Girls' weekend

Regular visitors to Onslow and Miss B will know by now just how much I love the beach. I never really stood a chance of being indifferent after spending my childhood right alongside two of the great beach holiday spots in Australia: Queenscliff on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula, and then Kirra on Queensland's Gold Coast.

Brisbane itself has a beautiful bay, but no really great beaches (sorry Redcliffe inhabitants), but we are blessed by having the Gold Coast just an hour to the south and the Sunshine Coast just a teeny bit further to the north.

For most of the years I have lived in Brisbane, I have generally headed south to the family, firstly the Gold Coast, and now that my parents have passed on, to my brother's in Ballina. Once a year, for many years, my Melbourne cousins visited Queensland, and I would drive up to the Sunshine Coast to stay a couple of days with them at Noosa.

Years later, my trips north to Noosa still hold all the excitement of an occasional treat, and with its up-market shops and fabulous restaurants, it is the perfect spot for a girls' weekend.

Last week two of us headed there to meet up with friends already there: one just back from working in Afghanistan and the other lucky girl, who has made the Sunshine Coast her home.

View of the river from our apartment

Seagulls and crested terns

That's me second from the left at Season restaurant in Hastings Street (and check out the colour of the sea in the background!)

The girls striding along the boardwalk

Plenty of action near the surf club

There was a big beach volley ball competition.

The next morning we hit the local Farmers' Market. It's mango season, and I love mangoes. Heaven!

Breakfast was yoghurt and fruit salad from this stall

We stocked up on mangoes and avocados, but had to forgo the flowers.

After the markets, time for a quick shop at Noosaville

We grabbed at coffee at a cafe opposite the river.

Then it was off to Jo's for lunch, passing this amazing poinciana on the way.

Jo's dog Zulu having a snooze

 I was pretty envious of Jo's colourful hammock...

 and this beautiful grevillea.

After a fabulous lunch (Jo's red pepper and pesto tart), it was time to head home to Brisbane, and once again ponder on the drive home how I could have left it so long between visits, and how lucky I am to have such wonderful friends.

To see more of the nearby beaches, visit here and here.

Beach Break - Day Two

We were much luckier with the weather on day two of my visit to Noosa to catch up with my friends Jo and Semi. I decided to head back to Brisbane before lunch, but Jo and I managed to sneak in another trip to the beach opposite her home at Sunshine Beach and headed in the opposite direction (south).

Jo's dog Zulu (left)  made some new friends.

A cuttlefish shell left on the tide line.

Among the flotsam and jetsam on the tide line, I found two Christmas beetles that had been blown off course, so I took them back with me and released them into the reserve adjoining the beach.

Living jewelry

Beach Break - Day One

About six weeks ago, my friends Jo and Semi moved from Sydney to Sunshine Beach, just south of Noosa Heads. Thursday was my first chance to head up for a visit. Despite it having been our driest November on record, as fate would have it, the heavens opened not long after I set out. The conditions were so bad that several cars pulled over to the side of the road rather than risk continuing on, but I followed a big, well-lit truck through the worst of it. Fortunately, the rain had eased off by the time I arrived, so much so that after being shown over their new home and discussing their renovation plans, Jo and I decided to risk a beach walk to Noosa.

A bare tree decorated with thongs and sandals marked the start of our beach walk.

It was misty but still very beautiful.

Clambering over the big headland marked about one-third of the way and the start of the National Park.

The patterns created by sand beads around the entrance to crabs' burrows could have been hung on a gallery wall.

The perfect finale to our 3 hour walk - Margaritas at Noosa's Sheraton.