Uncategorized – Rich Struck

Wurtulla Beach

I shouldn’t tell you about this particular beach but the world is destined to find it anyway so I doubt this article will make any difference with that. The reason I hesitate is because this is the perfect beach and we don’t want a bunch of people ruining it. With that in mind, I know my readers will be gentle and not mess this up.

Wurtulla Beach is situated in Wurtulla, Queensland, on the Sunshine Coast. It’s about 2 hours north of Brisbane, give or take a bit, and about 15 minutes north of Caloundra, again, give or take a bit depending on traffic. Simply go up Nicklin Way from Caloundra and keep an eye out for the turn down Moondara Ave. Take that all the way down to a T intersection then go left. Proceed a few blocks until you see the beach entrance on the right. There is almost always an abundance of on-street parking. There is a trail that will lead you right to the beach.

Some of the reasons we like this beach so much is that it is quiet, dogs are allowed, and pretty much all of the people we’ve met there are super friendly. It’s a popular spot for surfers and swimmers alike but there are no lifeguards on duty, you’ll have to walk up the beach a bit to the flags for that. If you are swimming, and especially if you are new to swimming in the surf, I would urge you to walk up the beach to the flags so someone can keep an eye on you.

Dogs are allowed on the beach but you must clean up after them. Nothing ruins a good beach walk like stepping on a dog turd. Even worse, some people will go through the trouble of bagging their dog’s poop and then leaving the bag behind on the beach. I’ll never understand that. Fortunately, this problem seems to have abated in recent months. So if you bring your dog, please, for the love of God, clean up after it.

This is a popular surfing beach with an abundance of good waves. Some days are better than others but overall you should have good luck here. People come from all over the area to surf here but interestingly enough, there still always seems to be a good parking spot. One of the mysteries of Wurtulla Beach I suppose.

About halfway down the trail to the beach, you’ll find some bathrooms so that is pretty good and down at the end of the trail there is a gazebo where you can sit for a bit or check out the surf. Inevitably, the people you run into there are in a good mood and friendly. You are likely to meet a dog or two here so keep that in mind.

Once you get down to the beach, you’ll be surprised at how few people there are, even on busy days. The beach goes on seemingly forever so that would account for this observation I suppose. The flagged area to the north can be crowded but again, even on a busy day it isn’t too bad.

The entrances to the beach are all in quiet neighbourhoods so do the right thing and don’t disturb the residents. I’m sure it kind of sucks for them to have people parking in front of their homes but that is one of the trade-offs for living so close to a beach. Nonetheless, please have some common sense in this regard and avoid annoying the locals.

So there you go, I’ve spilled the beans on a great hidden beach, please don’t ruin it!

Sea Life Aquarium

All about Sea Life

Queensland Air Museum

Today I took a client to the Queensland Air Museum, right here in beautiful Caloundra. I have to admit, I’ve seen the sign for it a million times but never gave it much thought. My client, however, a former glider pilot, told me that it was a cool place and that we should check it out. So we did!

Established in XXXX, the museum spans two hectares and has several outbuildings and there are planes outside as well. Once you pay your admittance fee of XXXX, you can explore at will. There are signs describing most of the planes but, extraordinarily, you can add a guided tour at no extra cost. “Free” is not a word used very much on the Sunshine Coast so I would urge you to take advantage of the offer.

Unlike a lot of attractions in our humble tourist town, the Air Museum doesn’t have a touristy vibe at all; in fact, it seems to exist solely to educate which is a refreshing change. The volunteers who work there all went out of their way to make us feel at home without being pushy or annoying about it. In talking to them, I realised that they weren’t here for the money, of which there is $0 because they are volunteers, but rather they are passionate about aviation and simply want to share information.

The museum is home to dozens and dozens of aircraft, many of which are undergoing restoration. My understanding is that they don’t get them back in the air because it would be too expensive. They do, however, bring them back to life for educational purposes and as you’ll see at the museum, that is really good enough. Still, it would be kind of cool if you could take one up but there are plenty of other ways to get airborne on the Sunshine Coast.

Most impressive to me was the widely contrasting variety of planes. For example, they had this weird little crop-duster as well as the DC-3. I’ve been to places where it is just row after row of the same stuff (certain car museums for example) and they are so god-awful boring but no, the Queensland Air Museum was nothing like that at all, it was one of the more interesting attractions I’ve seen here in Queensland. I can’t believe I drove right past it all these years without having stopped. My mistake.

So there you go, a quick introduction to one of the more interesting attractions here on the Sunshine Coast. It’s not terribly expensive (for once you get your money’s worth) and it is far more engaging than most other touristy destinations.

Best chicken burger on the planet!

It’s $20 or so and totally worth it but there is one very big problem – I can’t remember where in Montville I found it! All I can recall is that it is down the hill a few doors down from the waffle place. *bangs head on desk!*. It was just a little joint run by some very friendly Asian dudes. I’ll try to get back there soon, I’m sure I can find it.