Brisbane is the capital of Queensland, and the third largest city in Australia. Though not exactly a holiday resort itself, it’s in the middle of some of the finest resort territory in the country. To the north lies the aptly named Sunshine Coast, and to the south lies Australia’s answer to Florida, The Gold Coast.

The Sunshine Coast starts 50 km or so north of Brisbane, and extends from Bribie Island to Noosa. This stretch of coast is slightly less popular than the more garish Gold Coast. Even so, it attracts the crowds and, in their wake, the developers.

A couple of decades ago the Queensland state legislature abolished death taxes. As a result many retirees from cooler climes down the coast have moved up here, hoping that the Queensland government will eventually go the whole hog and abolish death altogether.

As you would expect, the best places to visit are the miles of fine beaches – with all the opportunities for excellent surfing, swimming, diving and long-distance beach-running which the old folk find so necessary to while away their long leisure hours. There’s even great fishing for the youngsters. Caloundra, Maroochydore, Mooloolaba, Noosa – this may sound like the opening line of an Aborigine epic poem, but these are in fact the Sunshine Coast’s main resorts.

You can easily drive from Brisbane along the entire length of the Sunshine Coast in a day, and still have time for a couple of beach sorties enroute. But if you want to do some serious surfing, explore the islands, and see the sights, you can spend a week here with no difficulty.

TRANSPORT

Regular bus services connect Brisbane to all the main resorts. There are also regular ferries to the islands. The train line north from Brisbane passes through Gympie, but doesn’t touch this part of the coast. The region can be explored quite easily even if you don’t have a car.