I have resisted a trip to southern Queensland for a very long time. It's a busy commercial crowded and glitzy place, what could I possibly do down there? I've seen Surfers once and I've heard the Sunshine Coast has gone the same way! Why would I go through the pain of seeing what they've done to it? Like the song goes... "There ain't no Paradise in Surfers.... It's a Paradise Lost!"
Well guess what. There's more to Sunny southern Queensland than beaches, Highrise and sweet blond chicks wearing gold bikinis!
We've been off and away, tripping along in the cool of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland and it was Good!
A couple of days at Glasshouse Mountains Eco Lodge. Where there was an abundance of fresh fruit straight from the trees, pineapples and even macadamia nuts just lying around on the ground! We cracked the shells, chomped on the white flesh of nuts and scooped chunks of melting sweet bromeliad flowers dripping with sweet syrup. Drinking rainwater from the tank was also a pretty sweet experience.
(Glasshouse Mountains Echo Lodge)
It was via The Glasshouse Mountains Echo lodge that I discovered the word flestering, and while we were there we saw a few creative examples of the owners recycled re-sculptured flester art. OK doing this sort of thing is nothing new but I think the creation of a word to describe it might be.
(Walking uphill)
From the Echo Lodge I went for a drive with my Mum and Brother up to Maleny and then on to visit an old friend who happens to live in an amazing part of the world called Crystal Waters... WOW!
Yep! This was the part of the trip that sold me on going down to Queensland! At the beginning of this year I thought we would need to leave Darwin, I felt so sure about it that I used up a large chunk of my money to fly to Tassie seeking refuge in the cool mountains surrounded by temperate rainforest. I went looking there because it was a place surrounded by trees and fresh air and because it was very cheap. However the place I really wanted to go to was Crystal Waters Eco Village!
(Cob woodfire oven @ Crystal Waters)
(Crystal Waters Village Green Bakery)
This trip was no longer urgent but having done some research I was pretty keen to see the place first hand. I'm so glad I got to see it. It was beautiful! I had lowered my expectations too far after having read as much as I could find about the place. It was actually quite beautiful, which I hadn't expected. This is a place I could live in! Maybe one day we'll return!
As usual there's plenty I'd like to write about this trip but it's late, my eyes are stinging and I have a head ache so I'll reduce it to a few words.
I really liked the hill country behind the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast. The diversity of plants and animals caught me by surprise! I was not prepared to see so much variety of species, it blew me away. The fertility of the soil and the availability of fresh water was also surprising.
One day I am sure I will return!
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