Things to do within a day in Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Queensland’s Sunshine Coast is a collection of beachside and hinterland towns to the north of Brisbane. This was the second destination we headed to after one day in Brisbane for the #escapers15 social media campaign last year, organised by Accor, Scoot and Tourism Events Queensland. Just the name of the place itself makes me happy. There are lots of things to do in Sunshine Coast if you love the outdoor:

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Our first stop in the morning was at Australia Zoo (1638 Steve Irwin Way, Beerwah QLD 4519, Australia), a 100-acre zoo owned by Terri Irwin, the widow of Steve Irwin, whose wildlife documentary series The Crocodile Hunter made the zoo a popular tourist attraction.

Located an hour north of Brisbane, on Sunshine Coast, Australia Zoo features a team of passionate conservationists working round the clock to deliver an experience like no other.

Steve and Terri Irwin’s vision has always been to make Australia Zoo the biggest and best wildlife conservation facility in the entire world and I must say, what they have achieved is impressive.

At the zoo, we enjoyed the Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors Show held in the Crocoseum, while munching on some sandwiches for a quick lunch.

The highlight at the zoo was when we get to pet and hug some of the zoo’s natives, including a koala bear, a wombat and lots of kangaroos.

After the zoo, we headed to Noosa, Australia’s most popular beach resort and home to the Noosa International Food & Wine Festival. This northern Sunshine Coast town offers beautiful beaches, lush hinterland, a stunning coastal national park, an amazing river, and a cosmopolitan dining scene.

We got to meet some the lifeguards on duty at the beach and played some games with them.

This was followed by some quick shopping and cafe hopping at Hastings Street, the fashion strip located behind the beachfront, specialising in high-end designs, familiar local labels, signature stores and affordable beachwear, footwear and local creations.

Next, we hopped aboard for a thrilling ocean jetboat ride with Noosa’s most experienced ocean water sports company, Noosa Thriller, established since 1978. The ride was awesome. Expect to get really wet from all the sharp turns and waves bashing. We spotted a school of dolphins during my ride, which made it all the more worthwhile.

After Noosa, we checked into Novotel Twin Waters Resort for the night. The resort is set around a private beachfront lagoon, amongst 14 hectares of natural bushland and manicured gardens.

We had dinner by waterfront at the resort, enjoying an awesome outdoor grill buffet featuring seafood, kangaroo steaks and other meat. We were entertained by a performance from a aboriginal group before we tucked in for the night.

The next day morning, we had breakfast at the resort, followed by some watersports. I got to experience a crash course on sailing.

And that’s it for my one day tour of the Sunshine Coast! Next, we moved on to Gold Coast, the last leg of the trip. Stay tuned for updates.