After a few more relaxing days in #MountCoolum we moved on again, this time to a small beachfront apartment in #GoldenBeach. Here we've enjoyed swim/walks exploring the interesting geography & shallow waters of the ever-moving sand spit on the northern tip of #BribieIsland. We've had wild storms & blistering heat to mix up our explorations. We've ran a busy #ParkRun up the sea front. But mostly we've been taking it easy, enjoying books & beers on our seaview terrace. #SunshineCoast #Australia

New Years Eve on the #SunshineCoast. We had a morning #MountCoolum beach visit for some splashing in the surf, then a 2km pool #swim back at our complex. An afternoon of board games (mostly #Catan), beers & bad movies followed. We had another slow beach walk after dark, then enjoyed some wine & music as we watched #Sydney fireworks bringing in the New Year an hour ahead of us. What a full year of mini-adventures it's been. Wishing a very happy 2024 to everyone - make it a good one! #Australia

We set an early alarm (5:45am) and got ourselves readied and down to #Mudjimba #Parkrun. Over 350 others had the same idea, and at 7am we were all off for a fun 5km on a shared path parallel to the beach. Already 30+C this early morning, our sweaty, sticky bodies needed a long sea dip to cool off afterwards. Don't think we'll ever get used to the heat or humidity here, but we did find a surfing reindeer! #MountCoolum #Australia

One afternoon we chose to hike up #MountCoolum. 26 million years old & 208m high, our local volcanic pimple rises prominently to dominate an otherwise flat landscape. It was a very hot afternoon: the short (30min) climb up an easy route left us soaked & dripping as much as if we'd just left the ocean. The expansive views were worth the effort. We stopped in a bottle shop on our return, in part for supplies but mostly to spend time in their large walk-in beer fridge. #SunshineCoast #Australia

Our stay at #MountCoolum has been super relaxing. We've enjoyed long beach walks each morning, taking dips in the foaming surf when the heat became too much. We picnicked at Point Arkwright and Stumers Creek, looking back towards #SunshineBeach. Some afternoons wild thunder storms lit up a bruised purple sky as rivers emptied from the skies, but an hour later all was again calm & dry and normal service was resumed. #SunshineCoast #Australia

After a few more chill days, our time in #Tewantin & #Noosa was sadly over. We moved south down the coast to a new #HomeExchange in #MountCoolum. This time we had an apartment in a lovely complex with beautiful communal pools, set 100m from a surf beach. The apartment even had a #piano for Nicky - yey! Our days are filling up easily with long beach walks, picnics, pool #swimming & much reading - bliss. #Australia #SunshineCoast