We had a delightful day out on the water last Friday. A short drive over to the coast, then a 90 minute ferry trip along the Noosa river and a picnic on the shore. I took chicken sandwiches and some homemade coleslaw, buttered cinnamon loaf, black tea and water. We dined like the king and queen and we had a day out to remember.
Simple pleasures.
Simple pleasures.
We live in the area of Queensland called the Sunshine Coast and (for the international readers) if you look at your map, that is just above Brisbane, the capital city and half way up the east coast of our country. It's one of the fastest growing regions in Australia - everyone comes here for the climate. This area has traditionally been a tourist area along the coast, and where we live in the hinterland, more dairy and timber country. It's beautiful here. The temperature never goes below freezing, and rarely even close to it, and it has good rainfall, about 1900mm/75 inches a year. We have the major portion of that rain during the summer.
Noosa is seen in the rest of Australia as a great destination for a holiday and while it is beautiful, the locals know that it is around the other end of the coast - around Caloundra - that is best for fishing, swimming and just plain lazing around. The great thing about Noosa is that the Council there limits development and population. It's abut 10,000 off its population limit at the moment and there are no buildings built above the tree lines.
We enjoyed our day cruising along the river. On one side of the ferry there were multi-million dollar homes and on the other side, more simple dwellings with no electricity or water, built on the beach. We passed by pelicans that are returning to the coast now that the inland water of the past three years is beginning to dry up. There were quite a few houseboats, men standing and paddling on surfboards, men and women fishing, picnickers, tourists and locals all taking it in and slowly going about their day. We spent a grand day sitting back, relaxing and taking in the sights.
It did us the world of good to just stop everything and relax for the day. With the recent upheaval caused by Hanno's accident and the subsequent frequent trips out to visit the hospital, doctor, OT and pathologist, we needed a day such as this to just look around, refocus and enjoy where we live and each other.
It did us the world of good to just stop everything and relax for the day. With the recent upheaval caused by Hanno's accident and the subsequent frequent trips out to visit the hospital, doctor, OT and pathologist, we needed a day such as this to just look around, refocus and enjoy where we live and each other.
good for you!
ReplyDeletesimple pleasures are so often the very best!
wonderful photos!
I hope he continues to heal well!
You both deserve more of these loving days together.
ReplyDeleteLove from Holland!
I am so glad you had a good day out. I do hope Hanno will be all healed soon.
ReplyDeleteLovely to see you both enjoying life! Hanno looks well again, so hopefully recovering quickly after that nasty accident.
ReplyDeleteDays together are precious. Best make the most of every moment you have to relax and be together.
Glad you could have such a simply beautiful day. It does look very relaxing. I had the notion to make up a picnic that we could have over near the pond at the local park this week. I think you've given me more motivation.
ReplyDeleteYou both look so relaxed. This is a lovely post and you certainly do live in a beautiful part of Australia. good to see you getting back to the good life.
ReplyDeleteBlessings Gail
Glad you had such a lovely day out Rhonda and that Hanno is recovering from his accident.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos of a lovely place.
Glad you had a lovely relaxing day. Though as a Noosa resident I naturally have to disagree that there's anywhere on the Sunshine Coast that's better!
ReplyDeletexx
What a lovely thing to do to relax. I'm so glad Hanno is feeling better. I haven't been to Queensland for twelve years but this post reminds me of a wonderful 7 week camping holiday I took. Just me and Rosie. She was seven at the time and we had the adventure of our lives!
ReplyDeleteFriends of mine moved this year close to Noosa and I think they love it. The area certainly looks beautiful.
ReplyDeleteIt does you good to occasionally get out in the fresh air and see some new sights. It's been three months since I've been home, unable to drive, so the two of us took off and had some lunch overlooking the ocean last weekend. NOT that I've been complaining, I've actually enjoyed the being-at-home aspect.
Glad to hear and see that Hanno is coming along well. Keep doing that OT (and physio when it starts), Hanno!
Ree xxx
A lovely post Rhonda. So pleased to see you and Hanno taking a day off and enjoying a day just relaxing on the river.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely time for you and Hanno! Thank you for sharing the pictures and the location of where ya'll are so that I can look that up on my globe. We live on the Gulf Coast here in northwest Florida. We also enjoy the great temperatures, the swimming,fishing, and the seagulls and pelicans.What a glorius planet we live on. Blessings, Carolyn Gilbert
ReplyDelete"We dined like the King and Queen" how gorgeous Rhonda!and what a lovely day you must have had!the photo's are gorgeous,thank you for sharing,i just love Picnic's!xx
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely day after all that has happened its just great to get out and just be together, my husband and i do that, and you always come back refreshed and with new vigour.
ReplyDeleteSue
Dear Rhonda and Hanno ~ What a lovely day the two of you had, just what you needed. I'm sure it did the both of you a world of healing good.
ReplyDeleteI want to thank you for the link to my creative blog.
I am inspired by your life, and this afternoon thought of you as I wrapped up my celery in aluminum foil. It definitely stays fresher wrapped that way.
Love and hugs to the both of you ~ FlowerLady
It sounds like just the right medicine for both of you after the last few weeks you've had. Noosa is my favourite spot to go and visit on the coast. :)
ReplyDeleteNothing like that relaxing time with hubby! We visited Noosa on our only holiday to Queensland about 5 years ago, I would love to go again one day and see it from my 'newish' simple life perspective! xxx Thanks so much for the mention too! xx
ReplyDeletePleased you had an enjoyable day. We did that river cruise many many years ago and it was very relaxing and a different way of seeing the area.
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What a terrific way for you two to have a nice day out and recharge your batteries.
ReplyDeleteI have to say the more I read, the more I want to pack up and move from the US to Australia. It just seems so lovely.
What a beautiful day to be out enjoying the world around you! I'm so glad you had such a nice time. Thank you so much for sharing the wonderful pictures from your day out. I enjoy seeing Australia through your lens :) Hugs
ReplyDeleteA perfect way to recharge and kick back and enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI admit, every time I read your blog it makes me want to pack it all up and leave the States for Australia. It just seems to lovely there.
Oh! It is SO good to see Hanno out and about with you, looking more like his usual self. I hope that it won't be too long until his hand is mended. After everything you've been through recently, you both look wonderfully relaxed.
ReplyDeleteLorna
(I'm not really anonymous, I just don't have a blog or a profile)
My husband and I had our honeymoon up in Noosa 17 years ago. We went back for our 10th wedding anniversary and did the Noosa river cruise. It was such a lovely day. Back in 2009 we took our girls to Queensland for a month. During our holiday we spent two weeks in Noosa. We love to go to Hastings Street, have a cuppa and watch the world go by. Great holiday destination .
ReplyDeleteHi Rhonda, I've done the Noosa cruise and picnic too. When we stopped for lunch at the picnic tables, there were HUGE goannas lying all around the area. I am not a native Australian, so I was a bit freaked out at first! It was a lovely day just the same. I've been reading your blog for some months now and I just wanted to say thank you for all the information and inspiration. I tried the foil and celery, and it has worked great for me. I also have made lots of homemade bread and am growing tomatoes and some other things too. debbie
ReplyDeleteOh how I would love to have a home near the coast. That is my dream retirement location. For some reason I feel a peace when I am at the ocean that I am unable to reproduce anywhere else. No other vacation has ever induced such an inner peace. It is like I have come "home". The roar of the ocean is more peaceful than the gentlest of lullabies and the smell of the salt water better than the smell of any gourmet meal. Some day I WILL have a home near the water. I am determined. It is just that in the US most ocean front areas are just SO expensive. While I would love to live right on the beach, I realize that that is probably an impossibility and I would be happy a block or two off shore, close enough that I could get to my beloved beach on a golf cart. With my health declining, walking there isn't a viable option. But I still dream about a home of my own on the beach. Nothing big...just enough for DH and I to live a comfortable, simple life.
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A picnic is an excellent example of simple living. An outing fit for royalty yet priced for the poor. My family and I recently had a wonderful picnic on top of a rolling hill overlooking the sea. It felt like we were in a movie.
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