On the Coast – Over 55 Issue 33 I January/February 2020 | страница 18

Fast Facts
Newport Mooloolaba
Apartments
Set in a high-rise building
overlooking the Coral Sea, this
apartment hotel is a 2-minute
walk from Underwater World
SEA LIFE Mooloolaba and 60-
secs to Mooloolaba Beach.
Studio to 3-bedroom
apartments come with
kitchenettes, free Wi-Fi, TVs
and balconies (some with sea
views). The 1 to 3 bedroom
apartments add open-plan
kitchens, living/
dining areas
and additional
bathrooms.
The hotel offers
an outdoor pool,
a hot tub and a
sauna, plus tropical
landscaped
gardens and
BBQ facilities.
Free parking is
available.
Phone
[phone]
18
O N T H E C OA S T – OV ER 5 5
The following morning, we breakfast at
Mooloolaba Surf Club. The views are the
best in the strip as you are so close to the
beach you smell the kelp. You know it’s
good when it’s chockers with canny
seniors reading menus at arm’s length.
Bacon and eggs are only $9 and, unless
you’re a sumo wrestler, you can’t finish it.
However, the coffee is appalling but don’t
fret, there is a plethora of toe-curling coffee
shops along the pretty undulating strip.
Later that afternoon, we discover
an excellent senior-friendly bespoke
beach-walk along the mangroves and
saltbush. Indeed, less mobile readers of
this column will find it easy-going, with
plenty of rest-stops, shaded by the fake
eyelashes of wind-tickled she-oaks. At
walk’s end, we find
the magnificent
breakwater. This
would be a great
place to drop a line
as it’s rather deep
water. But I am
without rod and
reel this trip. Bugger.
Done it again.
The following
day we explore
neighbouring
Maroochydore and
the famous Sunshine
Plaza, the largest
shopping centre on
the Sunshine Coast. It
has wide variety of shops and eateries,
a cinema and tranquil walkways
along the canal. We then stroll along
the Maroochydore waterfront proper
and can’t help but compare it with
Mooloolaba. It doesn’t quite stack up in
our book but being the Sunshine Coast
has its own unique charm.
Later that day we explore the nearby
town of Nambor – from the Aboriginal
“naamba”, the red-flowering tea-tree.
Originally called Petrie’s Creek, it was
renamed after the Nambour cattle station
in 1891. Here we find the fabulous Bison
Bar, tucked away rather innocuously in
the bowels of a suburban shopping
centre. With its Art Deco vintage vibe
and Melbourne bar-scene aesthetic, we
listen to great jazz and imbibe a choice
selection of craft beers among young
tattooed people in flat caps.
Later that evening, with our million
dollar views, we simply dine in our
apartment. Coles is around the corner and
a BWS only a liver replacement away. We
soon return with a frozen lasagna and
burn it in the oven while we get sloshed.
Seniors need to factor in savings on posh
restaurants when staying in a suite. But
avoid burning those savings in your quest
for thrift. However, it’s nice to have a
night in with a DVD. From our balcony on
the eleventh floor, we watch the sun paint
the sky over the sea in coral reds, as
seabirds wheel below us. Soon the long
hiss of the sea lulls us to sleep.