The Sunshine Coast Hinterland is beautiful. Rolling hills, scenic forests, winding roads, cute little mountain side arty towns with lots of little shops and cafes and character buildings, views of the coast and all within a short drive to the beach and main centers along the Sunshine Coast. We spent a few days travelling through the hinterland. We found an excellent overnight stop on the side of the road called Little Yabba Creek rest area. It’s right on the water and in the middle of a beautiful forest with huge Moreton Bay Fig trees and a walking trail called fig tree walk. We did that walk as well as a couple of others over the following days – one through Koondalilla National Park to Koondalilla Falls and another through Buderim Forest Park. The falls and waterways were not at their most spectacular due to the dry weather.

We went to the ginger festival in Yandina, held at the ginger factory. We weren’t sure what made it a festival – just seemed to be the usual shops and guided tours that are always there. Maybe there were more ginger plants around. It’s tradition to take a a macro closeup photo of a ginger flower when visiting the ginger factory.

We stayed a night at a town called Palmwoods and had a big night out at the Palmwoods Hotel watching a blues band called Jimmy Lips play live. We also went to the Big Pineapple and Ettamogah Pub. The pub may be a bit of a silly gimmick but it’s really beautiful inside – all timber, huge ceilings, unique design. We liked it.

Our last night we spent at a camp ground called Coochin Creek. We had some mullies to get rid of so spent the night fishing in the creek. Caught nothing because the damn crabs kept stealing my bait. The mosquitoes were in plaque proportions too.

That concludes this chapter of our trip around Australia. We’re taking a 4 month break to travel South East Asia!