The Sunshine Coast is renowned for its beaches, but there's a lot more to tempt visitors. Photo / Supplied
Think beyond the beaches and you're in for a treat, finds Delaney Mes.
My solo road trip around the Sunshine Coast begins in Brisbane. Equipped with a GPS and a new Nissan Pulsar, I take to the road and head for the Hinterland.
It's often beaches that come to mind when you think of the Sunshine Coast, but I quickly learn there's so much more. Sure, the beaches are not to be missed - we'll get to them - but travel inland, too, for wildlife, rainforests, fantastic food and outdoor adventure.
The Hinterland is approximately 90 minutes from Brisbane, which itself is an easy three-and-a-bit hour flight from Auckland. The rolling hills of the Hinterland mean a slightly cooler climate and some quaint townships and natural beauty.
My first stop is the Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve in Maleny, with 55ha of rainforest and expansive views from its entrance across to the Glasshouse Mountains. The mountains on the horizon make for an impressive panoramic shot.
Entry to the reserve is by gold coin to a loop track among beautifully lush subtropical rainforest. I have my first wildlife encounter of the trip: a red-legged pademelon, a small marsupial not unlike a wallaby.
The keen bird-watcher ahead is doing a much better job of admiring the bird life. I am too distracted by the brush turkeys roaming.
They're harmless but I've never been the best around birds. The incredibly tall trees are amazing and varied and provide a lush green canopy. It's well worth a stop.
The Glasshouse Mountains rise majestically in Sunshine Coast's Hinterland. Photo / Supplied
The town of Maleny is a cute strip of bookstores, organic food stores, fruit and veges, boutique retail and coffee shops. There is even a church stall of second-hand goods on the street.
Outside the public library, I have wildlife encounter number two in the form of a large frill-neck lizard roaming the footpath.
Montville's Flame Hill Vineyard is a short trip from Maleny. The area isn't especially known for vineyards, but its local verdhelo, a crisp and clean white wine, goes down smoothly as I sit overlooking the vines, valley and roaming guinea fowl. Ingredients from the impressive kitchen garden fill the menu, keeping it fresh and seasonal.
Flame Hill Vineyard is a must-visit. Photo / Supplied
Montville is much smaller than Maleny, and its appeal lies in its natural beauty. The Kondalilla Falls has walks for varying abilities into the rainforest to admire the falls, which plunge more than 90m into the gorge.
Close by is The Falls Rainforest Spa Cottages. The 2ha property of subtropical rainforest is owned and operated by Aryna and Alan Dryden, who arrived in Montville by way of England, Ukraine, Zimbabwe and New Zealand.
They visited, fell in love with the place and now make incredibly gracious hosts. Their enormous Queenslander house is filled with artefacts from their travels, a collection that rivals any in a museum and includes everything from Russian carved furniture to statues of herons made of brass.
Their breakfast basket is filled with local bacon, fresh eggs, juice, locally roasted coffee, fresh bread, yoghurt and fruit, which you can prepare at your cottage. To get to the cottages, you wander down the boardwalk into what seems like another world. Each of the six standalone cottages is complete with a spa and private balcony with a small barbecue. It is secluded and private, perfect for couples.
I enjoy the tranquility as I eat my French toast with delicious bacon on my balcony. Later, over coffee and fresh pastries, Alan tells me they regularly have marriage proposals, special anniversaries and weddings.
The extra touches make a difference, too: you can get a gourmet barbecue pack for dinner, plus there's a bottle of port, handmade chocolates and fresh roses in your room on arrival.
Heading towards the coast, my next destination is Yandina's iconic Spirit House restaurant and cooking school.
It's a beautiful property, an oasis of bamboo and water lilies that takes me straight back to South East Asia. I'm in the cooking school for the morning making Asian curries: a Goa seafood curry, a Nonya chicken curry with lemongrass and kaffir lime and a Thai jungle curry with salmon. It is the perfect way to escape the tropical thunderstorm.
Being immersed in a world of Asian ingredients that grow in Queensland, our cooking teacher Annette takes us through everything clearly and simply and includes tales of her travels.
The class seems to have something for everyone - from less confident cooks to those with plenty of experience.
Eating your lesson over a long lunch is a great way to finish. Stuffed and inspired, it's back to the car. I am more than ready for some beach time.
Left: Montville's Falls Rainforest Spa Cottages are set in a subtropical oasis. Right: The Spirit House cooking school in Yandina has something for every level of cooking. Photo / Supplied
The darling of the Sunshine Coast is Noosa. It's a tourist's dream - a national park surrounding expansive white sandy beaches, as well as family-friendly accommodation and excellent restaurants and bars. It's still balmy enough to swim at 6pm once the crowds have cleared.
Despite my best efforts to have a party for one in my hotel room (a decent-sized poolside apartment at the Mantra French Quarter) my Saturday night consists of dinner perched at the bar at the gorgeous Locale, a modern Italian establishment that serves bitter negronis and fresh pasta with changing seasonal accompaniments.
It's humming with groups out for dinner and couples having a drink. I sit at the bar people-watching and chatting to the barman.
Fresh-faced on Sunday morning, I am up bright and early for the must-visit Noosa Farmers' Market.
The Sunday market at Noosaville is a short drive from my Hastings St apartment. It has everything - green smoothies, bacon butties, Dutch doughnuts, fresh fruit, local coffee and fresh bread.
I try as much of it as I can, including some delicious beetroot gnocchi and one of the best passionfruit I've ever had. The produce is amazing. If you're in a self-contained apartment and enjoy cooking, it's a perfect place to stock up.
Wandering around getting tasters, buying bits and pieces for breakfast and chatting to various stallholders makes a pretty perfect Sunday morning. I am grateful I woke early and got there before it was too hot or busy.
I manage to get in some reading and another swim at Noosa's Main Beach before the relaxing part of my day is over. An afternoon with local adventure outfit Drop Bear Adventures is next.
I ditch my trusty rental car as a long-haired, bare-footed Norwegian traveller called Simon is my guide for the day. He usually takes tour groups to nearby Fraser Island, which he is disappointed I'm not visiting.
We instead take the beach highway along the Great Sandy National Park. It feels like you're at the end of the world, driving at 80km/h, with cliffs of sand out one window and rolling waves and endless ocean out the other. It's exhilarating, exciting and very, very hot.
After Teewah Beach and venturing up to the lighthouse at Double Island Point, I take over the wheel for the drive back in the Land Cruiser. It's fun and we make it to the sandy cliffs of Rainbow Beach unscathed.
Simon tells me of the Aboriginal myth that gave Rainbow Beach its name. A beautiful girl was in love with a rainbow. When her evil slave-master killed it with his boomerang, it was scattered over the beach to die, leaving the coloured sands.
Science, on the other hand, tells you it's iron oxide, or rust, on the sand and from vegetable mattter's seeping dye. Either way, more than 72 different coloured sands cover the cliffs and it's spectacular.
The small, sleepy town of Rainbow is popular with backpackers. Locals say it's like Noosa 20 years ago, before property developers and tourists settled in. Cafe Jilarty serves the best coffee on the Cooloola Coast and the local wood-fired pizza joint Arcobaleno is a casual and delicious stop for dinner.
Horse riding on Rainbow Beach. Photo / Supplied
When I get to my Rainbow Beach accommodation - the Rainbow Ocean Palms Resort - I regret leaving my boyfriend at home and I wish I'd booked for a week.
With none of the quirkiness of Montville, this is a modern and beautiful apartment with an incredible view. I wish I had stocked up on produce at the farmers' market to cook myself dinner in the impressive kitchen.
A lightning storm makes dramatic viewing from the plush couch. I'm not surprised to learn they sometimes hire out the entire venue for wedding parties.
The view to the right is of the lighthouse we had visited earlier that day and to the left where I am to horse-trek the next day. It's stunning. After sitting in the dusty un-air conditioned 4WD all day, the air con is a reprieve. It's a tranquil, beautiful place to be.
The resort, run by Tanya and Mark Beech, is up the hill from the town centre and just a short walk to the Carlo Sand Blow. As Mark and Tanya walk me to the sand blow, Tanya - a park ranger as well as a resort manager - regales me with her local knowledge. On the track I have a close encounter with a talkative and pretty friendly kookaburra, a bird I'd only ever sung about at primary school.
The sand blow is like a mini desert, formed over hundreds of years by sand blowing up from the coast and settling. This one is among a forest. The result is spectacular. We're there at dusk and the sunset is unforgettable.
For those who like a bit more adventure with their beach holidays, an afternoon with Rainbow Beach Horse Rides is well worth it. For beginners, the expert guides and quality equipment ease even the most anxious riders. My horse Mack, a former station horse from Western Australia, was a gentleman and our host Andrew McCarthy an expert.
I could have stayed in Rainbow a lot longer. Something about the sleepy town with just enough shops and the exceptional hospitality of Tanya and Mark and that beautiful apartment with a view to match, was pretty special.
There was one more stop before the ride back to Brisbane though, and that was Tin Can Bay, an even sleepier seaside town than Rainbow.
Every morning (except once in the past three years) dolphins will swim right up to the water's edge. For a couple of dollars at the dolphin centre you can get a bucket with a piece of fish and feed them yourself.
The pelicans roaming around were a sight to behold with their huge webbed feet and I can now officially tick "feeding a dolphin" off the bucket list.
And just like that it's back to Brisbane. An action packed five days, with just enough time for adventure and just enough for relaxing and eating, too. It's such a diverse area - warm, close and with something for everyone.
Travelling there as a family or couple or for a solo road trip, it's guaranteed to leave you refreshed, inspired and ever so slightly relaxed.
Delaney Mes travelled courtesy of Sunshine Coast Destination and operators.
The trendy spot is just six minutes from the Waikiki beach.