Peregian Beach

About 13 kilometres south of Noosa, Peregian Beach is one of a string of lovely beaches which form the justifiably praised Sunshine Coast to the north of Brisbane. Just over the sandhills at the southern end of the beach you’ll find Peregian Environmental Park, an area of wallum heath which bursts into a colourful profusion of wild flowers in spring. On the western side of Peregian Beach is Lake Weyba National Park, and Lake Weyba itself, which feeds into the estuary at Noosa Heads. Nearby, too, is the Noosa National Park with its rich mix of coastal heath and scrub and stately rainforest which provide sanctuary and support for a wealth of native flora and fauna.

This whole area is a paradise for those who love fishing, boating and surfing…not to mention the renowned ambience and sophistication of Noosa, just up the road. It is a hassle-free drive to the Sunshine Coast, southern beach resort attractions and to the picturesque villages scattered through the waterfall pocked rainforest of the Blackall Range hinterland.

Nearest Main Highway: Bruce
Nearest Airport: Sunshine Coast

Montville

Montville was first settled in 1887 and is today known by some as the ‘Creative Heart of the Sunshine Coast’. This charming village is home to a range of quality art galleries that exhibit, and sometimes produce, works of great interest to all art lovers. Shoppers also love the many craft shops, fashion boutiques and gift shops that exhibit a staggering range of affordable, locally made items. Close to Montville is the Kondalilla National Park. Kondalilla is aboriginal for ‘rushing waters’ and is home to scenic walks and spectacular waterfalls. It is ideal for a picnic, a swim, or just to escape into the cool rainforest.

Distance From State Capital: 121km
Nearest Main Highway: Bruce
Nearest Airport: Sunshine Coast

Marcoola Beach

Marcoola Beach is located just north of Maroochy River and boasts quiet uncrowded beaches, which are best suited for serious surfers and walkers. Marcoola Beach is a great escape to unwind for a quiet barbecue or picnic with its open grassy parkland, shady trees and children’s park.

Nearest Main Highway: Bruce
Nearest Airport: Sunshine Coast

Mapleton

Situated in the heart of the Sunshine Coast hinterland, the scenic drive to Mapleton from Maleny, taking in Montville and Flaxton, is one of the best in Queensland. Throughout this beautiful district, art and craft galleries abound, along with potteries, antique shops and museums.

Buy fresh local fruit and vegetables from the side of the road and make sure you stop to dine at one of the many interesting and different restaurants and cafes which have opened in recent years. Nature, however, is the star attraction in these parts and her gift to Mapleton is a spectacular cascade tumbling off the western escarpment of the Blackall Range into the Mary Valley. The Mapleton Falls are best appreciated from the viewing platform. The village flanks the Mapleton National Park which is renowned for its rainforest picnic glades. Mapleton also hosts the annual Yarn Festival when spinners of tall tales and true gather to celebrate the art of the Aussie bush balladeer.

Distance From State Capital: 59km
Nearest Main Highway: Bruce
Nearest Airport: Sunshine Coast (30km)

Maleny

The delightful, Sunshine Coast hinterland village of Maleny lies in picture postcard dairy country, interspersed with rainforests, high in the Blackall Range, about 50 kilometres south-west of Maroochydore.

There are a myriad of sightseeing opportunities in the range, including a panoramic view of the Glasshouse Mountains – so named by Captain Cook who was reminded, by the sun reflecting off the rockfaces, of the glasshouses back in his beloved Yorkshire. Bushwalking and bird-spotting are popular pastimes in this area, where you can also explore the walking trails through the lush rainforests of the Mary Cairncross National Park and, if you fancy on an hour or so drive, the Mapleton and Kondalilla Falls and the Obi Obi Gorge.

Arts and craft galleries abound. There is a wide choice of eateries and drinking holes in this bolt hole which is just a 90 kilometre drive north from Brisbane, but is 1000 kilometres from the cares and pressures of the big smoke.

Distance From State Capital: 90km
Nearest Main Highway: Bruce
Nearest Airport: Brisbane (90km)

Kenilworth

Kenilworth is the heart of the beautiful Mary Valley and was surveyed off Kenilworth Station in 1921. It still has the original 1920’s ambience, with its tree lined main street that accommodates the area’s main business houses.

Kenilworth is a renowned ‘tidy town’ and located in an idyllic country setting close to spectacular national parks and state forests.

Distance From State Capital: 154km
Nearest Main Highway: Bruce
Nearest Airport: Sunshine Coast (60km)

Kawana Waters

Kawana Waters is a newly created residential area and has one of the fastest growth rates in Queensland. This picturesque area has beautiful, patrolled surfing beaches at Buddina and Wurtulla, excellent fishing, sporting facilities, shopping centres, a marina, and various accommodation options.

Distance From State Capital: 97km
Nearest Main Highway: Bruce
Nearest Airport: Brisbane (9km)

Imbil

In Blackall Range country behind the Sunshine Coast, Imbil is announced by orderly, hillside pineapple plantations on the 48 kilometre drive south-west from Gympie. A steep haul to the Imbil Lookout presents incomparable, near 360-degree views to Kenilworth, the mountains, and the Sunshine Coast. A 26 kilometre round-trip through forest and cultivated creek flats embraces Lake Borumba, which is perfectly tailored to swimming, boating, water-skiing and fishing. A nearby hatchery, which was opened in the early 1980s, breeds golden perch and silver perch, which are released into the local waterways as fingerlings.

Imbil is the terminus for the weekly Sunday run from Gympie by the famous Rattler. The beautifully restored steam locomotive No 45 and its carriages maintain the steam tradition on a railway line originally surveyed in the 1880s. On the 80 kilometre return journey, passengers are treated to some magnificent scenery as the train snakes its way through creek-networked valleys.

Nearest Main Highway: Bruce
Nearest Airport: Sunshine Coast