Life in the slow lane: Ettamogah Pub, Big Pineapple, Maroochydore to Caloundra

21st November 2010

When we woke up we decided to wait a while before exploring the world beyond the rest stop, so we watched a movie on our DVD player. Now not far from the free rest stop is Aussie World and the famous Ettamogah Pub. I had heard about this wonderful place a few years back and wanted to see for myself what all the fuss was about. It was at this point, I decided pictures needed to be taken so I used my Nokia N95 camera phone to take pictures until we could charge the camera. http://www.aussieworld.com.au/web/ettamogah-pub.html 

Yup that's a life size Morris Ute on the roof!

... and you thought outside was mad!

Besides the pub, there are also some very nice local craft and homeware stores as well as Aussie World adventure park - this is a little more laid back, traditional ride park than the hair-raising world of the Gold Coast Theme parks.

If you fancy a spot to eat at the pub there is plenty on offer have a squizz at Ettamogah Pub's Bluey's bar and Menu ... 

http://www.aussieworld.com.au/images/stories/ettamogah_pub_blueys_menu_summer_2010_2011.pdf you will need adobePDF reader to view this document. If you need to download Adobe PDF please click the link below ...

http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/

Moving on from Ettamogah pub and just a bit further up the Bruce highway just off the Maroochydore exit is Queensland's answer to Ballina's Big Prawn - The Sunshine Coast offers it's tourist something it's famous for - The Big Pineapple. Of course when we turn up - guess what? Yup just like the Big Prawn, The Big Pineapple is also closed! Guess tourist are not too big on Big things anymore. It's not as Big as I imagined and getting to it can be tricky when closed, there is a car park you can pull into on the left hand side and walk up some stairs, which is the option we took, but you can't get across the highway to get closer from this side, as the gate is locked. The other more precarious option is to turn back and head towards Maroochydore and chance you can pull in just beside the Big Pineapple, this can be very tricky and not advisable on busier days. Still I took some photo's. http://www.bigpineapple.com.au/

You can see how Big it is from the adult standing beside it

Here's our Jucy campavan in the car park ...

So as the Big Pineapple was closed, we decided to take the coastal route back from Maroochydore to Caloundra. Maroochydore is a huge sprawling town and trying to find some beach with the amount of traffic isn't easy, so we headed towards Mooloolaba. We were looking for a place with a BBQ spot and some toilets, it seems that the two don't always go together on the Sunshine Coast unlike the Gold Coast.

Eventually we pulled over on the Alexandra Headland and had a BBQ lunch there on a very windy cliff top ...

Once refreshed we headed on our journey through Mooloolaba, past Warana, Bokarina, Wurtulla and headed in the general direction of Caloundra's King's Beach. Now it's at this point we noted that even the mobile phone battery was getting low, so until we got to charge the phone and camera no more photo's :(

Caloundra is a very smart town, well thought out with plenty of access to the beaches surrounding Caloundra. Beautiful cafe's and boutique's line the seafront areas, along with some great facilities, an outdoor swimming pool, a beautiful seated area on the promenade to watch all that's happening on the beach. My favourite goes to the boardwalk hugging the coastline and little areas to stop and enjoy the view. http://www.caloundratourism.com.au/ if you wanted to stay in Caloundra there are many seaside apartments for rental with step out access to the beach, ideal for a family holiday on the Sunshine coast.

Caloundra is also home to the Sunshine Coast's answer to Sea World - Underwater World http://www.caloundratourism.com.au/see-and-do/attractions/theme_parks/underwater_world.html This we didn't venture into, we just enjoyed watching the many Kite Surfers and windsurfers doing some amazing tricks on the sea.

I could quite happily revisit Caloundra, it's a bustling town with plenty to do, great views yet quiet enough not to feel like the mad, mad world of the Gold Coast. Well that was our day in a Nutshell.