I don’t think I’ve ever celebrated my birthday at the beach. Well, maybe when I was little we may have gone down to Lake Superior to throw rocks at Brighton Beach, but I know that I have never spent my birthday sitting on hot sand, swimming in clear blue waters, and lazily turning pages of a book while listening to the sound of the waves.
Until this year.
I was so happy our regular Monday trip coincided with my birthday because it meant a day off from working on school stuff and a day off from thinking, in general. As per my usual Monday routine, I woke up early, did my online office hours (which no one ever comes to except for former students and friends – some things never change), packed a bag for the beach, and was in the car by 10:15am. We headed north on the M1 to try out a different beach near Noosa. Last week we did Coolum, which is further south of Noosa; Peregian is just north of Coolum. In fact, you can see Point Perry jutting out over the sea from the beach at Peregian.
I really like the drive from our house to the Noosa area. Granted, it’s typical highway driving, but I really like reading the signs of places and roads. Here’s a map for you:
Some of my favourite names are
- Burpengary
- Caboolture
- Sippy Downs
- Bli Bli Road
And I love the Yandina-Coolum Road. As you can see on the map, it curves alongside the Maroochy River, crosses a couple creeks, and comes out at Coolum. It takes us past sugar cane fields, little forests, and pastures. I really like that drive.
The funniest part of this entire trip was the first sight we saw on the beach: naked people. Well, only two naked people and I honestly couldn’t be sure if they were entirely naked or just topless. Either way, it was amusing. Especially since they were camped out directly below the lifeguard. This, of course, led me to Google “nude beaches Queensland”.
Go ahead and check it out. I’ll wait…………
<dance break>
Yeah, so you and I both figured out that it isn’t legal to sunbathe in the nude in Queensland, but there are some places where it is more acceptable. The beach we were on wasn’t one of those places. One article I read about nude beaches stated that people in Queensland weren’t keen on allowing it because there was the fear that deviants would start going to the beaches. Oh, please. Don’t even get me started.
The wind may have been a little strong at the beach, but the water was refreshing (read: a bit cold), the sun was hot, and the sushi we had for lunch at a little place just up from the beach was perfect. All in all, it was both a perfect birthday and a perfect Monday trip.
-C
Dispatches from Australia 