We woke this morning to rain which dampened our plans for an afternoon on the beach. Irrespective Andy was up early, as per usual, pounding the pavements and hitting his 10k mark before breakfast.

We then sat out on our deck and watched the raindrops hit the pond and the lizards scurry around looking for food scraps in the water.

Despite the wet, we decided to keep with our plan to visit the Farmers Market on the edge of Noosa.

It was a traditional affair with fruit and veg from local farmers alongside the obligatory food stalls selling coffee, bacon & eggs baps alongside other Aussie classics.

Michelle set the pace and the fashion stakes rocking her Rains jacket whilst others chased for cover.

The Aussie market offer, included legs of lamb and rump steaks, but given our vegetarian leaning, we gave them a wide berth and instead settled on a coffee from Flying West, the Coffee Roasters.

We hung around the market for an hour or so, watching the weather heat up and get sunny before returning to the wet as we walked back to the car. Shame for the stall holders as the market was open and so weather dependent!

So instead we returned to Noosa Heads and wow the sun came out again and we managed to grab a 30min slot, before the dark clouds descended again and we then decided to head in land to explore the rain forest and tundra.

We had previously dropped into the tourist info centre and they recommended a few places to visit away from the coast, so we made our way to Tewantin National Park and the viewing point at Mount Tinbeerwah. The walk to the top of the Mount was relatively short, thanks to the car park being so close, and the vista was pretty impressive too. You could see Noosa on the coast alongside extinct volcanoes, tropical rainforest and sunshine…!!

Our next stop was a short drive to Cooroy, where we spotted this monument to the fallen Aussie soldiers in the First World War. Despite the place being modest in size, we counted over 25 names of men who didn’t make it back.

We then drove on to the town of Pomona to visit the gin distillery. What a great place, although as Andy was driving, it turned into just beers and chips as a late lunch.

After our refuelling we drove back down to Noosa Botanical Gardens next to Lake MacDonald. Our plans to keep in the country this afternoon worked a treat, as we were blessed with dry and sunny weather. Added to this we managed to grab a few minutes to watch a pantomime, Cinderella being acted out in Amphitheatre by a young cast.

We left the kids to enjoy the pantomime and then walked around the scenic trail skirting the MacDonald Lake. The wonderful plants and statues made the place feel so very special, especially given the land was used as a tip up to 30yrs ago, before locals lobbied for the land to be reclaimed and turned into gardens for the local community.

After our excisions in the bush, we returned late afternoon back to Main Groyne Beach where a rainbow and sunshine were in perfect harmony.

This proved to be the best part of the day, so much so people were arriving at 6pm to hit the beach for the last hour before dark. We love walking along beaches and this is one of our favourites – we been fortunate to do it a few times before, both with our daughter Amelia and also friends Paul & Naomi so it brings happy memories to the fore.

We done a fair share of walking today, in fact Andy has managed to create his own new record of hitting over 200,000 steps in a week after numerous runs and walks.

Tonight was our last one in Noosa, so before leaving we stopped at the main roundabout and grabbed a photo of the old tree that’s lit up over the festive season and often well beyond it. Great memories of another happy stay in the wonderful Noosa.

Tomorrow we drive north for a couple of hours and our next stay in Hervey Bay.