It’s school holidays and in Australia it’s winter. That means its cold, and wet and unpleasant in Melbourne (we don’t get snow but it’s still cold, particularly for me).
We decided that we wanted to get out of the cold so a trip to Queensland (which is a tropical Australian state) was the answer, particularly as my father in law lives up in the “Sunshine State” on the Sunshine Coast.
My driving outfits, all stretchy and comfortable
It’s a 20 hour drive from Melbourne to the Sunshine Coast (without stops) so we decided to do it over 2 days.
We set off early in the morning as the sun was rising and took the inland route through country Victoria and New South Wales to our overnight farmstay accommodation in Coonabarrabran.
The kids loved seeing kangaroos surrounding our cottage early the next morning when they woke up and we admired the sunrise too before setting out on our second days drive which would take us to the Sunshine Coast.
We drive for 2 hours at a time and then find a small town with a playground for the 5 kids to get out of the car and have a short run and play to burn off some energy and we swap drivers.
Winter on the Sunshine Coast is mild – around 20 – 23C each day, mostly sunny and mild. The kids have enjoyed going to the beach.
Kayaking and fishing in Maroochydore on the river.
Visiting some local tourist attractions including Dreamworld and Sunshine Castle.
On top of Mount Coolum in Queensland
And we got all the kids to climb Mount Coolum.
I’ve enjoyed taking some early morning walks and taking in the local natural features.
And the kids have enjoyed playing hide and seek, board games and enjoying other activities. We’ve caught up with friends, been to Dreamworld (one of the major theme parks on the Gold Coast which is South of Brisbane), been to Noosa and enjoyed a slower pace of life.
Now you may wonder what I packed to bring? Well I’ll share that with you in another post!
