Top tips for a weekend drive to the Sunshine Coast

Close to: Brisbane. Avoid peak periods (some Sunny Coast residents work in Brisbane and commute each day) and you have an easy one-hour run from Brisbane along the Bruce Highway. Allow time on weeknights for roadworks and expect congestion at the weekend when Brisbane folk head to the coast and return home.
Day or weekend: Plenty to see and do during single-day trips, or find yourself a weekend home-stay close to Maleny as a  base. Then check out the surrounding townships and, if the weather is kind, zoom to the beach for an afternoon surf. Sunday morning go bargain hunting at one of the many regional markets.
Hidden gems: Maleny Botanic Gardens and Bird World.
Everybody goes to: Australia Zoo. Crocs, snakes and Jungle Girls performing daily with lunch and souvenirs on-site.

While the Gold Coast remains hugely popular, the Sunshine Coast, an hour north of Brisbane by road, is now favoured by many.

Like the ‘Goldie’, sun and surf are the ‘Sunny Coast's’ major attractions, and similarly, you don't need to look or drive far to find a myriad of other activities. In warmer months, the coastal township of Caloundra is a magnet for those looking for great beaches and an active night-life.

Caloundra is ringed by outstanding surf beaches; most within walking distance of the resorts and holiday-let high-rise apartments which line its foreshores.

While Caloundra is around 55kms south of Noosa Heads, the Sunshine Coast’s headline destination, it too offers a welcome diversion from the breakers and sand in the form of a vibrant shopping precinct with an array of speciality shops and restaurants. Just park the car and explore on foot the variety on offer in Caloundra's leafy main street.

Back on the road, if you head west along Steve Irwin Way, you're destined for an encounter with 'Crikey Country'. Australia Zoo, founded by the Irwin family in 1970, is a massive attraction and worthy of a day's visit on its own. But if you don’t want to pat a kangaroo, have a close encounter with all sorts of snakes, lizards, birds of prey, and of course many crocodiles and alligators, head a little further down the Way, swing right and enjoy some nice roads which climb to the mountain hamlets of Maleny and Montville.

At weekends, both locations are bursting with locals and tourists, so parking spaces are hard to find and the best coffee and lunch places quickly overflow with patrons. If you’re holidaying on the coast, allocate a mid-week time for a Maleny and Montville jaunt and you’ll find the going easier.

A little way from the town centre lies Maleny Botanic Gardens; tranquil and lush with 6 kilometres of walking paths which wind through 50 hectares brimming with local and exotic plants and wildlife. These wonderful botanic gardens are a must-see for both Aussie and international visitors.

While the coastal strip holds year-round appeal with its beaches, boating and outdoor dining (many residents of southern states flock to the Sunshine Coast for a mid-winter ‘thaw-out’ holiday), in fact the winter months in the Coast’s hinterland have a special appeal with the mountains shrouded in mist, the lure of cracking fires and indoor craft markets in full swing.

If you’re searching for a peaceful mid-week picnic spot, give the banks of picturesque Baroon Pocket Dam a try. Swimming, kayaking and only boats with electric motors are permitted, so Baroon offers a serenity not often apparent on many recreational waterways.

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