Up North when Down South!

Our fabulous irregular regular guest host is back on the road and sharing it all :)

A recent business trip brought me down to the familiar (and much warmer) clime of my southern hemisphere home. Yes, I was back down Australia way and even better – Tipsy made the trip over to Sydney to join me. Now TC mentioned that I should write a blog on the trip (though I don’t know if his suggestion dripped with sarcasm or not). However, I thought – great idea – why not?

For those that know me, I have never quite lived life in the ‘normal’ way, so why start now? Sooo, instead of doing yet A-N-O-T-H-E-R blog on Sydney (gorgeous weather blah blah, Opera House blah blah, Bondi blah blah) I decided to do a blog on Mooloolaba. Mooloolaba? Most Yanks (and maybe some Aussies as well) are saying – “where is Mooloolaba? What exactly is a Mooloolaba?” Well, let me tell you…

Mooloolaba is a town on the ocean in the Sunshine Coast area of Queensland. Hop a flight to Brisbane, drive 90 minutes north and you’ve arrived! The weather on our four days there was very much in line with the name of the region. Gorgeous sunny days, late day storms and a great change of pace from snowy Vermont to be sure. We got to spend time in the ocean and the waves kicked my butt boogie-boarding. A couple of ‘dumpers’ were even strong enough to take my bathers down to the ankles – not a pleasant sight to see! But god it was fun!

I found Mooloolaba to be a town that is hard to describe at times. For example, there is surf lifesaving club right on the beach. Nothing unusual there. The SLSC is in a large establishment called The Surf Club with a restaurant, bar, function rooms and pokies. Nothing unusual there either. So, what is so strange about that? Well, the Surf Club has a dress code! A dress code that says no bathers and no hats? Huh? Wait, aren’t we in the land of the surf lifestyle and slip, slop, slap? How can a surf club have a dress code with no bathers or hats? Yet they do, and they enforce it.

Then there are the public toilets/loos (I bet you never expected to see that in a blog! 😀 ). Well, Moolooloaba not only has public loos, it has THE ubiquitous ‘Loo With a View’. Yep, a gorgeous building right on the beach with decks and lookouts (of the ocean of course). Now I didn’t go in, so I don’t know the quality, but damn those loos have a view.

The area is a great place for families as there are wide open beaches, lots of toddler friendly establishments and a really great playground right on the beach. And, as in most Australian towns I have been to, the caravan park has the prime real-estate; right by the beach, so excellent family friendly accommodation to boot!

When the weather isn’t at its best, there is always The Wharf. The Wharf is a three minute walk from town and has Underwater World/Sea Life aquarium, a boardwalk with various cafes/restaurants, surf shops and places to either rent water gear, go scuba diving or take a charter boat. We were there in a shoulder season, so The Wharf was a bit quiet which was great as Tipsy and I could enjoy a few pleasurable libations canal-side at the Wharf Tavern (though the whiskey-sours were hit or miss) in relative peace and quiet.

A bit south of town is Australia Zoo, the land of the late Croc Hunter – Steve Irwin. Also a short drive south of town is the always interesting “Aussie World” (you just have to see this place).

Now if this all sounds a bit down-market for you, there is always their nabob neighbor to the north – Noosa. It is only a 45 minute drive.

At the end of the day, Mooloolaba was a nice break from ‘dreary old Sydney’ (if you get Caddyshack, you get that quote). Will I be back? Yep, and you should give it a try as well.

Till next time.

Mr Tipsy Travels