Maroochydore

We had been undecided which way to to travel up to Jason's from Esk, would we stay inland or go via the Sunshine Coast, the Sunshine Coast won. We booked into the Cotton Tree Caravan Park for four nights and we were quite surprised that it was only half full with the Grey Nomads. I think we may have been a week or two in front of them as we hear that this park is very popular and hard to get into in the peak times. The park is in a great location fronts onto a surf beach and the Maroochy River, so very popular for the surf enthusiast as well as the Grey Nomads that also frequent the bowls club just up the road. The Sunshine Plaza is amazing where we found a fantastic range of retail stores, restaurants and Cinema, we still didn't see all of it even after two hours wondering this vast shopping complex. Poor Baz got a little disorientated and needed to see daylight.

Wednesday we visited the Eumundi Market which is the biggest art and craft market in Australia with around 600 stalls. Wish they would set up the stalls so you could methodically walk up and down and know that you had seen them all, there were alley ways going in all directions a bit like a maze.

We travelled down as far as Mooloolaba and up to Coolum reacquainting ourselves with the area as for many years we have bypassed the Sunshine Coast on our way to and from the Gold Coast and Central Queensland.

Looking toward Mooloolaba

Cruise Ship off Mooloolaba

Mooloolaba

Point Cartwright Light House

Mural painted reservoir Point Cartwright

Eumundi main street

A Macaw from Maleny's Botanic Gardens
and Bird World

Eumundi Market

Sunset Maroochydore

Maroochydore

Esk

Our next stop for four nights was Esk, where we attended the 2019 Jurgens Jamboree. It was a statewide gathering and an interesting few days, with 65 vans and the crew from the Jurgens factory doing a presentation and answering questions and helping people with individual problems with their vans.

We were coming out of the camp kitchen one evening when we saw a koala lumbering along on it’s mission to find a new gum tree. Unfortunately I didn’t have my phone handy to get a photo.

For a couple of nights while at Esk we had rain which would soon pass through but as our site was under a tree we were left with the dripping all night.  I ended up with earphones and my music playing, trying to drown out the noise, felt very sleep deprived.

Jurgen Caravan Owners

Some people like clutter, permanent site in the park