20 things to do on the Sunshine Coast this Spring…

The birds and the sun are waking earlier and the days are getting longer. In a couple of weeks the rest of Australia will be winding their clocks forward for the start of daylight saving and those of us here in Queensland who work remotely back to Sydney each day will be cursing the time difference.

For those of you reading this on the other side of the world, Queensland (where I live) and Western Australia don’t do daylight saving – even though the rest of Australia does. It’s something to do with how the curtains will fade, the chooks will go off the lay, and the cow’s milk will dry up. Of course I’m being facetious, but you get the idea.

Anyways, it’s Spring – and it’s pretty close to perfect. The weather is fabulous, the ocean is bluer than blue and you can still get a carpark at the beach. Once summer hits, and brings with it heat, high humidity and summer holidays, it can be bedlam here. To make sure I don’t miss one glorious minute, here’s what’s planned:

  1. Continue to walk the beach most weekday mornings.
  2. A road trip – we’re heading up to have a look at Bundaberg and Bargara. Bundy rum anyone?
  3. A romantic foodie weekend in Melbourne. Yes, I know, we’re leaving the sunny coast for a few days, but Melbourne is always a good idea.
  4. Hit the beach. Enough said.
  5. Fish and chips on the beach at sunset.
  6. Buy loads of mangoes and make yummy things with them – or buy loads of mangoes and eat them.
  7. Continue to buy, cook, and eat local produce. We’re spoilt for choice up here.
  8. Try the farmer’s market at Timari Village and Noosa.
  9. Plant a vegetable garden. I’m missing having herbs at the back door, so I’ll plant some. I also want to have a go at growing some more tropical plants – such as ginger, garlic, turmeric, galangal or lemongrass. As an aside, there’s a papaya tree growing on our verge.
  10. Chill out on a Friday night at one of the street food markets – Marcoola, Ocean St or Timari Village Market.
  11. Continue our search for the ultimate beer garden. The research is a bugger.
  12. Speaking of which, check out Copperhead Brewery at Cooroy and Rick’s Garage at Palmwoods.
  13. Add to my list of fabulous places for breakfast on the Sunshine Coast.
  14. Drop 8 kgs – see how I just snuck that one in? I need to lose about 30 kgs, so 8 will be a start.
  15. Do some of the walks in Noosa National Park before the heat and the summer people hit.
  16. Do more of the Point Cartwright to Caloundra walk – again before the heat hits.
  17. Fire up the barbecue (grill) and pizza oven and eat outside lots more.
  18. Get a good start on Christmas shopping at the arty markets around the coast eg Peregian Beach, Sunshine Coast Collective, Eumundi, Cotton Tree, or Caloundra Street Fair.
  19. Get an early morning photo of the boathouses along the Maroochy River.
  20. Make like a tourist (man, we are sooooo local these days) and do a Maroochy River or Noosa Everglades cruise.

Linking up with Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After for the Fall Bucket List…except that I’m on the other side of the world, so this is Spring…whatever. Anyways, if you want to link up your Spring list, click on the link below. 

Because it’s Thursday, it’s also time to get our happy on with the Lovin’Life linky.

To join in the Lovin’ Life Linky, all you’ve got to do is: Link one post about what you’re currently lovin’ in life. Read two or three posts from other Lovin’ Life Linkers and leave a comment so they know you’ve dropped by. Spread the Lovin’ Life word and feel free to link back.

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The linky goes live at 7.30am every Thursday and finishes at 7.30am of a Monday (Australian Eastern Time). Click on the link below to join in…

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Author: Jo

Author, baker, sunrise chaser

42 thoughts

  2. What a fab list! Ugh – the daylight savings thing is so annoying. I’ve done the Bundaberg and Bargara thing. We stayed at Bargara for a holiday and had a fab time! You must go see the turtles as Mon Repo beach – either the mums laying the eggs and/or the eggs hatching and the hatchlings making their way to the ocean. Not sure what happens when but easy to find out! 🙂 #TeamLovinLife

  3. Oh I love this and that you’re still doing so much locally. I do really want to head on a walk and to the markets with you one day.

    I had a ritual at one point in Brisbane of going to these Saturday morning markets (at the Powerhouse) and I’d catch the ferry over and just buy some wildflowers and occasionally something gluten-free before stuff was more readily available and head home. It was a lovely way to start the day and weekend.

    You know there’s a bed at my place if you’re passing through and want to stop in!

  5. Love your list Jo, and wow, what a list! You’re going to be busy. Spring for me is probably the loveliest time of year where we live too. I sometimes long for the East Coast as a place to live and you have made me want to visit, but you’ve also made me realise that in this part of the world (SWA) we can still get parking spots at the beach even in high season 🙂

    1. It’s school holidays here at the moment Jo, so I rarely head across to Mooloolaba or the beach outside of my early morning walks.

  7. Your list sounds lovely, with the beach and the fresh fruit and the beach. I love our mountains here in Utah, but I wish I was closer to a proper beach. Someday I will visit Australia–perhaps in the spring. Good luck with your bucket list!

    ~Christie

    1. Coastal Aus is lovely in the Spring & Autumn…I feel the same way about some day seeing the mountains & landscapes in the centre of the US.

  9. A great list, Jo! I look forward to reading your updates and viewing your beautiful photos. Thanks, for making joining the Lovin’ Life link easy.

  11. So sounds so beautiful and so much to offer where you live Jo. The only problem long term for me would be no day light saving. It’s starts here in Auckland this weekend & i’m so ready for it. Being able to get out and do stuff in the evenings is just wonderful.

    1. The whole no daylight saving thing is ludicrous – especially when everyone that most of us do business with has it. And they eat so early up here too. Some people really believe that the chooks will go off the lay…

      1. The farmers seem to cope just fine here, there are no issues with milk supply from the cows when the clocks are changed. The evenings are so warm where you are, so it’s crazy not to make the most of it. Time to campaign and make it an election issue. That’s of course, after the same sex marriage has been sorted.

      2. I just copied in a passage I was fixing in my novel…ooops. Here’s what I meant to say 🙂 I laugh about it – as if the cows know the clocks have changed. And as for the curtains? Hello, same number of hours of sunlight. Oh man, don’t get me started on same sex marriage. We can learn a lot from your side of the ditch

  12. I laugh about it – as if the cows know the clocks have changed. And as for the curtains? Hello, same number of hours of sunlight. Oh man, don’t get me started on same sex marriage. We can learn a lot from your side of the ditch.

  15. I’m swooning here! Every single thing on your list sounds absolutely perfect! I hear you on the summer crowds! I live near Savannah and Tybee Island, Georgia. I’m looking forward to getting back into Savannah and to the beach now that the summer crowds are beginning to thin out!

    1. I guess that’s the *problem* of living where other people like to visit. It’s a nice problem to have 🙂 Thanks for dropping by.

  16. You had me at mangoes! Seriously though, I’m enjoying my morning walks at the moment and a bit worried how I’ll go when summer comes. And it’s already too hot for the french beans and snow peas I planted about a month ago … they are not looking too happy at all!

    1. Yeah it’s already getting warm. I’m out the door now by 5.45am, but think I’ll need to be even earlier in the coming weeks. The sun is so high by the time I’m finished my walk. This will be our first summer up here & while it doesn’t get as hot as those disgusting furnace days in the Western suburbs of Sydney, I’m not sure how we’ll deal with the humidity.

  17. Jo, so enjoy your witty and fun writing style. ☺

    Love the expanded herb garden idea. I had a decent variety of herbs at our prior home, but have just parsley, rosemary and thyme going at the new home so far. I did plant some oregano, but the local bunnies apparently loved it a little too much!

    You make the Sunshine Coast seem absolutely wonderful. We’ve been to just Sydney and Melbourne so far, so we clearly need to return and devote time and attention to the West Coast!

    1. Thanks for dropping by. You should check out the Sunshine Coast some time – although Melbourne is fabulous, & I’ve lived most of my life in Sydney. We’re about 1200kms north of Sydney in the South East of Queensland. It was a pre-retirement sea-change that we’re glad we made – we always wanted to retire *from* here rather than *to* here. Enjoy your weekend.

  18. Thank you for the mention! Your list is such a fun read. If you need help with your research on the ultimate beer garden, just holler. The hubs and I can cover the southwest Texas area for you. And heading to Germany the end of this week, so will do our best to scour southern Germany, too.

    Reading about your spring makes has me looking forward to ours and the possibility of planting an herb garden, too. But I have basil and cilantro in the window now and don’t want to cut it because I am afraid it will die. Ha!

    Here’s to a successful spring on your side of the world!

  20. Spring is definitely one of the most gorgeous times of the year… before it gets too hot!!! Thanks for the tips on what to do on the Sunshine Coast!

  22. Always lovely to read how much you are enjoying your ‘sea change’…..Thanks for linking up for #lifethisweek 37/52. Next Week: Movies. It’s up to you how you might interpret that one!

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