Hello, my friends! It’s kind of hard to believe that not long ago, I was all the way in Australia. It was a quick trip, and the voyage didn’t feel nearly as long as I thought it would. Even the jetlag seemed minimal. Was I even in the southern hemisphere?
Strangely, I have had a really hard time writing this blog post, so I’m just going to show you a bunch of photos.
Noosa
We spent our time based at our friends’ home near the town of Noosa, which kind of felt like a larger Laguna Beach. It was springtime, so the weather was rather variable, and almost never actually warm. With lots of shops, including some of my favorite European clothing brands, and access to pristine waters with perfect surfing waves, it’s no wonder this slightly sleepy beach town is a popular vacation spot.
Maleny
M. Cheesemonger and I spent a couple nights in the Hinterland, the hilly region beyond Noosa, particularly in Maleny. Maleny was like Australian Switzerland. There are cows scattered about, Swiss-ish architecture in town, and cheese. More on the cheese in my next post, though! We stayed at the most amazing Airbnb cabin, located on a horse farm, called The Space Between. From our deck, we could watch the horses, farm dogs, and birds during the day, and the magnificent astral displays at night. We were so lucky that there was no moon during those nights. The stargazing was magical, and so were the night photos. By 7:30pm, it was completely dark, and the Milky Way stretched from horizon to horizon in an uninterrupted ribbon of light. I did what I could to capture it, taking several photos and stitching them together for you here! Additionally, as is the case in many homes in the area, the only source of water is rainwater, and if you haven’t taken a rainwater shower, you’re missing out on some amazing soft hair!
Maroochydore: The Aquarium
There’s an aquarium in this town where we landed from Sydney, and we only went to it because it was raining. That said, I very much enjoyed catching a glimpse of the local sea life—especially in the “underwater” tunnel, where fish swam all around M. Cheesemonger and me with captivity-induced laziness. There are also several seals and sea lions, which you can see during the regularly-scheduled seal shows. This is definitely a kid-friendly place. The first of several on this trip.
Australia Zoo
It will be beaten over your head at least 245 times that the Australia Zoo is HOME OF THE CROCODILE HUNTER STEVE IRWIN. I loved the Crocodile Hunter when I was a kid, and have long dreamed of petting a Koala, so the Australia Zoo was there to deliver on both points. There, I was a little weirded out by seeing images of the Crocodile Hunter’s wife and kids smiling over everyone from every corner. That said, as far as zoos go, I think it’s a nice one. The local koala population has nearly been wiped out from disease, so this was our main chance to see them at all. The koalas are actually presented in a garden that you can walk through, where signs at the base of trees indicate that there’s a koala sitting above. The wallabies and kangaroos seem to be the Australian equivalent to deer, and are rather docile. People could feed and pet the ones in the zoo, and kids just swarmed all over the many kangaroos and wallabies strewn about the lawn in their respective enclosures. It didn’t quite feel right, but I was still kind of drawn in by the idea of seeing these animals up close.
Maleny Botanic Gardens + Bird World + Kondalilla Falls
Our first day in Maleny, we packed quite a lot, including a walk around the very tall Kondalilla Falls hiking trails. Gorgeous views, wildlife, and lush vegetation made for a beautiful morning hike.
The botanical gardens are gorgeous in and of themselves, but they also offer a stunning view of the Glass House Mountains, which jut out a little unexpectedly over the Hinterland. M. Cheesemonger and I also saw our first deadly snake out in the wild, a red-bellied black snake. It was more concerned with finding some peace and quiet than attacking us, which was fine with me.
I was not prepared for all of the wild parrots, lorikeets, cockatoos, and other beautiful birds I would find in Australia, and I LOVE birds. To sate my bird lust, we visited this aviary (another kid-friendly place) attached to the botanical gardens. There was a room full of finches, doves, and other small birds; a 2nd room of cockatiels, ringneck parakeets, and more parakeets; and a final room with a peacock, large amazon parrots, macaws, cockatoos, and conures. The birds in this last room are attracted to people offering food, and so they fly about from head to head, arm to arm, in search of things to eat. Worth the price of admission? Maybe? It was a rather short visit.
Sydney
We didn’t spend very much time in Sydney—just enough time to visit the Australian museum (their recreation of a T-Rex was really stunning!), dine at nearby chic Madame Shanghai, and try one of the best pubs around, the Unicorn Hotel, with one of my past photo clients! Both restaurants were fabulous, as were the random Thai and Chinese spots we found along the way as we walked through town.
Addresses
Maleny area
The Space Between Airbnb listing
Maleny Botanic Gardens + Bird World: 233 Maleny Stanley River Rd, Maleny QLD 4552, Australia
Exotic Marigold Licensed Indian Restaurant: Shop 2/466 Maleny Kenilworth Rd, Witta QLD 4552, Australia. Sweet little spot, and delicious Indian food.
Kondalilla Falls: Kondalilla Falls Rd, Flaxton QLD 4560, Australia
Australia Zoo: 1638 Steve Irwin Way, Beerwah QLD 4519, Australia
Kenilworth Dairies: 41 Charles St, Kenilworth QLD 4570, Australia
Maleny Cheese: 1 Clifford St, Maleny QLD 4552, Australia. Sadly the shop was closed because of a fire. I hope it reopens soon.
Noosa
Noosa Boathouse Bistro & Bar. We ordered their seafood tower, three tiers of seafod, including something delicious and new to me–seabugs–and a whole fish and chips level (unnecessary to me). Good seafood! 194 Gympie Terrace, Noosaville QLD 4566, Australia
Maroochydore
SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast Aquarium: Parkyn Parade, Mooloolaba QLD 4557, Australia
Sydney
Australian Museum: 1 William St, Sydney NSW 2010, Australia
Madame Shanghai: 18 College St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010, Australia
The Unicorn Hotel: 106 Oxford St, Paddington NSW 2021, Australia. The pub experts’ fave pub, this place serves traditional pub food with high-level, organic, local ingredients.
