Beach Travel Wine Podcast

Well, you can’t say we don’t take you to some interesting places.  This week’s episode is another in our Aussie Summer series here on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland Australia.  We are heading about 20 minutes inland from the beach to one of the most visited places in the area.  It is the picturesque village of Eumundi.  Eumundi is famous in Australia and with international visitors as it has the biggest Artisan market in the country, and it is just a gorgeous little village. The market’s slogan is "make it, bake it, sew it grow it" – so there are no cheap overseas products to be found here. We take you down the shady tree-lined terraced avenues filled with every imaginable stall you can think of, including many delicious food vendors. We even do a quick impromptu interview with a nice guy who makes the best pineapple juice I have ever tasted. We also tell you about the very unique annual event that happens in Eumundi – it is the body art festival, which is Australia’s premier body art event and is a celebration of the passionate body painting industry. Stay listening to the end when we leave Eumundi and drive 9km to a new lunch and dinner venue that is quickly becoming the hottest place on the Sunshine Coast.  It is called The Doonan, and we were left speechless by the whole place. If you would like to see the pictures I took as we walked around Eumundi or The Doonan or any of the links we mention – then click here www.beachtravelwine.com/podcast/89/eumundi

This week Lyle and I take you exploring the gorgeous Sunshine Coast hinterland area.  In particular we record live as we walk around Montville which is an amazing little village perched right on the edge of the escarpment of the Blackhall ranges 500 metres above sea level. We start in a secret park area full of ponds and lush vegetation.  Listen as we share just how stunning it is and you can hear all the birds singing in the background. Next, we take you with us along this quaint main street of Montville Village. Tourists flock to this main street and We share why, including all the unique shops, cafes, galleries, that make this village so popular.  Even the footpath gets a shout out.  I tell you about my favourite dress shop – and not just because of the clothes, but also the dressing room with no curtains. We half-jokingly call Montville the wedding capital of the world and you will understand why after his episode. Nothing in this little village is ordinary – in fact, most things are extraordinary – including the world-famous purpose-built wedding chapel.  It is like nothing you have ever seen before. I tell you about my favourite spot in the main street and why and we finally make it to the top of town (a little bit puffed) where we used to live and run a business.  We tell you all about our time here and the most beautiful beer garden we visited many times. Finally, we wander across the road to share the most spectacular view that is Instagram famous.  Imagine every shade of green, forests, farmlands, hills, all gently rolling down all the way to the white strip of sand that lines the sparking blue Pacific Ocean – just spectacular, and you can enjoy a coffee, meal or cold drink (I mean wine obviously) while taking in the view. Stay listening to the end when we tell you all about the incredible national parks that surround Montville and the most popular hikes that form part of Sunshine Coast Hinterland Great Walk.  The Sunshine Coast hinterland is one of the most popular weekend getaway spots in the country and for good reason.  Please enjoy episode 88. To see all the pictures from this episode click here www.beachtravelwine.com/podcast/88/montville

Today we are taking you for a walk all around Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast as we continue our Australian summer series. We used to live here and we just love it and you will see why when you listen to this episode. The Sunshine Coast is a massive tourist area in Queensland Australia and Mooloolaba is one of the most popular spots for holiday makers – and for good reason.  We tell you all about the water activities available here including whale watching, scuba diving and sunset cruises. It is also home to the Mooloolaba Marina which houses up to 100 boats. We tell you about the newest and most popular dining spot in Mooloolaba and of course our favourite restaurant in the whole of the Sunshine Coast because of the fabulous food but also for another surprising reason. Come with us as we stroll past Underwater World Sea Life Aquarium and I tell you all about my visit here a couple of weeks ago and what you can expect to see.  Next, we take you along the walkway through the dunes to parklands, barbecue areas, playgrounds and then to the “Seafood Precinct”. This is where all the fishing trawlers arrive each day with fresh seafood and you can buy it directly from the fish markets – or eat at one of the many restaurants that serve the local catch. Finally, we go to the famous Mooloolaba surf club and the patrolled beach area which is buzzing with families on the beach, along the parkland and in the playgrounds all the way to the Loo with a view. Lyle and I share a couple of hilarious stories from our boogie boarding days at this beach. Stay listening when we eventually end up at the most popular café, restaurant and shopping area in Mooloolaba. We give you some great info on best places to stay, where to buy your supplies and then we finish with a love story that went viral about a French girl and guy she met in Mooloolaba and her quest to find him. Please enjoy this fun Aussie summer episode all about Mooloolaba. If you would like to see all the pictures from this episode then click here www.beachtravelwine.com/podcast/87/mooloolaba Click here to see all our Australian podcasts www.beachtravelwine.com/australia or here for all our travel episodes www.beachtravelwine.com/podcast

DO YOU DREAM OF TRAVELLING ALL OVER THE WORLD – BUT THEN REALISE WHERE YOU LIVE IS THE PERFECT DESTINATION FOR EXPLORING? In today’s episode Lyle and I take you on a walking tour – literally – of our home beach which is the perfect destination for exploring. We are at King's Beach which is part of Caloundra, on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia. We have our microphones on our T-shirts as we wander along the most popular beach in the area – which happens to be across the road from our home. We stroll through the parklands, playgrounds, past restaurants and cafes, the ocean pool and fountain and we describe them all as we go. Many people visit here each year – especially families in the school holidays and it is so beautiful, that we felt we should go out and about to share it with you. Make sure you stay listening to the end where we fill you in on all the activities and places that you can do and visit, all within a 30-minute drive or walk.  We are talking water activities like surfing, jet skiing and sunset cruises as well as visiting world famous tourist attractions like Australia Zoo– Crikey – We tell you where you can go hiking up ancient volcanoes, as well as some secret places away from the crowds with fantastic views. There is so much to do here, and we are so excited to share our little piece of the paradise with you today. If you would like to see all the pictures and maps and show notes then click here www.beachtravelwine.com/podcast/86/caloundra For all our Australian podcast click here www.beachtravelwine.com/australia Please enjoy episode 86.

We travelled to six countries in three continents around the world this year, which gave us heaps of content for our podcast. Thank you for listening and supporting us- it is a true labour of love, and we plan to keep bringing you great travel information and inspiration through our travel adventures from all over the world. Here’s to the next 52 weekly travel episodes, but first let’s give you a quick, fun overview of our favourite places and experiences we had this year, including Mexico, Italy and New Zealand. Stay listening to the end to hear what travel plans we have for 2024, which includes at least five more countries. We also share some of the ways we are going to experiment with the podcast so please enjoy episode 85 all about the best of our 2023 world travels. Find all the information and pictures about Mexico here: www.beachtravelwine.com/mexico Find all the information and pictures about Italy here: www.beachtravelwine.com/italy Find all the information and pictures about New Zealand here: www.beachtravelwine.com/newzealand

We have been interviewed on many podcasts throughout the year, but this one stands out as a favourite.  We spoke to Regan and Allie from the Wanderlusting Wives podcast and we had so much fun. Lyle of course likes to tell all the horror stories and I like to share the nice ones. We talk about man-eating giant jumping crocodiles, becoming an honorary Tuna band member in Spain to the most romantic and idyllic wine drinking spot in Tuscany as well as our run in with a Sniper in Florence, plus heaps more. We had the girls gaping at our stories, laughing at some of our tales and just being blown away by the places we share and things we have done. I’m not sure we gave them much time to ask questions – but in the end it was a great interview full of great travel stories. So please enjoy our fun chat with the Wanderlusting Wives and if you enjoy this podcast you can find more of the girls on all the podcast platforms  or their website www.wanderlustingwives.com or click here www.beachtravelwine.com/podcast/84/wives

We have had so many people join our Beach Travel Wine community this year – especially podcast listeners. With the end of year statistics all out for us podcasters to analyse, it didn’t take much for Lyle and I to realise that our most popular podcast – by far – this year is our episode on Barcelona Spain, although there are a few Italian cities quickly catching up. We decided we are going to re-release it in this episode for those of you who haven’t had the chance to listen to it yet. It was the first city we visited in Spain, and then subsequently went on to explore over 50 more cities and villages throughout this amazing country. In this episode we take you all over Barcelona, from La Rambla, Plaza Real, Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila, Park Guell, the Picaso Museum, the Maritime museum plus heaps more.  We met some great people in this city and share some fun stories as well.  If you would like to see all the pictures of Barcelona, then click on the link below www.beachtravelwine.com/leannes-blog/29/barcelona So please enjoy hearing all about the fabulous city that is Barcelona.

HOW TO BECOME AN IN-DEMAND HOUSE SITTER. HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT HOUSESITTING AS A WAY TO TRAVEL TO PLACES, STAY A BIT LONGER AND CONNECT WITH A LOCAL COMMUNITY? Well I certainly have, but I also had a lot of questions like: What website should I join or do I need to join one? What is the best way to apply for sits? What can I do to give me a better chance of being chosen? What if I don’t have any reviews because I  haven’t started yet? – the questions go on and on and even though house sitting seems like a good idea – it is hard to know where to start. This week’s episode is going to give you all the answers and what next steps you can take if you are seriously considering housesitting. Because this week I am joined on the podcast by Brittnay from the travelling house sitters .com (and don’t worry the links to all the information Brittnay shares will be in the show notes) Brittnay has been house sitting for many years all over the world and she has a great website with lots of information and for those who are really keen a course that has absolutely everything you need to get started today.  Just a heads up – I have done Brittnay’s course and after completing it – I reached out to see if she would come on our show and answer some questions that I know many people have about house sitting. I ask Brittnay some tough questions that I see people talking about online and some of my own reservations and she gives her honest and experienced feedback. For those who are interested in doing her course (which I highly recommend – I learnt so many things I didn’t even consider were important) then there will be a discount code in the show notes. Click on the show notes link below to access Brittnay's excellent housesitting masterclass/course and discount code as well as her website and also find out Britt's top 6 recommended housesitting sites and her contact details here www.beachtravelwine.com/podcast/82/housesit

Unfortunately, it took us four trips to New Zealand before we discovered Arrowtown. We had been recommended by friends and family many times to go.  They all said – you have to go to Arrowtown – it is so beautiful, but we just hadn’t found the time. This trip though we did – and we were not disappointed.  What a gorgeous, quaint little village.  It has a population of just over 3,000 people and is right on the edge of the picturesque Arrow River. Many people come here to explore the varied hikes or bike trails and it is also the starting point for popular wine tours, both guided and bike tours. The main street, Buckingham Street, is like out of a time capsule and is full of fabulous shops and even more fabulous cafes and restaurants, some with fascinating histories. You can wander around town and see all the centuries old miners' huts or walk through the Chinese settlement that still has houses and shops in the original condition from the gold rush days. If you are feeling lucky you can even try your hand at gold panning. The local museum is renowned as being one of the best in New Zealand and is the local tourist information centre as well. If you want to see the pictures or the interactive map as well as the links to the places, we mention then click here www.beachtravelwine.com/podcast/81/arrowtown You can see all our New Zealand series here www.beachtravelwine.com/newzealand or check us out on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/beachtravelwine/ Please enjoy episode 81 all about Arrowtown in New Zealand.

Do you have a bucket list – have you been ticking things off it – well in this episode I get to drag Lyle along – literally-  to another one of my bucket list items that I know is on many other peoples to do before I kick the bucket list as well.  We start our day in the icy, frosty, freezing, pre-sunrise morning and end up floating 7,000 feet over the most spectacular scenery watching the sunrise over snowcapped mountain ranges.  Trust me if hot air ballooning isn’t something you have thought about doing – then you will after this episode. Next activity we share with you probably wouldn’t be classed as a bucket list item – but should definitely be on your to do list if you are in Queenstown and I believe that the end product of this afternoon class, that I once again dragged Lyle along, to is definitely a world first – I can guarantee that no other travel podcast in the world can say they have this. Here’s a hint – it smells good – and no it’s not wine. One of the most popular activities, and for good reason, and another one I had to convince Lyle to do (there’s a theme here) is the famous Shotover jet boat.  Actually, I had to be persuaded into doing this as well – by my grandsons, but it was so worth it. It is a spectacular, exhilarating, fun, entertaining, educational, visually magnificent and another life long memory activity to do in Queenstown. Stay listening to the end to hear the about the activity that I absolutely refuse to do, Lyle too.  No grandchild could persuade me to do this, but if you are braver than me you will want to hear all the details of this death defying activity that was invented in New Zealand. But you can – like we did, sit and sip fabulous Central Otago wine and watch the crazy, I mean brave, people take the plunge. Hope you enjoy Episode 80 all about some fabulous, fun, exhilarating and downright crazy activities that you can do if you are visiting New Zealand. Don’t forget if you would like to see the fabulous pictures I took of all the activities we did (especially the hot air ballooning) then click here www.beachtravelwine.com/podcast/80/bucketlist You can see all our New Zealand podcast, show notes, maps and links here www.beachtravelwine.com/newzealand