Glass House Mountains National Park
Courtesy of Tourism Queensland

Highlights

Glass House Mountains

These 20 million-year-old crags, the giant cores of extinct volcanoes, mark the southern entrance to the Sunshine Coast. Glass House Mountains Road leads to sealed and unsealed routes through the mountains, with some spectacular lookouts along the way. There are walking trails, picnic grounds, and challenges aplenty for rockclimbers.

Coastal towns

The southern towns of Caloundra, Mooloolaba and Maroochydore make pleasant daytrips from Brisbane or good spots for an extended family holiday, with patrolled surfing beaches and protected lakes and rivers for boating and fishing. Central Noosa Heads offers luxury hotels, top restaurants, hip bars and stylish boutiques, as well as the pandanus-fringed beaches of Noosa National Park.

Mountain villages

The 70 km scenic drive here is one of Queensland’s best. Starting on the Bruce Highway near Landsborough, it passes the antique shops, B&Bs, galleries and cafes of the pretty mountain villages of Maleny, Montville, Flaxton and Mapleton, offering beautiful coastal and mountain views along the way. The drive ends near Nambour.

Gondola ride on the Noosa River

A very special way to appreciate Noosa’s surrounds is on a gondola cruise with Gondolas of Noosa. It doesn’t get much better than gliding through Noosa River’s calm waters sipping champagne and dining on a seafood platter as the sun goes down. This is also a very romantic mode of transport when eating at Ricky’s River Bar and Restaurant – catch the gondola at the Sheraton wharf.

The coloured sands of Teewah

Located in the Cooloola section of Great Sandy National Park, these coloured sands rise in 40 000-year-old cliffs. It is thought that oxidisation or decaying vegetation has caused the colouring; Aboriginal legend attributes it to the slaying of a rainbow serpent.

Focus On: Tropical produce

The Sunshine Coast hinterland, with its subtropical climate and volcanic soils, is renowned for its produce. Nambour’s Big Pineapple symbolises the importance of food as an industry and a tourist attraction. Visitors can take a train, trolley and boat through a plantation growing pineapples and other fruit, macadamia nuts, spices and flowers. Yandina’s Ginger Factory, the world’s largest, sells ginger products including ginger ice-cream. For freshly picked local fruit and vegetables, visit the Saturday morning markets at Eumundi, north of Yandina.