillside at Little Cove, which is one of the most beautiful and exclusive parts of Noosa, so I think he'll cope with spending the odd weekend here!

Noosa Queensland

A Taste of Coolum

We had a fabulous dinner at the the Hyatt Regency Coolum on Saturday night, as part of the annual A Taste of Coolum gourmet festival. It was a tri-nation degustation featuring wines from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, matched with food by the team at the Hyatt's top restaurant, Eliza's.

The wine highlight for me was a Stellenrust 46 Chenin Blanc from the Stellenbosch region of South Africa (sorry, Australia), while the food highlights were grainge beef dusted with porcini mushroom and a dessert of rich butterscotch creme brulee with a tangy Buderim ginger ice cream.

They had wine makers from all three countries there to talk about the 13 wines that were served during the meal, and we learnt quite a bit along the way.

The Taste of Coolum festival, which runs over three days each June, this year also included a Champagne degustation dinner, 'A Night in Italy' in the village square (pictured above) and the annual Chefs Alfresco Sunday afternoon event, which was sold out. It's a great festival, definitely worth putting in the diary for next year.

Noosa Queensland

Food and Wine Festival a winner

Hats off to the organisers of the Audi Noosa Food and Wine Festival - it really took another step up this year.

If you made a list of Australia's top chefs pretty much all of them have been in Noosa this weekend, doing cooking demonstrations, working as guest chefs in the top Noosa restaurants and just wandering around enjoying the event.

The crowds were huge, no doubt helped along by fab weather, and everything ran so smoothly, thanks to the army of volunteers they have.

Well done guys, you deserve a drink!

Noosa Queensland

Countdown to food and wine festival

I can't wait for the Noosa Food & Wine Festival, which is only just over a week away now. I was just looking at the video clip on the festival's website and it's so exciting to hear someone like Matt Moran saying Noosa is now considered the number one festival on the Australian food calendar.

The calibre of chefs that the event attracts is impressive, with this year's line up including Guillaume Brahimi (Guillaume at Bennelong), Justin North (Becasse), Cheong Liew (The Botanical), Martin Boetz (Longrain), Matt Moran (Aria) Jacques Reymond (Jacques Reymond) and Tetsuya Wakuda (Tetsuya's).

There will also be plenty of our local Noosa chefs taking part, like Shane Bailey (Berardo's), Hajime Horiguchi (Wasabi) David Rayner (Thomas Corner), Andrew Tomlin (Season) and Paul Leete (Sails), along with many wineries and breweries from around the country.

It's not too late if you want to get tickets for the festival. All the events and prices are listed in the back of the program, which you can download from the festival website and there's also travel and accommodation information on the site if you need it. Happy wining and dining!

Noosa Qld