A kangaroo appears to leap on the shallow waters beside Habitat Noosa campground. Photo / Tourism Noosa
When Chris Hyde first visited Noosa with his mum, he was 15 and only interested in steak and chips at the surf club. Twenty years later, they’re back and wondering why they waited so long.
Travelling overseas with your mum. We can all agree it’s amazing if you are 5, touch-and-go at 15 and rare as an adult.
So when the chance fell to me, 35, to spend four nights in Noosa with the woman who raised me, I took it.
Immediately, I realised I should’ve done it years ago.
Just like any holiday, there are memories, priceless photos and a chance to really talk and bond. The cherry on top, however, is the unexpected kudos from everyone we encountered on our travels, simply for being a mum-and-son pair.
And we couldn’t have picked a better spot to try it than the paradise that is the Sunshine Coast.
The first great thing about the river-sea coastal jigsaw is where the plane lands.
Daily Jetstar flights leave at first light for the Sunshine Coast, four hours from Auckland, and arrival has the same charm as a Hawke’s Bay Airport or Palmerston North – you’re getting a stress-free 30-second walk to the carpark and 30-minute drive to your destination.
By 9.30am Noosa time, we and another dozen or so Kiwis from the very same flight are all standing at the centre of the buzzing Hastings St, feeling a little dazed by the 25C May heat.
The last time Mum and I were here was 20 years ago.
Yes, there’s been development since. But the secret of Noosa is its careful charm.
Where other nearby coastal cities that shall not be named have embraced rapid population growth, rapid tourism growth, and rapid skyscraper growth, Noosa has kept things to a five-storey minimum, or denied development altogether on its famed shores, and it feels so much more relaxed as a result.
After settling in at the smartly renovated apartments of Saks on Hastings, opposite Main Beach, we waste no time enjoying its proximity and jump in for a swim, later returning for an evening paddle. May in Queensland is basically what New Zealand dreams of as its perfect summer.
One thing Mum and I couldn’t and didn’t do properly when I was 15 was fully appreciate Noosa’s culinary abundance. Back in those days, I was more interested in steak and chips at the surf club – still great by the way – than experimenting with local flavours and produce.
But palates do develop and Mum and I bond over the love of food more and more with each passing year. Unsurprisingly, that’s what our itinerary was built around.
A perfect soufflé at Ricky’s on the riverfront. An exquisite zucchini and buffalo mozzarella entree at newly opened Cibaria on Hastings St. Unctuous coconut braised beef short rib at Season on the beachfront.
Between meals, we agreed on exploring the parts of Noosa we hadn’t seen the last time. There were plenty of gaps in our memories, but we knew we hadn’t done THE walk. In fact, I don’t think we knew it existed last time.
The coastal boardwalk rises up from Main Beach and, after 15 minutes, turns into a full-on national park. It then winds around Noosa’s untouched headlands to Hell’s Gate and beyond.
It’s a walk unlike any other I’ve done near a city centre. Surfers run past, boards in hand, heading for Granite Bay to enjoy the perfect swell.
Koalas hang in the eucalyptus trees – though none are visible on our journey – dolphins are possible to spot if you care to look, and then there’s the hidden bathing spots, sheer cliffs, and an array of birdlife I hadn’t expected.
Given Sunshine Beach and the Noosa Heads would make for some of the most expensive real estate in the country if it were built on, authorities have shown remarkable foresight to preserve this spot.
That same foresight is what makes our cruise up the Noosa River’s everglades on our third afternoon so special.
Made from bubbling springwater that’s been stained (steeped) by the acidity of surrounding tea tree plantations, the glades can be accessed easily by boat from Habitat Noosa, an enormous campground 20 minutes north of the village, where kangaroos and campers chill together in harmony.
It’s a spot that has recently become very famous online when the 300 or so kangaroos that call it home decided they’d start a new mindfulness habit with a sunrise bounce on Lake Cootharaba.
Since the lake is barely ankle- to knee-deep for hundreds of metres, the kangaroos appear from far away as if they’re bouncing on the top of the water. Millions have now seen the viral TikTok and Facebook videos, but visitors need to be warned of two things.
First, you’ll only really have a chance of seeing them do it if you camp overnight at Habitat Noosa, and second, kangaroos aren’t circus animals, so there’s no guarantee of a show.
The Everglades’ biggest show isn’t guaranteed either, but we get perfect conditions for it. As Mum and I sip on pineapple juice and watch out for azure kingfisher, cormorants and pelicans, clouds arrive and we watch the water perfectly mirror their slow drift.
Our guide Trevor, who started running tours of this magical space way back in 1975, never tires of it and I can see why.
The shallow water takes on an incredible depth as trees and branches mirror on to the water. Blur your eyes slightly and it’s as if you’re watching a world within a world.
Back on land, Mum reveals an idea for some further bonding. This is the thing about travelling with your Mum. You never know where it’ll take you.
And of all the things to do on the way back to the hotel in Noosa, we find ourselves pulling up at the Salvation Army.
It wouldn’t be a holiday with Mum without a little bit of op-shopping to round it off.
Noosa checklist
Getting there
Fly from Auckland direct to Sunshine Coast Airport – morning flights are available daily with Jetstar.
Details
Stay: Saks on Hastings | saks.com.au
Eat: Cibaria Noosa | cibarianoosa.au
Explore: Habitat Noosa Everglades Ecocamp | habitatnoosa.com.au
Visit: Noosa |visitnoosa.com.au
The New Zealand Herald travelled courtesy of Tourism Noosa.