Mooloolaba and the Sunshine Coast

We farewelled Brisbane on a gloriously sunny day, motoring downstream along glassy, flat water. A quick pit stop at Riverside Marina filled our diesel tank, and then we were out in the bay, hoisting our sails and choofing along at five knots in the ten knot breeze. Lovely! It was late afternoon when we arrived at our anchorage on the west coat of Bribie Island near Bongaree, a beautiful little spot.

After an early dinner and watching the sun set into a gorgeous watercolour over the adjacent land, we were both early to bed, as we planned to get up at 3am for our passage to Moolooolaba. Whilst not far from Bribie Island, only about 30 nautical miles, Mooloolaba is another tricky bar entrance, with some shoaling right in the entrance, so we wanted to enter right on high tide in daylight to be safe. On this day, that was around 9am, hence our night departure.

We awoke at 3am to a full moon, absolutely no wind and very calm seas. Great conditions! Of course, we had to motor, but it was an easy passage. We watched a lovely sunrise, even if it was a bit hazy. As soon as it was light, Matt had his new camera lens ready to go. This was the first time we’d been out in the ocean since he’d received it, almost a month earlier, and so we were both keen as mustard to see some whales doing their thing. And do you think we did? Nope, not a one. We didn’t sight a single whale, not even a blow. Murphy’s Law!

Nevertheless, it was hard to feel disappointed on such a lovely day. We entered the Mooloolah River with no dramas and made our way to the very crowded anchorage. After a few attempts, we found a position we were happy with and sat back to relax. Mooloolaba is a gorgeous little harbour and we spent the rest of the day just chilling on the boat and celebrating with a few drinks in the afternoon.

The following morning I woke up to incredibly flat and still water, with clear reflections. It was like a mirror! It was amazing! Since Matt was still in bed, I grabbed his camera and had a go, and the photos came out pretty well, if I do say so myself.

The rain came later that day, but it wasn’t cold, so out came our raincoats and off we went. We walked into neighbouring Maroochydore to meet Naomi, a friend Matt used to work with. It was lovely to hear about her new life on the Sunshine Coast as we chatted over coffee, and then toured her studio/shop and apartment. Naomi is a very talented artist and has started a gorgeous art studio featuring beautiful prints inspired by the ocean. We were particularly taken with her drawings of a whale and a turtle, two of our favourite ocean animals. Check out ‘Ocean Art Naomi’ to see her work.

Naomi very generously offered us the use of a car whilst we were in town, which we gratefully accepted. It’s such a treat to have wheels and meant we could explore a little further afield, as well as being able to do a nice big grocery shop.

We spent a day touring inland, driving out to Kondalilla National Park, where we walked the five kilometre circuit to a waterfall and rockpools. It was beautiful green forest, and felt lovely to be in such a different environment. Stopping in the quaint village of Montville, we had coffee with a view, looking out over an expanse of lush green vegetation towards the ocean. We also made the most of the car, driving to some shops a bit further out from town and picking up parts for the new tender motor.

On Sunday we took Naomi and her daughter Bree out for a sail. It was a perfect day to be out on the sea, good winds and pretty flat water, although there was a bit of swell. We zoomed along the coast, reaching speeds of 7 to 8 knots at times, with Naomi and Bree pointing out landmarks on the shore. It was just lovely to have company on board and I’m glad they both had a good time, even if Bree did feel a little seasick.

We thoroughly enjoyed our six days exploring Mooloolaba and the Sunshine Coast, and could definitely have stayed longer, there’s so much to see and do, a really beautiful area. But the notorious Wide Bay Bar was up next, and we had the perfect weather and tide window, so it was time to move on.

On our last night, Naomi, Bree and Bella took us out for an absolutely scrumptious dinner at Rice Boi on the edge of the harbour. Bree ordered all their favourite dishes and we ate delicious dish after dish as the food kept arriving, until I was totally stuffed. I highly recommend the amazing eggplant crisps there! It was a lovely evening with lots of laughs and a fitting farewell to our time in Mooloolaba. Naomi gifted us our two favourite prints, the whale and the turtle, and they now hang very proudly in our cabin. Thank you so much for your hospitality ladies, and I hope you come visit us somewhere up north.

The beautiful turtle and whale prints, thank you so much Naomi, we love them!!

When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love.    

Marcus Aurelius