Sunshine and Alexandria Beaches

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PARKING above the Sunshine Beach Surf Lifesaving Club, I headed down to the beach following it northward towards the low hills of the Noosa Headlands. Upon reaching the start of the headlands, I followed a track stairway up the side of the hill to a lookout where I could see back along the beach all the way to Point Arkwright and Mount Coolum, with Point Cartwright just visible in the far distance.

From the lookout I continued following the track rising across the top of the hill. Once at the top it began a slow descent above the steep cliffs of Hell's Gates heading towards the tranquil Alexandria Bay. Beyond the headlands I could see out to the Cooloola Sandmass right up to Double Island Point.

The track continued descending through the scrub with marker posts every hundred metres or so until reaching the rocks above the beach where a worn track lead down to the sand. I followed the beach crossing a small creek then walking up to the next creek where I turned around and started returning towards Sunshine Beach.

Upon reaching the end of Alexandria Bay, I followed the main track back up the hill, but diverted along a side track to head out over one of the headlands of Hell's Gates to watch the waves churn up against the solid rock walls below me. After resting there for a while, I returned to the main track and headed back up the hill and over to the lookout before descending back to Sunshine Beach and walking along it with the tide coming in.

Upon reaching the surf lifesaving club, I continued walking along the beach crossing a couple of small ochre stained streams crossing onto Sunrise Beach, then Marcus Beach. Noosa Headlands was getting quite far back now, and the beach ahead of me stretched a long way towards Coolum a good twelve kilometres away. Here I decided to take one of the paths off the beach onto the sealed path running along the length of the Sunshine Coast.

Once on the track I walked back up towards Sunshine Beach rising and falling with the large bluffs graced with large houses on either side of the winding road. At some point I returned to the beach and walked along it back to the surf lifesaving club.