TBJ TRAVELS BRISBANE 3: Nature Trip at Sunshine Coast and Noosa Everglades

For our third day in Brisbane, let's go further north of Queensland to the beach destination dubbed as the happy beach and to one of the only Everglades in the world. I'll show you today more reasons why Brisbane and Australia should be one of your must- visit places, especially if you're a nature lover!

SUNSHINE COAST

Sunshine Coast is a long system of beaches stretching from Brisbane all the way to Great Sandy National Park. Just 2 hours north of Brisbane, Sunshine Coast is a luxe beach destination that attracts families, couples, and tourists with a slightly higher budget due to its distance, exclusivity, and vibrant restaurant scene.

Noosa Beach boardwalk

Noosa Beach is one of the popular beach spots in Sunshine Coast with its calm water and moderate waves that are popular among children who are learning to surf. It's always sunny on this side of Queensland, that's why it's called Sunshine Coast and the happy beach area! Can't argue with that!

Noosa Beach is lined with small cafes, boutiques, and hotels; it's nice how they were able to plan the lifestyle establishments around nature.

TBJ TRAVEL TIP: Restaurants in Noosa Heads are quite pricey; there's a food court in here for cheap eats if you're on a budget. At night time, however, the food court is close and one affordable restaurant that's open 'til late is Betty's Burgers.

After lunch, we decided to take the hiking trail of Noosa National Park, just located on the hill portion of Noosa Beach. It's a 1-4 km. hiking trail. You start to lose mobile phone signal when you go deep into the forest so it's best to hike with a companion just to be safe and sure. It's a fairly easy hike, but I wouldn't suggest it to individuals that have medical conditions because it's literally a forest; no clinics, cabins, or communication means to be found once you descend deeper into the forest.

And just to be safe, always stay on the trail!

As for me and the husband, we enjoyed the trail and the 30 minute hike (we did not finish the entire hike) because it was literally 30 minutes of pure solitude, release, and disconnect from the outside world; you don't get that a lot nowadays!

This is Laguna Lookout, which is located a few minutes outside Noosa Heads, going back to the city. It's a popular hangout and picnic spot, and you get smashing views of Noosa Heads and its surrounding beachES. You will also see a lot of wild Kookaburas here! What beautiful birds!

A wild Kookaburra has appeared! I ran out of Pokeballs though LOL.

Noosa Heads is such a beautiful beach; I could spend hours upon hours here, just sitting down and looking out at sea. The 2- hour ride was worth it!

NOOSA EVERGLADES

2 days after our first visit to Sunshine Coast, we went back to stay the night for the highlight of my trip, a celebration at Noosa Everglades. One of the goals I made four years ago was to celebrate each birthday in another country and see one natural wonder. Last year, when I celebrated my 30th, I decided to visit Noosa Everglades, one of Brisbane's proud natural wonders.

THE IMPORTANCE OF EVERGLADES AND WETLANDS
An Everglade is a complex system of wetlands comprised of flooded forests, mangroves, marshes, swamps, and waterways like lakes and rivers; it is an integral part of the ecosystem because not only does it provide a habitat for a wide array of animals that can only be found in specific wetlands, it also acts as a purifying basin for rivers, minimize the impact of flooding due to typhoons, and provide a docking site for migratory birds where they feed, breed, and raise their young before moving on to their final destination. When wetlands disappear, there will be a massive impact on wildlife and humans as it may cause accelerated extinction and more catastrophic natural disasters.

There are only two Everglades in the world: the biggest one in Florida called Florida Everglades (where Everglades National Park is located) and Noosa Everglades, the smaller one, located within the Great Sandy National Park of the Sunshine Coast.

Starting point of the Everglades tour: Noosa River

We booked the trip with The Discovery Group via Viator.com; it's a luxury tour that includes a motorboat tour from Noosa River to the River of Mirrors, Lake Cooroibah, and Lake Cootharaba, morning tea, breakfast, and canoe activity; Lake Cootharaba is a wide but very shallow lake with a depth of only 1.5m; it is one of Australia's most interesting natural wonders.

After 40 minutes from Noosa River, you will start cruising the River of Mirrors, which is part of the Noosa Everglades system and one of the popular spots as well.

The River of Mirrors is called as such because the black water mirrors the forest above it. Tannins gave the water its deep color and is actually a result of human error; many years ago, there were groups that planted Tea Tree trees around the area, which don't naturally grow in there. Tea Tree roots excrete oil that is very rich in Tannin and it's what gave the river its deep color; in short, the river was polluted. 

Tannins are good for human skin, but bad for birds that once thrived in the area as it cause their feathers to fall out; this is why you will rarely see birds here, except a couple on the trees where they're nesting. I'm not really sure if there are still fishes and other marine creatures under water.

What makes the place popular among tourists is the serene surrounding, stunning view of the surrounding forest, and absence of predatory animals such as crocodiles, freshwater sharks, and carnivorous fishes; all in all, it's relatively safe place to paddle in, but most people would swim in Boreen Point, the entry point of the everglades.

First stop is one of the camping sites in the area where we had our morning tea and pastry.

For lunch, we had grilled sausages, steak, and fish; before embarking for the everglades, we were asked if we preferred fish or steak; this was officially my birthday lunch and I had no problem with it because it was simple and steak and sausages always are classic favorites of mine!

My husband and I took the canoe option and started paddling 30 minutes ahead of the others so we would get back to the first stop either ahead or the same time as them. We paddled 5 kms of pristine, black water for 45 minutes and clocked in a good arm workout too!

When we got to the first stop, we freshened up and joined the motorboat, and headed back to Noosa River and we caught the bus going back to the city by 5 P.M. By 7 P.M., we were already back in Brisbane to celebrate my birthday with the family.

I really loved this tour because it was so relaxing and not too exhausting, plus I love kayaking and the lunch was simple, but amazing; this serene nature tour was just perfect because I needed some peace and quiet from work and my hectic schedule. It was also an unforgettable experience to be in one of the two, only everglades in the world and see another natural wonder; nature is always my main source of inspiration.

If you're visiting Noosa Everglades and are interested in the tour I purchased, click HERE for the actual tour I booked. If you're on a budget, you can do a self- guided kayak tour around the Everglades via Kanu Kaper, one of the known self- guided kayak tour operators in Noosa Everglades.

HOW TO GET TO SUNSHINE COAST AND NOOSA EVERGLADES:

We booked a shared transfer on our solo excursion to Sunshine Coast. As for the Everglades, they provided free pick up, but since our hotel, Villa Noosa, was just a 10- minute walk from the starting point of the tour, we decided to walk to and fro the locations.

For our shared transfer, we purchased tickets from Con-X-Ion; our pick- up point in the city is Bus Stop 125 at Roma Street, which is where one of the main train stations is located.

Hope you enjoyed this! For our last day in Brisbane, I'll share with you the free things to do in Brisbane, if you're going to travel on a budget!

Check out my Brisbane itinerary plus tour costs:

Click photo to enlarge view

**Please be reminded that this itinerary reflects 80% of our trip in Brisbane; other mini trips have not been included

**Incidentals such as food, drinks, lodging, shopping, transportation, tips, and other miscellaneous expenses are not part of the costing.

**Total expense depends on the PHP-AUD conversion during my time of visit. It will vary from time to time.

CHECK OUT MY OTHER BRISBANE TRAVEL DIARIES:

TBJ TRAVELS BRISBANE 1: Hello, Brisbane + City Tour + Southbank Tour

TBJ TRAVELS BRISBANE 2: Gold Coast, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Movieworld

TBJ TRAVELS BRISBANE 4: Free Things To Do In Brisbane + Itinerary