Inskip Point

Enough nipple climbing – it was time to get our nipples out on the beach again! The drive into Rainbow Beach through the Great Sandy National Park is just beautiful.  Tall eucalypt forest and wattle in full bloom contribute to a colour palette which is uniquely Australian. We knew we were in for a treat!

On your way into town you pass the Parks office where you can snap up a $5pp/n permit to camp on Inskip Point. You turn left at Rainbow Beach to head up the peninsula with the end of the line being the ferry to Fraser. There are several camp sites along Inskip, we chose a 2 wheel drive suitable one about half way along – S S Dorrigo. And what a spot! Ultimate beach front camping in a Casuarina Forest compete with wild brumbies and short short loving Queenslanders!

There wasn’t much in the way of swell while we were here but there was enough to score a couple of shorey peakers out the front of the campsite. If swell did arrive it was simple, you had Fraser to the north and Double Island Pt to the south. The outer banks at Inskip would also handle a bit of angled swell.

On our way outa town we visited the Carlo Sand Bluff which is at the beginning of a “Great 98km Walk” back to Noosa through the Sandy National Park. Maybe next time. We did however have an amazing walk along Rainbow Beach towards Double Island Point. You guessed it folks, rainbow sand! Towering above us were cliffs of red, gold, white, orange, brown and black sand climbing towards a cyan sky. This place really is special. Looking forward to exploring Fraser one day when I am a soccer mum with a fourby…or a guru with a troopy…

The Avocado Palace, Glasshouse Mountains

After a quick salute and prayer to the Crocodile King we hurtle along the Steve Irwin Way towards the Carswell residence under the dodgy guidance of Tom Tom.

It is not long until we are in full view of the majestic 25 million yr old volcanic nipples – otherwise known as the Glasshouse Mountains.

We were very fortunate to participate in the Carswell Avocado Palace experience. Many thanks go to our good buddy Christian in convincing his dad Ivan, and the lovely Helen, for letting us wild on their property. There were fabulous feasts and after many brutally good home brews and a night watching the union we were accepted into the Carswell Clan (yes Christian you are now our bro, not that your weren’t before bruz). We loved the insight into property life in such a beautiful mountainous area not so far away from the coastal riff raff.

Despite wanting to milk the great hospitality for much longer the show must go on - but you can’t visit the nipples without climbing at least one of them! So we climbed Mt Ngungun via a walking track and scrambled through dense scrub half way up Cochran Hills to get views. A much easier option is available from a lookout near the picturesque town of Maleny.

Sunshine Coast

After the job cleaning dolphin poop at Seaworld fell through, and everyone south of the equator looked to be surfing South Straddie, we put ourselves through to the Sunshine Coast. The furthest up the coast either of us had ever been…

On our way we took a quick detour to pick up an Ebay purchase. Unbeknown to a great mate of ours, Crackers, we had done a swap on our old leaking Kmart stainless steel coffee mugs for his beefcake hand shake blender. So in pursuit of perfection we did what any caffeine loving individual would do and it was time to upgrade the life support vessel. The new model is an Eco Cup. Get your mits on one of these puppies – silicone sipper lid for a soft lip contact, silicone sleeve so you don’t scald your paw, tall size for large capacity caffeine guzzling, and most importantly - china for a smooth clean taste. Ok yes I do love coffee but enough about that and more on the Sunshine Coast.

We cut in from the Bruce Hwy towards Coolum and checked out the whole coast from Noosa Heads to Caloundra. The national park at Noosa has great walking/jog tracks and a nudist beach for those who want to get funky in the sun. We popped our free car park camping cherry and officially became gypsy bogans wearing the uniform with pride – the Flanno. The sunny coast has plenty of options with great facilities for free camping. However, we had our first official free carpark kick out from an upstanding citizen, boy was that guy worked up and we moved on. It seems that not all the gypsy bogans before us had been likable. We ourselves had seen the evidence of rubbish from previous inhabitants. So the rule was to leave the place cleaner than we found it.

The sunny coast definitely lived up to its reputation and we were able to practise yoga daily on whatever beach we chose. No cyclones unfortunately but a constant run of fun nonetheless. Jess was ripping the inside bowl out at Noosa on an epic uncrowded 2-3ft weekday but forget about it on a weekend – the crowds are unlike anything you could ever imagine! Good thing is there are plenty of options other than noosa pt on the sunny coast. Yes lads if you haven’t surfed the area there is everything from rock ledges to boulder points, sandy reefs and loads of beachies. And did somebody say an island with a left and a right!!! For us Old Woman Island has to be the jewell in the crown of the sunny coast’s surf spots (well worth the 2km return trip paddle). Also worth noting is the right at Pt Cartwright, The Reef (Caloundra), Yaroomba, and Kawana Beachies (including the wedge ledge in front of the lighthouse). There are oodles of other options for whatever the conditions. The sunny coast has a good vibe and will be visited again that’s for sure.