A Long Weekend In Coolum

April was a busy month for us with the office move and all the public holidays. As a contracting business, public holidays always add to our busy-ness so you can imagine with 4 weeks of them in a row, it was a bit chaotic.

So now that they're all over, we decided to take our own long weekend and book an airbnb for a few nights in Coolum. It was good timing because Rolys grandad Bob, who has just moved to Coolum, turned 95 so he took him out on the golf course for a special treat. It meant that we also got to catch up with lots of other family and Max's Granny and Grandad stayed with us too.

Sadly, I didn't get to pick up the camera quite as much as I would have liked though. It's always the way...I find the balance between relaxing and recording memories a bit tricky. Sometimes picking up the camera feels good and at other times, it feels like it's taking away from my enjoyment of the moment.

I did manage to put together this little clip though and below that is my mini-guide to Coolum with family.

Accommodation - it's hard to go past Airbnb for a dog and kid friendly place to stay when visiting the Sunshine Coast. The place we found was affordable, had a yard, was close to the beach and right next to a playground. Because the grandparents ended up coming up too, we also had the spare space to accomodate them!

Beach Walks - Stumers Creek dog-friendly beach and inlet is perfect. A lot of dog beaches aren't equipped with very good amenities but this place has well-maintained loos, picnic tables, a dog-rinsing tap and usually there's a coffee van in the car park. Best of all is the calm water of the creek as it reaches for the ocean and if you're lucky, you might see some skydivers landing!

Golf - Roly took Grandad around the Palmer Coolum for a little hit. Now, Mr Palmer has been in the news of late, and has seriously let this gem slide - it's expensive for a round but it really is beautiful so I'm hopeful that it can return to it's former glory one day. Max, Honey and I mooched around the club house and 10th hole for an hour or so and we saw maybe two or three cars drive in. It's sad - but for the golfers, Coolum is a great spot as Mount Coolum golf course is nearby too. (also, no one said anything about me having our dog with us...I wouldn't have done this with a busy course!)

Eats

New Earth Cafe is a little tricky to find at first but the smoothies are worth it. I love the menu here, it feels like a proper beach getaway when you tuck into some super healthy food. The raw treats and cold pressed juices..yum!

The Daily Dose is walking distance from the place we stay at (I say stay at as we will be rebooking the same place for our next trip - it was perfect!) and while it's tucked away in a little IGA shopping corner, don't underestimate this little gem. The coffee and food were so good on morning one, we went back every day. They're opened really early, especially for the coast so that got them an extra star for the early crew! Plus, they're licenced and open late Thurs-Sat so even better!

There are so many other fun things to do in Coolum and it's in such a lovely location. It has a slower pace than Noosa or Mooloolaba but is only 20-30 mins drive if you want to explore either of those places too. We're really lucky that we are so close to the Sunshine Coast and I love that we will be able to experience it in different ways as our family grows!

Rachelle x