Odds and Ends

Eating out in Noosa: Two suggestions in case you decide to take an overnight trip to Noosa and the Sunshine coast. If you are looking for an inexpensive meal then you should try the wharf at Tewantin. Go to the fish and chip spot and take your own wine. Second one is to go to the Tewantin Golf Club. We went there the other night and had 4 great meals. Very nicely presented and the cost ranged from $11 to $20. Give it a try, it has the best club food on the coast.

Eumundi Markets: Don't forget to time your trip up this way so that you are here on a Wednesday or Saturday. This is when the Eumundi Market is open. It is huge and you can spend at 4 hours there. When in Eumundi make sure you go into the Red Desert Gallery. They have perhaps the best collection of AAboriginal Art in Australia. It may not be the largest but the quality is outstanding. Ask Paul Curtis the owner about the art and the artists. He loves what he does and likes to educate. He has some works there for around $20,000. But you might find and excellent piece to fit your budget if you wanted to spend say $1000 or more. If you are considering a purchase you should spend some time with him to educate yourself on the different styles from the different areas of Australia. I guarantee that a hour with him will make you appreciate the art. If you do not want to go that far, 3 hrs, then you could try the gallery at Brunswick Heads about 1 hr south in NSW. It is good but no where near as good as Paul's.

Each year some golfers spend some big bucks on art. It is worth your time to talk to these people and become informed.

Golf: I have been coming this way for a number of years. During that time I have played most of the courses. However, I have always by passed the Horton Course in Maroochedore. I think because they never offered any discounts. We played it the other day and thought it was great. Very nice holes, lots of different trees and birds. Plenty of water and bunkers but the fairway were wide so you could avoid the water most of the time. The fairways were couch grass which is the same as the greens in Australia. Course plays long and is well worth the $40 but they give you a $5 drink coupon. I think it is a solid 4 star course. The other good part it is just across the street from the Sunshine Plaza (best mall on the Sunshine Coast). Why is this good, because you can park your car at the course and your spouses can walk across the road and shop for 4 hours while you pay a golf.

As far as I can tell they have two basic grass styles: Sir Walter Raleigh and Couch. Couch is grass with small blades something like rye grass in Canada. Sir Walter is much like quack grass. A broad leaf with roots running along the top. Something like the grass in southern USA. Couch is also the grass that is used on the greens. Both grasses are drought resistant. Couch makes the course look and feel more expensive.

Weather: The has changed a bit this last week. It used to rain at night and be nice during the day. About a week ago it changed so that we are now getting rain during the day as well. You might get a sun shower or a down pour. Most days the time between showers is 3 or 4 hrs with blue sky appeating say around noon. It has been a little cooler with highs around 27 or 28 and night about 22.