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

Hot bodies coming our way

If you're thinking about a trip to Coolum or Noosa, you might want to time it to catch some of the action of the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain IronMan and IronWoman series, which is being held here next month.

I went along last year and it's a great spectator sport (read into that what you will!) You've got beautiful beaches, high profile competitors and a great atmosphere, with everyone cheering on the beach.

The Coolum event is being held on February 12, in front of the Coolum Beach Surf Club, then the finals of the series are being held in Noosa on February 19, on Main Beach in front of the Noosa Heads Surf Club. I'm there!

Noosa Queensland, Coolum Queensland

New Year's resolution: be pampered!

Talking of being kind to yourself, Noosa and Coolum have a wealth of spa and wellness options for some pampering, relaxation or re-setting of the system for the New Year.

It's not just for women, either. One of Noosa's best-known spas, Ikatan, has a 'ManSPAce' special for men at the moment, in case you blokes need a bit of convincing!

Ikatan is worth visiting for its location if nothing else; it is in the Noosa hinterland and has beautiful tropical gardens complete with gazebos where you can relax or spend some time with a group of friends. They do lots of 'spartys' and hen's days combining spa treatments with 'high tea' and champagne, and it's a genuine 'Noosa' experience.

Noosa Queensland, Coolum Queensland

New Year's resolution: more holidays!

Happy New Year!  And I hope you took my advice on the blue cocktails...

May 2012 bring lots of sunshine, swimming, good food, good wine and good coffee - all the ingredients of a perfect Noosa holiday.

Make it your New Year's resolution to spend some time here this year, you'll be glad you did.

Noosa Qld, Coolum Qld

The fun way to do Christmas shopping

Eumundi Markets is holding its Summer Twilight Markets again these holidays, starting next week. The Friday night markets will be held on December 16, December 23, December 30, January 6 and January 13, starting at 5pm and going through until about nine.

You could easily do your Christmas shopping at the markets if you want to - there are lots of good quality, handmade gifts for kids and adults, including toys, clothes, jewellery, beauty products and gourmet produce. Every time I go there I find a stall I've never seen before and there are some really quirky and unusual things to buy.

If you're one of those annoying people like me who have already finished their Christmas shopping, you can also just go along and grab some dinner, listen to some live music and enjoy the atmosphere. I've been to the markets loads of times and I'm not sick of it yet.

Noosa Queensland, Eumundi Queensland

 

Sunshine is happiness

It's become a great mystery to me how there can be any beaches left in Noosa, given the amount of sand that ends up in my house and my car. But I'm willing to put up with sand for as long as the weather stays like this!

It's been between 27 and 30 degrees Celsius, with clear blue skies, for weeks now and the water's about 23 degrees, which is perfect. You get in the water and just want to stay there all day.

Noosa Queensland, Coolum Queensland

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

A first for the Noosa Tri

Congratulations to David Dellows on becoming the first Sunshine Coast athlete to take out the Noosa Triathlon, out-competing favourites such as repeat winner Courtney Atkinson and Ironman Chris McCormack to cross the line in just over one hour and 46 minutes (ouch).

It says something about the event and the calibre of the competitors it attracts that it has always been won by visitors, despite the number of serious triathletes who live and train here. People come from all over the world to take part in the Noosa Tri and the town has been absolutely buzzing with people.

I'm always most impressed, though, by the non-elite athletes who complete the race. You see people of all ages and shapes, even some with disabilities, slogging it out. Someone did it in a full Spiderman costume this year -that takes a bit of grit on hot day!

Noosa Qld

Sanity restorer

I've been spending way too much time at my computer lately, so we took the kids and went for a walk up Mt Coolum the other day. It takes just enough effort to make you feel like you've had some decent exercise while still being do-able for the kids.

It took us about an hour return, not counting the time we spent sitting up the top enjoying the view. The 'mountain' (what qualifies as a mountain?) is only about 200 metres high but you can see for miles - all the way down to Mooloolaba and as far north as the Noosa North Shore.

Call me a nerd, but I also like watching the planes taking off and landing at Sunshine Coast Airport. And if you really look you can see the odd skydiver landing on the beach.

The track up Mt Coolum is unfortunately closed for upgrades during the week at the moment - click here for details - but if you're here on a weekend I really recommend getting your walking shoes on.

Noosa Queensland, Coolum Queensland, Eumundi Queensland

Noosa Biosphere Day this weekend

If you're going to be in Noosa this weekend, the annual Noosa Biosphere Day is on Sunday the 18th from 10am to 3pm, in Noosa Woods at the far end of Hastings Street.

The free event is a celebration of the Noosa community, sustainability and creativity and there are lots of performances and free activities, especially for kids. All the information on how to get there and what's on is on the Noosa Biosphere website, so I don't know what else I need to tell you, other than that the weather forecast is for sunny and 26 degrees. Yay!

Noosa Qld