Sunshine Coast

I have lived in Brisbane for almost 2 years, and just recently I started to explore this ever so beautiful Queensland right from Brisbane (the centre), up north to sunshine coast and down south to Gold coast .

THINGS TO DO

On the 10th of august 2008, I began my journey with Safura, Zul and Shahril to explore Sunshine Coast, the northern part of Brisbane.  

1. The Home of the Crocodile Hunter 

If you are traveling with young children, you have to drop over the Australia zoo. You will be entertained by the exciting wildlife shows offered for the whole day, where every show will give young children valuable information. During your visit you will notice zoo keepers walking around the zoo carrying animals for you to pet which is undoubtedly enjoyable for kids. 

You will also notice a special playing area for the kids with a jumping castle and a small merry go-round. An extra aud18 will give you the chance to take a picture while cuddling a koala; I was told that the picture quality and background is better here compared to the one at koala sanctuary.  This kid below is so adorable and i cant help but upload this picture. 

Tips: - Bring your own food if your kids prefer home cooked meal. Lots of drinking water, wet tissue, sun hat. I’m sure this will be joyous day for your kids and you.

Price: - aud50 (adult) 
         : - aud31 (children) – do check the website for family passes and  updates
Opening Hours: - 9am – 4.30pm  
Website: -http://www.australiazoo.com.au/

2. Strawberry Picking

We were lucky since august is strawberry galore we went for strawberry picking. I noticed a number of strawberry farms further up Australia zoo as well as on the way back to Brisbane. after about 1/2hour picking strawberries and taking pictures we headed back to Brisbane. I didnt only bring back strawberries but the strawberry jam too. Im actually not a jam fan but Shahril’s description on how deliecious the jam is made me want to try it with bread and scones at home and i had no regret. 

Cost:- aud8 per kilo ( pink bucket)
        :- Strawberry jam aud2.50
Opens till :- 5.00 or 5.30

3. Tin Can Bay Dolphin centre 

This one was a doleful experience. I woke up as early as 5am, had breakfast, refreshed myself and smilingly ready to meet the others for our dolphin trip. It was a 3 hour drive from Brisbane to reach tin can bay, (thank you Shahril for driving us in the morning, and Zul on the way back).

We had a few stops along the way which extended the actually time we should reach tin can bay. Once there, we were devastated to know that dolphin feeding starts only at 8.00am ‘sharp’ everyday. Yup! We didn’t get to feed the dolphins : ( . ill try again next time! I won’t loose hope.

And because of that, we went on a dolphin cruise at 11am. After an hour there were still no sign of any dolphins and we headed back to the shore. Although they detest us, we still had a great time on the boat taking pictures of the gorgeous scenery.  

If you are a person who loves fishing, you can rent a boat for 2 hours (aud50per boat) and catch some fish. Make sure to bring a long sun block, a hat, and your fishing rod. 

Tips: - sleepover at tin can bay for the night if you would like to feed the dolphins. I saw a few backpackers hotel along the way to tin can bay. It would be much easier than waking up at 4am and drive to sunshine coast the same day.

Cost: - dolphin feeding. Free but they do appreciate gold coin donation just to keep the bay  running
         : - cruise aud15


4. The Ginger Factory

This is a worthwhile experience to get some insights on ginger. Admission is free, but if you would like to go on ‘The taste of ginger tour’ its aud9.50 for students. The tour will let you visit the ginger factory, you will get information from how ginger is planted, harvested until its processing stage.

After gaining some valuable information you will escorted to the tasting room to try out some products made from ginger as well as gain some information on cooking tips. Everything tasted wonderful except that I didn’t try ginger sauce coated with meatballs.

The next interesting thing you could do and do tell me about it if you have because I didn’t get the chance to try is to ride on the ginger train and boat tour. You can either purchase your ticket for the boat and the train separately or purchase both together at roughly aud12. The website will give you more information.

Website :- http://www.gingerfactory.com.au/gingerfactory/
Opening hours : - 7 days (9am- 5pm) closed on Christmas day
Address : - Pioneer road yandina, sunshine coast, Queensland
Phone:- (07) 5446 7100

5. Macadamia factory

You should stop over the macadamia factory as it’s just opposite the ginger factory. Here you can find macadamias coated with honey, garlic, chocolate and many others. 


TRANSPORT

The best way to move around is to rent a car 


FOOD

you can try Pancake at Mc Donald’s