Two Lookouts Tour
By Alex Molocznyk.
Following the brutal Queensland winter and the Covid lockdown incarcerations, the first run of Spring was eagerly anticipated. Peter and Leanne Drane with the advantage of local knowledge put together a great route through the back roads of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.
The September spring morning start at Landsborough was overcast with a threat of rain that fortunately did not eventuate. Some of the early arrivers had a reasonably priced, generously sized breakfast and coffee at The Steaming Cup while waiting for the start. With the formalities of the briefing every person attending received a surprise goodie bag filled for the trip with sweets, munchies and a large tube of Soodox Vytal Hand Sanitiser.
A good turn up of twelve cars were split into two groups and a short distance after the start a navigational incident had Greg and Chris’s Elan heading along a wrong road and separating from the their group. By the time they realised their situation they decided to go directly to the morning tea stop. Unfortunately they missed some of the best roads and panoramas of the day. The roads around Mount Mellum and Bald Knob were stages of the Suncoast Rally a number of years ago and were still just as enjoyable at legal road speeds.
Overcast skies dulled the otherwise spectacular Sunshine Coast views all the way to the first regroup stop at the first lookout that was a photo shoot at Howells Knob Lookout. The route continued along Lotus friendly roads descending to Mooloolah Valley for a morning tea stop at Cafe Mooloolah where reasonably priced enormously sized morning teas were enjoyed in the spring sunshine.
Three cars left the run for the second half of the drive to the second lookout and then lunch so the two groups combined into one. The route went to Mooloolah Valley then along the highway to Noosaville (the land of a thousand roundabouts) and onto a regroup at Point Arkwright Lookout for a view of the magnificent seascape extending from the north to the south of the Sunshine Coast. The sea was windblown and choppy with not much happening, but as we were leaving a sea eagle swooped in and hovered over us showing off a sizeable bream that it had caught.
Then it was a short motorway trip to the finish for lunch in Palmview at the quirky Banana Bender Pub. The Queensland themed pub reserved parking at the front and a separate balcony room for the Lotus Club. It has an extensive menu based on locally sourced ingredients and the generously sized meals went down well with everybody.
Those returning to Brisbane encountered a tediously slow end-of-holiday weekend traffic crawl. However it did not detract from the enjoyment of the rest of the day. Peter and Leanne put together a successful run that should have been named the two lookouts gourmet tour.
