One of the advantages of self-drive is you can make detours to your itinerary without a fuss (thanks Hertz, for the car!). On our drive back from Noosa to Gold Coast, we decided to drive to the Montville hinterland.
Montville is a quaint town in the mountains with craft shops, specialist boutiques, galleries and cute cafes.
My wife, ever the scone fan, was determined to find Poets Cafe and have tea with scones there.
We got a little lost driving in Montville, trying to get back to the highway to Gold Coast. Our GPS got confused due to some road closures. But getting lost was how we stumbled across some stunning scenic lookouts and a road that cuts through a forest of giant trees. It was totally worth it.
We finally got to Surfers Paradise and checked into the new Hilton Surfers Paradise. This is a swanky hotel near the beach. This is the view from our room.
The next day, we explored Surfers Paradise and decided to go Jet Boating. The high-speed 45-minute ride takes you to some awesome man-made islands around the Broadwater area and you can see the waterfront mansions of the rich and also wallabies eating seaweed on deserted mangrove islands.
I had some dubious oyster earlier and my tummy wasn't well, so on hindsight, it may not have been a good idea to take a jet boat that does white-knuckle 360º turns every time the jet boat pilot/tour guide makes a circle in the air with his finger.
That's the wife on the right. I shan't show you my own face because it was green. We were all in raincoats and life jackets. Trust me, you need to wear the provided raincoat. Lots of splashing water when the jet boat twists and turns during the thrill bits.
After the jet boat ride, we walked along the Mariners Cove Marina to have lunch. The wife wanted fish and chips. Again.
This bird hung around for a piece of the action from my wife's fish and chips. His patience was rewarded with some chips. We are just glad they didn't tell his friends to come for the buffet too.
Sunset was spent walking along Main Beach. Very feeling hor?
Even though it is winter (12-22ºC temperatures) there were still some surfing.
No, I told this bird. I don't have any fish and chips with me. Just memories of a lovely time with the wife on this relaxing trip to the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.
