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Written by Adrienne Costin
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Thursday, 08 February 2007 |
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Take the road to adventure in a motorhome
By Adrienne Costin
The road to adventure stretched promisingly before us as the children strapped themselves safely into the back seats of the motorhome and grabbed the playstation controls with eager hands.
They’d talked about the Playstation for days. In fact it seemed far more exciting to the trio than the fact they were having their first holiday in a motorhome and were getting time away from school.
The impressive Maui Spirit 6 came with just about everything including the kitchen sink - bedding, towels, crockery, cutlery, matches and so on. Paperwork and operational run-downs quickly completed, we headed off into the wide blue yonder, Mum at the wheel, offspring in the back in full games mode! Our plan was to spend a couple of days exploring north of Brisbane, taking in the areas around the Sunshine Coast and Gympie.
Prying the kids away from the machine to take a step back in time at the Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology at Caboolture wasn’t easy, but with the temptation of a full-size knight and mummfied foot, their attention was transferred. The huge oil urn at the entrance is a worthy introduction to this impressive display of artefacts, ceramics, paintings and sculpture taking in the past 500,000 years of human history.
Back onto the highway with a suggestion to the child who was feeling car sick she hand over the controller to her older sister and turn her gaze out the window as we drove to get lost at Bellingham Maze at Tanawha. This is not a test for the vague or directionally-challenged as the traditional star-shaped hedge maze comprises 1000 trees and has six entrances, only one leading to the fountain at the centre. The real test is getting out as a hedge looks like a row of trees looks like a hedge! We gave up after almost an hour and took the easy option at the ‘give up’ gate.
The Big 4 Forest Glen Resort was another welcome surprise on this journey. Friendly staff, excellent facilities and a rainforest backdrop made this a great stop despite the highway being literally next door. After an afternoon of mini-golf, trampolining, swimming and jumping on the enormous air pillow, we grabbed a tasty meal at the on-site restaurant and took advantage of the free recent release screened each night for patrons. A well-equipped library also tempted us, but wasn’t open during this visit. Accommodation options included powered, unpowered and ensuite camp sites, villas and suites. Prices start from $27 a day for an unpowered camp site and $90 a day for two people in a standard villa. Special rates are also available for Maui hire customers.
After a few days exploring the country around Gympie and enjoying the comforts of the Maui as our sole means of accommodation, it was time to head back to civilization to check out one of Noosa’s great secrets, the Noosa North Shore. Located just 100 metres from Lake Cooroibah and 20 minutes from Hastings Street, this is a gorgeous destination for everyone and can be reached by conventional car. Access is via the vehicular ferry from Tewantin and a sealed road to the resort. We visited as day trippers and enjoyed a pleasant hour on horseback learning the finer points of riding at the equestrian centre run by former Olympian Alex Watson and a team of expert instructors. It’s a great spot for horse lovers, with beach rides and longer treks available. Guests can bring their own horses and house them at the resort.
No visit to the Sunshine Coast is complete without a visit to the beach, so a quick detour to Golden Beach at Caloundra was called for. Time to grab the scooters and go for a ride along the waterfront on this magic afternoon. The water and the sky were competing to present the most brilliant colour and the pelicans were posing like world-class models on the shore.
All three children were unanimous in their support for their holiday in the motorhome, but I do suspect the clincher was the playstation. It such a hit they didn’t once ask to watch TV. Guess that’s what you call a mixed blessing! As for Mum, the whole experience, even with the playstation was one well worth repeating. Maui motorhomes have a minimum hire period of seven days and prices start from $220 per day (valid 1st Feb to 31st March, 2007) for a six-berth vehicle. For a full list of vehicle configurations and rental locations throughout Australia visit www.maui.com.au or call 1300 363 800.
For more information on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast visit www.sunshinecoast.org.au
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 08 February 2007 )
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Friday, 16 May 2008
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