Let's Go Noosa! First of a series on beautiful Noosa, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast

TAKEN AT LAKE MACKENZIE ON FRASER ISLAND

Family Adventure in the Great Outdoors


In the 1800s, convict David ‘Wandi’ Bracefell escaped from Moreton Bay penal colony near Brisbane and ran away to Noosa to join the local Aboriginal tribe, the Ka'bi Ka'bi people. Ever since, Noosa has attracted escapees eager to join the modern tribe living an idyllic beachside lifestyle.


WHY GO AND WHERE IS IT?


Australia is one laidback country, and Noosa, the glamour-puss of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, is one laidback destination. Noosa has been dismissed by some as a holiday playground for the rich and famous, but determined environmental management and sustainability policies have been recognised by UNESCO and Noosa now enjoys Biosphere status. This will further protect this beautiful area where the emphasis is on maintaining the balance between people and the natural environment. What better Australian destination to enjoy the great outdoors?


Noosa is a small beachside town (thanks to a population cap) at the northern end of the Sunshine Coast, 160 kilometres (100 miles) from the capital, Brisbane. Her leafy centre is Hastings Street, with its rustic boardwalk skimming the golden sands of Main Beach where people come to surf, eat, drink, meet, stay.


The Great Outdoors


Life in Noosa is best enjoyed outdoors, so relax, shed your suits and schedules and enjoy the healthy lifestyle. Pitch your tent right on the pristine Noosa River and hook your own tasty fish. Jump on board a whale watching boat, kick a ball on the beach, surf the waves, explore the bush, ride the waterways, and make sure you 4WD through the world’s largest sand island, Fraser Island.


There are funky theme parks for the kids like Australia Zoo or Aussie World, places to get warm and fuzzy with native Australian animals or to swim with sharks, seals or dolphins.

The Original Nomads


Noosa’s outdoor lifestyle could be a direct result of the nomadic lifestyle of the area’s indigenous people who inhabited the pristine beaches, waterways and rich sub-tropical rainforests long before the white man arrived in the 1800s and slowly and methodically forced them further inland. Noosa and the lands as far as Fraser Island belonged to the Ka'bi Ka'bi tribe, and many of their tracks became the white man’s roads, favourite spots where they caught dugongs and turtles are now fished by locals, the bush animals that they hunted are now photo opportunities.

SUMMER FROLICKING AT LAKE MACKENZIE