On Friday 18th July, 2014, Noosa on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, was named an Australian National Surfing Reserve. It joins the other select few – Manly N.S.W., Margaret River W.A. and Phillip Island Vic.
… in recognition of world-class breaks and local surf heritage.
The Reserve is positioned between the Noosa River mouth and north Sunshine Beach and includes all of Noosa’s iconic point breaks around the national park.
Even though we live in sunny tropical North Queensland, the Sunshine Coast in the south of the state is special to us. It has been the site of many family holidays and we intend living in Coolum Beach in the not too distant future. It is the happy place I go to in my mind, that never fails to make me smile.
Here are some beach and surf inspired eating opportunities on the Sunshine Coast.
Noosa – Hastings Street
On the northern reaches of the Sunshine Coast is Noosa Heads and the always buzzing Hastings Street. Running parallel to Main Beach it is a shopper’s dream with Boutiques and Beach Wear Shops, Restaurants and Coffee Shops spread beneath the luxurious hotels. Smart Casual attire please 🙂
Noosa – River Mouth and Noosa Spit Recreation Area
With the shops now behind us Hastings Street changes name to Claude Batten Drive and winds through Replanted Coastal Forest toward the mouth of the Noosa River. Walking tracks wind through the recreational spit area, connecting car parks and picnic areas. Bush turkeys are a common sight stalking through the undergrowth and fossicking in the parklands. There are lots of spots just waiting for your family picnic and don’t forget the fishing rod. The road and tracks all lead to the river mouth where people congregate to watch the boats coming and going over the sandbar. The perfect spot to park a food van.
This particular ice cream was a whipped mix of fruit salad and soft serve ice cream with a price tag of $5.00.
Sunshine Beach
Surf Life Saving Clubs (S.L.S.C.) play a huge role on the beaches of the Sunshine Coast. Life Savers patrol the areas between the flags on many beaches so it makes sense to patronise the Surf Clubs.
The Sunshine Beach S.L.S.C. clings to the cliff above Sunshine Beach just to the south of Noosa National Park and the new National Surfing Reserve. From the always busy car park it appears quite small but on entry the interior opens up to a sizeable bar and dining area. If the weather is good and hey this is the sunshine coast after all, I suggest heading to the outside beer garden with it’s bright blue furniture, shades and surf views. Arriving before noon should guarantee a table with a view.
Expect to pay approx. $18 or more – a fairly average price for a pub meal in Queensland. The authentic looking Nasi Goreng (Indonesian fried rice) was surprisingly good and Marty described his goat cheese pizza as tasty and filling enough for two to share. Washed down with a cold beer on a sunny day – I can’t think of any place I’d rather be.
Alexandra Headlands
37 km south of Sunshine Beach the Alex Surf Club has a Cafe, Beach Kiosk and Bistro. We chose the Beach Kiosk menu but ate inside at the adjoining bar which linked via bifold doors to the outdoor area and the view. Marty’s Big Kahuna burger with lettuce, tomato, pineapple, beef pattie, egg, bacon and cheese cost $11.50, and my Flathead Fillets and Crispy Chips were perfect at $11.00. The outside kiosk area looked fairly new and was super popular. The public promenade passed directly out front providing some interesting people watching. This place screamed sun, surf and sand and we loved it.
Mooloolaba
The resort town of Mooloolaba is a further 5km south of Alexandra Headlands. We remembered it’s mix of restaurants and beachfront fondly and arrived anticipating lunch at the Surf Club. As usual parking was horrendous but we fluked a spot in the waterfront parking area. Enjoying our walk in the sun along the Esplanade we decided on lunch there instead of indoors at the club, and started checking out menus. Our Criteria was Cheap Casual Food in the Sun. Emjays had some funky sunny tables and the menu was inexpensive and appealing. Talk about lucky.
I liked that we could peruse the menu first, choose our own table and then pop into the Cafe to order. Not too long after our Meals were delivered to the table by smiling employee with a spring in her step. The seats around us were popular with other Travelers, English being very much a second language the day we were there.
I had a dreamy Wrapalicious Chicken Basil Pesto Wrap. Marty was impressed with the toasted Chicken, Avocado, Brie and Bacon on Turkish and the meals were only $10.90 each. We were after a light lunch and we chose well with Emjays. Both the wraps and turkish were pre-made then toasted prior to serving. If we had not seen them stacked in the Servery display cabinet we would have thought them prepared to order. The taste was beautifully fresh, probably because of the high turnover. Their coffee had a good reputation too.
I would like to have introduced this post with Surf’s Up… but due to the weather pattern at the time there were no sizeable waves around, although I did not look for them within the newly proclaimed National Surfing Reserve. It was cool enough to be not surfing weather for me!
The Coast abounds in great eating options and dietary requirements like Gluten Free are widely catered for.
Today I am excited to be linked to Chasing The Donkey for Sunday Traveler. Chasing the Donkey is a travel blog about Croatia a Country that Budget Travel Talk, aka Marty and I, hope to visit next. Fingers Crossed.
How to Visit Pamukkale Turkey Guide + Cleopatra’s Pool and Hierapolis
Marty’s Big Kahuna burger with lettuce, tomato, pineapple, beef pattie, egg, bacon and cheese. Ummm….can you do a mail order for that and send it to me please Jan! Wow, a surfing preserve…that’s amazing! I have places I go to in my mind too, our friend. Good post! 🙂
Nice to hear from you again Mike – I thought that burger might appeal to you and is that Phoenix I see licking his lips and hoping for some to be dropped?
Very nice post – We have always wanted to go to Australia but we just have not made it yet! It looks beautiful and you gave some great tips! thank you for sharing! 🙂
Hope you get here one day Stacey. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
I really like the fact that there is a such a great variety of coffee shops, pubs and bars. You can always get some refreshing drinks and cocktails after your surfing classes :D!
So true Agness. I loved your post on your two years in China. I am still thinking about dumplings 🙂
first time visiting your blog, those views are amazing, awesome photos, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for visiting Diana.
Very comprehensive account of the eateries on the Sunshine Coast. Looks like a vey nice place to spend a vacation.
I would recommend it to anyone Anda.
I’m so in love with Queensland even though I’ve never been there. After rocking my paddle boarding job this summer I’m excited to try surfing and this looks like a great place to do it! A little more pricey than my normal travel style, but I’m guessing it would be worth it. 🙂
Australia is expensive Mandie. We were housesitting which means free accommodation so I would look at that as a way of saving money. Once you have your own place to stay you can save money buy eating at home. We ate out a lot because we did not have to pay for accommodation.
I love the Sunshine Coast…gosh now I am really missing it after looking at all your pics.
Coolum is also my all time favorite. Its going to be a place we will be stopping at on our way back north in December!
And yeah surf life savers do such an amazing job, I haven’t thought to eat at one of their clubs before, will have to add it to our must do list.
Now I am hungry!!
I didn’t know you were coming back up north in December Lisa. I thought you might head over to W.A. now you have a son over there. The Coolum SLSC is great too Lisa but I did not include photos because we did not eat there this time. They have an outdoor undercover area with fantastic beach views and specials on certain days of the week.
The nasi goring at Sunshine beach looks AMAZING! Well, all of it does, actually, but that one stands out for me. You poor thing having to eat all that yummy food! 😉 BTW – I love your tiled galleries, I need to learn how to do that.
I do the collages in Pic Monkey which is free and very easy Katie. They are a great way of including lots of photos without taking up much space.
Whoa! You live near a seriously beautiful part of the world! We have a relative who lives on the Sunshine Coast there – we’re ready to pack our bags and visit him soon :-). But we won’t try surfing again (sooo difficult to learn).
Yes visit your relative ASAP. I have not tried to learn to surf but I do body surf. My husband and son had a few lessons and they loved it, but you really have to be able to do it every day to progress. We don’t get surf where we live in far N.Q. because of the great barrier reef.
Great pics! Love the Sunny Coast – spent many a holiday there growing up. I didn’t know about the Surfing Reserve, that’s great!
It is a great place for family holidays. I get quite nostalgic when we visit there without the kids, now they are grown :/
Ahhhhhhhh home, sweet home!!! fab post. And if you do come to my new home, be sure to ask us anything you need to know.
I sure will. We can’t go anywhere at the moment due to family commitments but when we do fly out of here it will hopefully be to Croatia. What is winter like there?
The food looks delicious 🙂
Thanks Lily 🙂
FAbulous pics of the part of the country that I absolutely can’t wait to get back to. Love Noosa and the idea of sitting and watching the world go by at a sunny al fresco cafe is a hard one as it’s freezing over here in SWA.
Although it was cool at the coast, if we got out of the breeze and sat in the sun it was warm enough. 🙂
What a fantastic place!! I’ve heard so much about Noosa, but haven’t been there yet. 🙂 It sounds like you had really great food and stunning weather.
Noosa’s Main Beach is good for children or people timid with waves as it is slighly protected by the Noosa National Park which forms a bay at the southern end. But the whole Sunshine Coast is fabulous. 🙂 We ususally stay at Peregian Beach or Coolum Beach. On our last trip we stayed at Mudjimba Beach. Of those three Coolum is the busiest and Mudjimba the quietest.
What a great collection of photos, Jan. Now, you made me regret not going on a day rip to the Sunshine Coast last month during our visit there. I love all the variety of things to see and do and what looks like great places to eat too.
We can’t go everywhere can we Mary. The thing is the Sunshine Coast is a sort of chill out place so a day trip might not capture the experience. Better plan another trip 🙂
I can see why you plan to move here one day, guys. The area looks gorgeous. And talking about where to eat, all the places seem to have a lovely location with seaviews. Thanks for sharing! And fingers crossed for visiting Croatia next year. 🙂
Wouldn’t it be great Frank if we were taking photos of food on the ocean in Croatia soon?
Looks like a great place to hit the waves and get some fabulous food. I love the look of those restaurants. Funny, when I first read your title, I thought I was going to be hearing about the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia, Canada. This looks a lot warmer though!
Oh that is a way different Sunshine Coast 🙂 Glad I surprised you.
Looks like a good time. Australia is certainly easy on the eyes and chock full of adventure.
That it is Chista. The scenes along the coast are very different to the inland. Thanks for commenting.
Sooo while the pricetags hurt, that food looks absolutely delicious. We can’t wait to get to Australia one day!
When we return home from Asia or Turkey or Spain we can’t believe how expensive Australia is too Ashley!
Oh Jan, it looks so gorgeous and the weather … sigh! Love the main drag and those beautiful al fresco cafes. Thanks for transporting me to a little bit of tropical heaven today 🙂
In the last few years, the standard of food on the Sunshine Coast has really shot up. I love going to the Spit in Mooloolaba and getting fish and chips from the Fisheries and eating it down near the rockwall at sunset. Always a pleasurable experience!