Noosa : sun, surf and natural hidden gems

This beachside town is gorgeous, full of well-off families, it is known as The Hampton’s of Queensland. Complete with all the shopping you could want in a beachside town and picturesque views there are also plenty of places for a sunset dinner on Noosa Main Beach. I would love to come back to on a family trip down under.

The Fairy Pools

Coastal walks and bush walks in Noosa are peppered about so you are never far from the start of a trail. When we visited, we took a 10.2km hiking route from Flashpackers Hostel in Noosa to the Fairy Pools and around into Noosa town to finish for lunch at Betty’s Burgers. The first section of the hile takes around an hour, passing by Paradise Caves and including a stroll along Alexandria Bay before heading up to Hell’s Gates. The rocks are super dramatic up here, with verticals cliffs into the sea, if you’re lucky you could spot a few dolphins! Continuing around to the Fairy Pools in only 400m, but the climb down to the pools themselves may take a few extra minutes, trainers are a must here. A dip in the Fairy Pools is the perfect way to cool off on this hike whilst watching dozens of surfers conquer the waves.

Top Tip: Make sure you check the tide times as the only time you can see the Fairy Pools in all their glory is at low tide. We went when the tide was falling and you could definitely see the pools but the currents were too strong for us to take a dip.

Venturing through the national park even further, you will come across the gorgeous Tea Tree Beach, which its name suggests, is lined with tea trees which infuse the shallows with their healing oil. Strolling along the boardwalk is a nice change from the gravel terrain of the rest of the home and the lookout point at Little Cove Beach is absolutely stunning, if I could I would have that view painted and put up in my house so that I could look at it forever.

And after this long long 10.2km hike we settled down for lunch at the renowned Betty’s Burgers for a bit to eat. It was the perfect end to a sweaty old midday hike!

Sunsets and Sunrises

My favourite part of every day is a sunrise or a sunset. So here are my favourite spots for a sunrise or sunset in Noosa.

Sunshine Beach

The best place to watch the sunrise is on the aptly named Sunshine Beach. This super long stretch of beach on the other side of Noosa town is perfect for sunrise. The beach spans for miles boasting gorgeous uninterrupted views of nature. The best time to arrive for sunrise is 20-25 minutes for the weather app tells you that the sun is up to make sure that you get to experience all the colours. We arrived at around 5:30am and it was extremely worth the early wake up. Th sun was like a fireball in the sky breaking through the clouds. It was just incredible and so magical.  Once the sun was up, we had our morning coffees at a super cute local cafe called Sunshine Social - you can always count on an Aussie coffee shop to be open early!

Noosa Main Beach

Located in the main town,  a short and sweet sunset can be seen here before the sun disappears behind the headland. With plenty of restaurants along the beachfront it is perfect for a scenic sunset dinner. Being backpackers, we opted for a cheaper takeaway meal from one of the more affordable restaurants and ate on the beach all together. If you are super lucky you might also catch a fire show!

The Everlgades

Florida and Noosa host the world’s only two everglades.

A day trip to the Noosa everglades is a must. We did an afternoon tour of the everglades at Habitat Noosa. This glamping and camping ground hosts dozens of wild kangaroos which hoo about freely, which is super cool to see, and of course take a picture of. If you stay in the camp ground then you will have access to the beach at 24/7, where the kangaroos like to jump about in the shallows during sunrise. This is the possibly the most magical way to start your day!

The everglades tour begins at the cafe and ventured across the lake, which is only 3-5 metres deep, depending on which part of the lake you are in. For this reason all of the boats that they use have flat bottoms. Once we had sailed through to the lake we entered into the everglades where there is tons of bird and reptile wildlife to see. The Noosa everglades are made up of mangroves and slow moving rivers and stretch for 60km.

The two and a half hour tour from Habitat Noosa allowed us to explore so much of the everglades by boat, and also on land with a small walk around some of the mangroves. And a huge perk…complimentary bubbles!! On our tour we were given plenty of commentary from the witty boat captain and the complementary fizz made it even better! A true girly day out in nature.

Visiting Noosa should be on everyone’s bucket lists. It is the perfect place to relax and see some nature whilst being in a gorgeous little town.