Things to do in Brisbane and Sunshine Coast, Australia

Things to do in Brisbane and Sunshine Coast, Australia

I’ve always wanted to take a vacation to Australia, especially because I love the Crocodile Hunter, not to mention the thrill of thinking that you could die at any second due to all the poisonous animals. (It didn’t take long for me to realize that people in Australia don’t live in fear of dying every second, and we never found our lives in imminent danger).

Three years ago I moved from the United States to New Zealand for six months. While here, my sister and I decided to take a vacation to Australia. We were so close and who knows when I would be back in this part of the world, so why not?! Adalia found a holiday package that included airfares, transportation from the airport, and accommodation, and we planned our trip for the end of January (summer here in the Southern Hemisphere).

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Travel and Accommodation in Sunshine Coast

Emirates

We flew with Emirates and honestly it’s the best airline I’ve flown with! This is coming from a girl who’s been on over two dozen airplanes. It was a really enjoyable flight, with spacious and comfy seats, free entertainment on your personal screen, and good food. I was actually sorry for the flight to be over.

Glen Eden Beach Resort

We stayed at the Glen Eden Beach Resort in Peregian Beach, where we had our own little townhouse complete with a kitchen and laundry. The sliding glass door in the lounge opened to the backyard, with a trail leading through the trees to the beach. A pool and hot tub were at the resort if you preferred that over the beach, and at the office there were dvds, games, and books you could borrow.

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Things to do in and around Brisbane and Sunshine Coast

noosa farmers market

Adalia and I bought bus cards so we could get around while we were in Australia, and we took the bus to Noosa a few times. We decided to go to the farmer’s market on Sunday morning. While we were on the bus, we heard a few other people on the bus mention the farmer’s market and then get off the bus. We were only a few stops away so we decided to get off as well, and just follow them.

Well, we got lost. Finally we stopped at a corner store and asked for a map. We found that wandering around for ages isn’t as fun as it sounds. Eventually we found out where the farmer’s market was and made the (long) walk there.

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We found lots of fun things at the farmer’s market! Fresh fruit and veggies including lychees, passionfruit, and figs, as well as fresh crabs and camel milk.

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Exploring Noosa

We took the bus into Noosa several times just to walk around and explore. There are lots of stores and restaurants and touristy shops there, and we really enjoyed it!

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Epic Ocean Adventures Kayak Tour

Adalia found this kayak tour place and booked us an adventure! All the gear was included; we just showed up in our swimsuits. We were hoping to see dolphins on this tour. Instead we saw two rays, a couple schools of fish, and a shark – which would be the reason we didn’t see any dolphins! Read this blog post for the full exciting story of the shark. Sean was our guide and we were with a group of five or six other people. We had a really great time!

Australia Zoo

A dream come true for me, we visited the Australia Zoo! I spent two days at the zoo and still could have spent so much more time there seeing and enjoying everything.

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If you ever visit Brisbane or Sunshine Coast, be sure to check out these places! Have you visited Australia before? What’s your favorite place or thing to do there? If you haven’t traveled much before, check out this blog post on 5 tips for successful travelling!