Introduction
Another day and another beach! I am really loving this new blog series that I have begun, 'BEACH LIFE'. Yes it is still in its infancy stage and yes I am still finding my feet with filming the videos and uploading them to the 3Speak video platform, but as they say it is better to start somewhere and improve with time, rather than to think about something but never act on it.
Today's featured beach is the Maroochydore Beach. Maroochydore Beach is just off Alexandra Parade, the public parking for access to the beach is roughly located at 19 Alexandra Parade. This beach is just down the road from Alexandra Headland Beach, that I wrote about yesterday. If you would like to read about the beach that was featured yesterday, you can find the post here Alexandra Headland Beach, Sunshine Coast.
The Beach Entry
In hindsight, I should have taken a photo from the public car park to give you a better idea of the beach entry. It is actually quite a beautiful entry to the beach, with a long sandy pathway between natural bush and foliage. The view of the waves is impressive as you walk up the sandy pathway, it is a very inviting sight, especially on a hot morning like we experienced today.
3Speak Videos
I have included links to the 3Speak videos that I took this morning. These are short, raw and unedited videos, so they give you a real glimpse of the sights and sounds that we got to experience today at Maroochydore Beach.
1. Maroochydore Beach (Raw video, part 1)
2. Maroochydore Beach (Raw video, part 2)
Beautiful little beach flowers line both sides of the beach entry
General Warnings Sign
Each of the beaches around the Sunshine Coast have a general warnings sign that you should take note of when you are visiting the beaches around the coast. A lot of the general warnings will be repeated at most beaches, but some beaches will have warning that are unique to that beach.
The list of general warning for Maroochydore Beach are:
- NO LIFESAVING SERVICE
- SWIMMING NOT ADVISED
- STRONG CURRENTS
- DUMPING WAVES
- SLIPPERY ROCKS
- SUBMERGED OBJECTS
The sign also informs you that the nearest patrolled beach is approximately 350m up the beach. You will be able to see the swimmers at the patrolled beach in distance of some of the photos in this post.
Finally the sign gives you the regulations that apply to this beach:
- Dogs are allowed on the beach, but must remain on leash. This applies to beaches numbered from 137 - 145. This beach is 141.
- No littering is permitted on the beach.
- No fires are permitted on the beach.
- No camping is permitted on the beach.
The Dunes
As you come through the main entry onto this beach, you are greeted with beautiful sand dunes with tufts of natural foliage and little beach flowers here and there. As this is quite a secluded beach, you will often find sun bathers who have staked out their claim among the dunes so that they can catch some rays in peace and largely out of the sight of passers by.
There were about three or four sun bathers that I spotted this morning perched up on the sand dunes. Some were quite visible, while other were practically hidden from sight.
The Beach
As you can see from the photos below, this is a very secluded beach with very few people. This is the busy time of year on the Sunshine Coast, so most of the popular beaches are packed with people, umbrellas and cabanas. ☂️
It is a very long and flat beach, so even if it did get busier, it is very easy to space yourself out so that you are not right alongside the person next to you. Each time I visit this beach, I come across a number of beach goers that have come to the beach by themselves, most likely to just enjoy their own company, reading a book and relaxing.
The Sights and Scenes
There were a few sea gulls on the beach this morning, this is your typical Australian sea gull, you know the ones from the Finding Nemo movies that are always after a feed. When ever we get fish and chips at the beach, these guys rock up. The kids love it of course and as soon as they see a sea gull they reach for a chip to toss at it for food. As parents we try to stop them, because as soon as you feed one sea gull, all their mates will arrive shortly afterwards to harass you for more chips.
This amazing piece drift wood was on the beach this morning. I am not sure if it has recently washed up on the beach with the storms that we've had or whether it has been on this beach for some time, but I could not resist capturing a photo of it.
This couple were walking on the beach and having a lot of fun with their dog, they were also obeying the beach regulations by keeping their dog on its leash. 😁 The lady and the dog decided to have a swim in the ocean, but the man did not. I must say that it looked very refreshing.
My daughter could not resist getting her legs wet in the waves. I also took my shoes off to feel the sand and water between my toes.
As you can see in the background, the waves are still quite large from the recent stormy weather that we have had. Shortly after I took this photo a larger wave washed through.
My daughter and I quickly retreated, but unfortunately she did not move quite fast enough and the wave ended up soaking her shorts.
My shoes as you can see got washed further up the beach, I had to quickly retrieve them before the next big wave came through and almost took them out to sea.
The last photo in this post is a panoramic shot that I took before we left. It gives you an idea of just how empty this beach was, it was great!
