Another day of indulgence on the numerous beaches along the northern stretch of the Sunshine Coast.

With today lining up to be a scorcher, Andy was out early trotting along the coastal path to get his 10k in the bag before 7.45am.

After checking out of our excellent apartment at the Oaks Sunshine Coast, we drove a few miles up the highway to Peregian Springs and on to Peregian Beach. As we walked across the car park to the beach walkway we came across a noisy parrot munching away on a trees berries. Such a beautiful and colourful creature.

Once on the beach, we were greeted by the full arm of the life savers team – van, tent and half a dozen volunteers marshalling swimmers and surfers between the flags.

This was turning out to be one of the hottest days we’ve experienced in Queensland so far, with the temperature exceeding 36 Celsius. As a result, every opportunity to take cover in the shade was greeted enthusiastically by Michelle, who by her own admission was starting to struggle.

Having spent a couple of hours at Peregian Beach, we drove a mere mile or so to Marcus Beach where we had the place almost to ourselves.

Down on Marcus Beach, we carried out some star jumping and then relaxed in the sand and in the surf to cool off.

The third beach visited early afternoon was a revisit to Noosa main beach, a place we’ve previously spent many hours on over several prior years. It’s a beautiful sandy affair with views that are to die for.

As the afternoon wore on, and the tan developed, we dipped in and out of the ocean before making the decision to retire to the Sofitel Hotel, for a happy hours G&T. Got to be one of our favourite places on Hastings Street to watch the world go by.

We’ve previously stayed at the lovely Sofitel hotel, but not on this occasion as our budgets don’t stretch that far when we are away so long. Instead we are a couple of miles out at the Chez Noosa Resort Motel. It’s pleasant and tidy, with plenty of room and a pool and sauna to boot!

This evening we made our way back to Hastings Street and then on to the beach to check out the stars in the night sky. The lack of light pollution meant that we were able to see an extensive range of stars including Jupiter, Mars and Uranus. Incredible to seem them all so vividly and with such clarity.

After our time stargazing, we returned to Hastings Street to check out the lights on the trees, in particular the main one at the central roundabout.

One last treat before heading back to our motel, was a trip to 7-Eleven for a slurpee. At just a dollar and 50 cents, these are incredible cheap drinks, although admittedly not the most natural or healthy with more E numbers than we care to consider – but boy did in taste good.

After our sugar rush, we returned to our apartment to help our daughter who was in the midst of finalising her CV and personal statement for University. We then spent the next couple of hours helping to finesse the documents – it was almost like being back at work!!

Tomorrow it’s back to the beach along with a walk in Noosa Heads National Park.