Sunshine Coast and a Camera Club Outing

 Beaches on the Sunshine Coast

View over looking Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast with a Causarina tree branch in the foreground 

Recently, I caught a city bus into downtown Brisbane then a Greyhound bus up the Sunshine Coast to a popular town called Caloundra. As we were preparing to leave the bus station, the driver went up and down the aisle a couple of times doing a head count. After the second time, he says, “Folks, I’ve counted 26 heads and I’m only supposed to have 25….produce your tickets please.” With that he comes through again checking our tickets…..I had mine…no worries;-) About half way down, he finds a man who was on the wrong bus. He thought he was headed down the Gold Coast….thankfully it was discovered then instead of hours later way up in Noosa somewhere. Also thankfully, the bus he was supposed to be on was parked next to us so he was able to catch his ride;-)

It was only a 90 minute drive to Caloundra so you could easily go there just for the day. Once at the bus station in Caloundra, I got directions to my digs….they were pretty insistent that I take a taxi for only $10 and I would get there in comfort they said. I’m glad I decided to walk…it was only about ten minutes away so I managed with the heat and hills just fine;-)

I booked two nights at a holiday apartment…..view of the ocean though not on the beach but only a five minute walk to the beach. The beaches are fabulous…kilometres upon kiometeres of them! I went walking right away then got some fish and chips which I enjoyed at a picnic table right on the beach. There was lots of roaring surf but I was told it wasn’t the right kind of waves for surfing on this particular evening….too choppy. Too bad, had my board ready to go;-) Over the next couple of days however, the kite surfers were out in droves.

I think this guy was actually listening to music…either that or he didn't want to get water in his ears;-)

At all the tourist info places, there are brochures upon brochures of things to do in the area. There’s every kind of bus tour, cruise, park visit you can imagine catering to all ages and interests. These are all organized events and all costly. As I’m going to be here awhile, I can’t choose to go on these things willy-nilly….I have to be selective.

Other than the food I purchased, my day didn’t cost a thing and I absolutely loved it!

A section of the Coastal Path with the Glasshouse Mountains in the background

There’s a coastal walking trail here that follows along several of the beaches for many kilometres. The trail is paved or boarded but you have the choice to walk on the beach as well, coming up on the trail where the beach turns rocky.
I’m sure I walked about 20km of trail/beach over two days;-) The trail suits wheelchairs, strollers or anyone with mobility issues so consequently there were all kinds of people out walking and enjoying the warm ocean breezes. In the meantime, people I spoke with today say it’s quieted down now that students have gone back to school.  

Herself;-)

It’s true….I had beaches all to myself at times! I did find people swimming, body surfing and playing cricket.

On this part of the coastal path, there were no large beaches but jetties where people could launch small pleasure craft. Also, people would fish from the dock areas. 







"Whaddya say mate, shall we go for a fish-n-chips?"

Somehow "graceful" doesn't come to mind when these big birds take to the air;-)

Pandanus trees grow well along beaches

Another section of the Coastal Path with Pandunus trees

This whole area is so well set up for families and tourists in general….playgrounds, skateboard parks, water parks, pools, restaurants, bbq areas and so many public washrooms! It was great to walk so much and not have that concern;-) The bbqs in the parks and along the beach fronts are electric and very convenient.

I was told the town council checks them in the morning and cleans them where necessary. When I first arrived and was sitting outside enjoying my fee and chi, there were a couple of people cooking up on one and I thought it was a sausage kiosk thing and almost went up and asked “Whaddya cooking there?” thinking they were selling to the public;-)

People photographing the remaining bits  of the S.S.Dicky that went aground in Caloundra 120 years ago

Burger with “the lot”

 I had a lovely chat with a lady at a small art gallery at Moffett Beach and she suggested I try a place called Clanceys for lunch. She said it was somewhere surfers liked to frequent and it’s an institution in the area. I found Clancey’s across the road from Dickie’s Beach. I ordered a burger with “the lot”.  I figured “the lot” was your usual “the works”. Nope….the lot was lettuce, tomato, onions, cheese, thick slice of ham, a pineapple ring, thick slice of beet and a fried egg…oh, and of course the beef! Sacred heart! I had to ask for a fork and knife to eat it! I learned in Scotland last winter that it is perfectly fine to order an egg on top of your pizza so I guess an egg on your burger is fine too.

It had been cloudy most of the day though very warm but about mid-day, the sun came out and I was beat from walking. I sat under a gazebo and put my head on the picnic table for a spell.

I stayed there sipping water for about an hour. It was just after that I had my burger lunch then walked again where I came upon some beautiful Rainbow Lorikeets in a Casuarina tree. The lorikeets are plentiful in the backyard of my Brisbane digs but are too high in the trees to photograph. I only had my small camera but tried to get a few shots anyway. I struck up a conversation with a lady nearby who turned out be from Quebec City. She planned on staying in Caloundra for three months, leaving in fact on the same day in April I’m scheduled to leave(if I stick to that date;-) She was here with her friend who is Australian and has an apartment in Caloundra. She was absolutely loving it there…..walking lots, sailing, enjoying the sun, sand and surf and of course those happy hours! We got along very well and I got an invite to spend some time with them if I head up the Sunshine Coast again.

The Galah or Rose Breasted Cockatoo  in a Casuarina tree.  These Australian birds can be quite funny in their behaviour/antics and consequently, anyone acting a clown will often be referred to as a "galah".

I had lunch with another lady I met who called herself a Principal Consultant. She and her husband recently moved back from Hong Kong where she was a principal at an international school there for the past ten years and now does consulting work with schools/school boards. She was very interesting as she had such a varied experience working in private, state and international schools. Needless to say, as a retired educator myself, there weren’t many lags in the conversation;-)

Train Seats

The Greyhound only had one run out of the town and that was at 10:00a.m. which I thought was too early as I wanted to spend another day there.  Instead I got the local bus around 4:30p.m. to the train station in Landsborough where I caught  the train back to Brisbane and finally a local bus back to my house in The Gap. When I stepped on the train, all the seats facing forward were taken unless you sat next to someone. I was walking up the aisle when someone said to me, “You know you can turn the seats around to face forward?”  I didn’t know that before and was very pleased with this new bit of knowledge.  I just pushed on a peddle, grabbed the two seats as a unit and spun it around so the rear facing seat was now facing forward. Awesome!

Glasshouse Mountains

I enjoyed the train ride as it was more scenic then the ride up the highway on the bus, even though you often see the backs of places or industrial areas which are not necessarily the most aesthetic of views. We did pass by the Glasshouse Mountains, which are very distinctive in their appearance. These are eleven hills that rise abruptly and are known as volcanic plugs, forming more than 25 million years ago. Captain Cook named them as he said they reminded him of glass furnaces from his home country of Yorkshire.

I took these photos of the Glasshouse Mountains from the train as we passed by.

Town of Maleny

I arrived back in Brisbane on Friday and on Saturday, Tony and I drove up the Sunshine Coast again. This time, I visited a small town called Maleny. It is a small, scenic town and a great place to spend time popping into book stores, art galleries, local craft shops and coffee shops. I especially enjoyed the breath taking landscape images of Australia and New Zealand displayed in one particular gallery  by photographer Ben Messina….very inspiring! We drove up through the hills with some wonderful vistas though the morning cloud hadn't burned off and I wasn't able to get good photographs. The foliage in the area was lush and colourful and offered many walking trails. I would love to come back and explore this beautiful spot!

Brisbane Camera Club Outing to University of Queensland Lakes

With a little Google work, I found out that a local camera club (Brisbane Camera Group ) was going on an outing last night and welcoming newcomers so I got off my arse and went along even though I was quite content to read my Ned Kelly book on the veranda. We took the City Cat down the river to the University of Queensland campus to shoot in the area of a couple of ponds and bridges there. There were a nice bunch of about twenty and we enjoyed a gorgeous evening on the beautiful campus. Bird life was abundant but I brought a 24-70mm lens which certainly wouldn’t be the optimal choice for birds. Nonetheless, it was a fun couple of hours.

An area of the UQ campus

Water Dragon on campus

Cockatoos on campus

Pond on University of Queensland Campus