Queensland Trip - 1

(Caveat: Precipient and immersive, and hence a long read)

Cutting the curlicues of kale for dinner, I casually floated the idea of a jaunt to K'Gari, Queensland (QLD), during Christmas break. 

'Do you realise, it'd be our third trip to QLD between two 25th Decembers,' my spouse raised his there-she-goes-again brow, but added gleefully, 'with the algal bloom plaguing SA, Brissy (Brisbane) is a better bet this year!'

Soon we crowded around our computer tracing the routes on Google Maps, but sifting spots from the coastal gems proved to be herculean. Flying to Brissy, renting a car, and returning it in the same city wasn't working for all the places we intended to visit.

'Let's swap flying for driving.'

'We could stay longer trading flight prices for accos.'

We uttered in unison hardly realizing it'd lead us to a staggering 14-day trip. Queesnslandic charm of turquoise waters, we concurred, appears to have 'eternal-holiday' vibes, luring us time and again to the sunshine state! 

A flexible plan fanned out with two distinguished island visits dominating the otherwise relaxed itinerary. It had more to do with experiencing pieces of lands leisurely between accos booked within 2 to 3 hours of travel each day. Four hours of planning and bookings later, the two exotic islands, K'gari, and Moreton, glistened like sapphire and emerald in the scheme of things. 

For next four months a thought or two would pop up occasionally impaling the humdrum of quotidian schedule - what colours would go well with each spot, what to chuck in the boot of our car, what else to add to our stash of beach and sun readiness. 

Sydney to Sunshine Coast

23-Dec arrived like it should by calendar, but for us it was extraordinary, thrills running high at the commencement of our long trip. It always starts with our usual breakfast of pancakes and hashbrowns at Maccas and we made no exception this time around!

The rest is a travelogue that I'd articulate day-wise with more pictures than words as the former speak volumes more than latter.

Day 1: Our first acco was at Port Macquarie. We however, took a little detour for Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse recommend highly by a close friend. A breezy walk and a steep access way to the Lighthouse unlocked panoramic views - an welcoming freshening from the tedium of drive.

An hour and a stop over at Forster later we checked-in, dined, and walked for a while from Little Shack to Town Beach Lookout before hitting the hay.

My son with his friend - a serendipitous meet

Day 2: We woke up to a bright sunny day at Port Macquarie. Heading back here felt like greeting a slice of our time from the past - Jan '23. Much like meeting family after a while, we joyousuly revisited Lion's Park, Gaol Point, Flagstaff Lookout before running down to our beloved Little Bay by Tacking Point Lighthouse that we swore we'd return to someday! Its beauty in our eyes hadn't worn, but this time we clambered up the low cliffs instead of combing the waters and beach. 

Soaking in the serenity for a while, we reluctantly carried on with the rest of our travel to next acco at Ballina with a stop by at the beautiful Yamba. 

We did not call it a day upon checking in though. A short drive to Port Morton Lookout unleashed vast oceanic views. We feasted on juicy salmon while Lennox Heads treated us with a scintillating sunset - shades of orange awashed the sky, waters, and sand alike.

Day 3: This day was a riot of red, and totally planned for 25-December. But the turquoise backdrop was nature's nod on contrast! 

Fingal Head Lighthouse was a short shaded walk from car park area which hardly caters to hordes of vehicles that throng the spot during school holidays. We fortunately managed a tight street side park several meters away and walked up to the Lighthouse. Unsure of ways to reach the elusive Fingal Head Causeway, we followed a little red brick pathway that wound down  to an unusual shore; pellucid waters broke in foamy crests on blackish rocks near the pathway. We sprightly spotted an occasional dash of grey fins breaching the surface where the azure met the Kingscliff skyline. 

Pellucid waters meeting blackish shore

Black hexagonal basalt columnar rocks that we were fossicking through the area for were still tucked away from our sight - not for long though. A couple of folds in the land later, we caught a sliver of them - a precipitous drop to the majestic rock formations! Gingerly treading to the edge, we watched the wild waves for a while and moved further on. A clump of the rocks, marked on the map as Fingal Head Causeway, was sitting silently like an island a little off the coast. My son and I tippy-toed to as far as we could safely to get up close to the dizzying skirmishes between the rocks and the waves. Heart thorobbing from the thrill, we snagged a few snaps and quickly climbed up back to the path as if to escape the invisible grasp of an invincible nemesis. 

Tweed Heads had been lingering in my bucket list ever since a news of shifting coastline due to sand erosion and deposits pattern popped up in my news feed. It only made sense for us to spend as long as we could exploring this north most point of NSW. 

Sated, each of us grabbed a picture at NSW-QLD border marker, where phone went funnily awry displaying two different times. Queesnsland is always an hour behind NSW, meaning, we had an hour longer celebrations for 25-December. 

Speeding past Gold Coast and Brissy, we checked into our acco at Sunshine Coast. With energy unwilling to relent, we set out for The Big Pineapple. Thunder and rain lashed upon us crippling the lane guide system of our car temporarily. It was quite fortuitous that the downpour stalled for us to pose with The Big Thing!

From our Christmas '25 experience at Cairns, we knew Christmas is for grand dinners but only at home. Stores and eating outlets across the country remain closed - a pause we were prepared for this time. With Maggi, sandwich, chips for dinner, we rightfully turned junkies that evening without any guilt pricking our conscience. 

Day 4: We were on a beach-hopping spree - not a single beach along the coastline from Mudjimba to Sunrise escaped us, even if they all looked the same. The casurina, screwpines, and leafy approaches to these beaches were perfect holiday idea ingredients. Marcoola, Yaroomba, Coolum, Peregian, Marcus - we wet our feet at every point, sometimes braving off-leash dogs, and sometimes unending flight of steps! Point Arkwright was a cut above the rest with an array of rocky spread beneath the Lookout providing just the right degree of pleasure for our little appetite of clambering rocks. Robin blue paired with white was our pick for the day to blend with the surrounding hues.

Completely tuckered out, we drove sluggishly in to the sleepy town of Tin Can Bay. Sleepy Lagoon Motel was a clean, cosy, comfortable studio that sheltered us for two nights.

To be continued...

Part 2

Dona, Sydney, Jan '26