This is arguably Maleny’s most photographed paddock – it’s also probably it’s most generous.
One Tree Hill, with its iconic single tree and magic views over the Glasshouse Mountains, is a favourite with wedding photographers. Before you go tearing up there though, this is private property and a working farm. I took the pic above from outside the fence on a weekday when the traffic was sparse.
Between 308 & 349 Mountain View Road, Maleny. If visiting Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve drive further down Mountain View Road southwards. You’ll see One Tree Hill on your left. Note: you can’t park on that side of the road.
The rules…
If you want to use the spot for photography, you need to make a booking ahead of time and make a small donation of $50. Every single cent goes to local community charities such as The Men’s Shed, the Maleny Historical Society, Busy Needles, Maleny Senior Citizens, the Naval Cadets and the Maleny Show Society.
The people who know about the weather are forecasting heat waves this weekend on the Sunshine Coast. For those of you who have had it up to here with Sydney’s summer temperatures and those disgusting 40+C days (I so don’t miss those), a heat wave here means that temperatures on Saturday and Sunday could get into the mid-thirties. Inland, of course, it will be warmer.
Where am I going with this? Somewhere a few degrees cooler and very green, that’s where.
There’s something about mottled sunlight through a green canopy that instantly cools you down, don’t you think? Or perhaps, it’s rainforest with a lake view that does it?
Whatever it is, Secrets on the Lake has just that – rainforest and lake – and it’s far enough out of town that you feel as though you’re discovering somewhere new.
Open for breakfast, lunch and morning and afternoon teas, it was Sunday lunch for us.
I’m having a bit of a thing about prawn cocktails at the moment – both as the classic dish and reimagined into a roll or a deconstructed salad, so I had the crab and prawn bruschetta ($18). It was light and tasty.
Hubby went for the BLT ($20)- and let me say there was some eating in that.
And Miss T chose (as we knew she would) the Atlantic Salmon, Crushed Potato and Dill, Green Beans, and Hollandaise ($26).
Price? $$
Light eats available below $20
Mains and burgers around the $24-$26ish range
Where?
207 Narrow Rd, Montville.
If you’re heading from Montville to Maleny, turn right just outside of Montville towards Lake Baroon and if you’re heading from Maleny to Montville, turn left just before Montville.
The smashed duo – pumpkin & avo – at One Block Back
I’m a big fan of the weekend breakfast, but let’s be honest – not all avo smashes are created equally. So where’s the best breakfast on the coast? I have no idea…yet, but here are 10 of my favourites.. so far…in no particular order… Watch this space for part 2!
The Shak, Buderim
Since moving to the Sunshine Coast, we find that we’ve been naturally eating in a way that is more aligned to the seasons than we ever did in Sydney. A very welcome aside to this is that much of our produce is grown or sourced locally – or relatively locally. The Shak Organic Cafe and Wine Bar prides itself on being Buderim’s only organic cafe – and one that is pretty much as local as you can get.
Located in the centre of Buderim Village, we couldn’t go past their version of eggs benedict – served on herbed potato rosti rather than bread. I’d go as far as to say it is one of the best eggs bennies I’ve had – and so so pretty. Next time, though, I’m trying the Balinese black rice pudding…
The Velo Project, Mooloolaba
A quirky interior and great food and coffee makes this cafe – located a few blocks back from the Esplanade – worth seeking out.
The avo smash is great and there’s a huge range of fresh juices and herbal teas available, but my fave (so far) is the pumpkin and goats curd “gnocchi” with chorizo, avocado, rosemary roasted chickpeas and sage butter.
The Velo Project is open 7am – 3pm 7 days a week. You’ll find it at 19 Careela Street, Mooloolaba.
One Block Back, Moffat Beach
If I were really pushed for a favourite from this group of cafes – and I mean really pushed – it would probably be a toss-up between here and The Velo Project…although I do love #Phresh… Seriously though, it would come down to the quirk factor, and OBB has it in spades.
Located in a quiet street back from the main Moffat Beach Village, One Block Back would be equally at home in Abbotsford as it is here on the Sunshine Coast.
The eggs benedict with pulled pork, beetroot relish and paprika emulsion is a winner, as is the beans with eggs and ham hock. The award for prettiest breakfast though has to go to the nutella panacotta with banana rolled in granola and a whole host of other gorgeous bits.
You’ll find more instaworthy pictures of food on their Facebook page. One Block Back is open from 7am.
Hashtag Phresh, Mooloolaba
A relatively new offering on The Esplanade, #Phresh also has one of the cheaper avo smashes on the strip. At $10.50, with tomato, feta and dukkah, it’s a very satisfying brekky.
The #BennieBagel is also very good – and highly instagrammable. If, however, you’re into acai bowls – I’ve told you before about my suspicion that there are more acai bowls per head of population sold here than anywhere else – and smoothies, you’ll be well chuffed by what’s on offer.
#Phresh is open from 6.30am 7 days a week. You’ll find it on the Esplanade at the base of the Landmark Resort.
Update June 2018 – Hashtag Phresh is now closed
One on La Balsa Cafe, Buddina
We tried this place at the end of a walk around the Pt Cartwright headland and down the path to Kawana, but you don’t need to make any excuses. Located opposite La Balsa Park, there’s plenty of parking and always something happening in the park or on the water.
The avo smash with bacon was yummy, but my daughter – who fancies herself an expert on acai bowls – declared this one a winner.
One on La Balsa is open from 6.30am Tuesday – Sunday. You can find out more here.
Elliott’s Bistro, Alexandra Headland
From the minute we walked in I knew that Elliott’s would know how to do smashed avo the way it’s meant to be done. It wasn’t just the soundtrack – Bob Dylan and This Wheels On Fire – it was the service, the cute beach-side shopfront, the whole package.
We weren’t disappointed. Miss 19 was well impressed with her avo smash – which she declared up to Melbourne standards. It came with perfectly poached eggs and sharp, salty feta perched on top for the perfect avo. Hubby made his version even more perfect by adding bacon and tomato.
Elliott’s also know that anyone can do the basic bacon and eggs, but a great breakfast place should do that plus something a little more interesting. Something like, say, potato and gruyere croquettes. Served with fried eggs, bacon, a dollop of relish and a dab of blue cheese, this was bacon and eggs with hash browns taken to a much higher level.
You’ll find Elliott’s across the road from the beach at 102 Alexandra Parade. It’s open from 7am. Their Facebook page is here.
Kimnat Little Market and Cafe, Woombye
We found this place accidentally one morning when the ATM wasn’t working at Hinterland Harvest and we ran out of cash for breakfast. The closest ATM was in the IGA at Woombye, and just down the road was this little treasure trove.
The smashed avo was beyond good – so much eating, so many herbs and greens – and the tarot and guidance cards on the tables outside were just another fabulous little new agey touch.
Ok, the first thing you need to know about this place is that it’s huge. The next thing that you should take into account is just how popular it is. And why wouldn’t it be? Just off the Esplanade in Brisbane Rd, CK really is a healthy alternative.
Now, I’ve never been one to have my coffee other than as real coffee, but if you’re into turmeric lattes (which it seems half of the Coast is) or matcha or dandelion lattes, you’ll be in heaven. Of course there’s a great range of coffees and black as well as herbal teas also available. When it comes to food, CK has all your paleo and raw food options covered, plus more for the, shall we say, more dietary challenged.
I chose the Japanese pancakes – okonomiyake – with perfectly cooked salmon and a poached egg and was absolutely not disappointed.
Open from 6am for coffee and 7am for breakfast 7 days a week. Check out their full menu here.
Monica’s at Maleny
Maleny is a town with plenty to offer the hungry breakfast seeker, but it was Monica’s that we chose when arranging a real-life meet-up of social media friends. I had the baked eggs, and my friends had the eggs benedict. Gluten free requests were handled without fuss. My only regret? I was too busy chatting to take photos. Ooops.
Monica’s is open 7am – 3pm 7 days a week. Their website is here.
Decisions Cafe
The premise of this place is fabulous – decisions. Your first decision is choosing between the superfood or super junk menu – and this is not a decision to take lightly.
Another place where we went for the avo smash and acai bowl, but for the life of me I can’t find the pics! You’ll have to take my word for it.
Decisions is open from 6am at 10 Capital Pl, Birtinya.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, you’ll need to go a long way before you see jumping as good as this.’
‘And look at the condition of the ground – you don’t get it better than this.’
‘No, you don’t – you’re in Maleny now. It’s doesn’t get any better than this.’
The ground announcers weren’t wrong – it doesn’t get much better than this.
Besides, what’s not to like about a show?
There’s food, and animals, and rides, and showbags, and ring events. There are also substances masquerading as food (dagwood dogs, I’m looking at you…) but we can forgive that. There’s the CWA tent, woodchopping, singers performing both kinds of music – country and western – showjumping, and so much more. Being a country show, you can even look at agricultural supplies and tractors – if you’re that way inclined.
We wandered through the vegetable displays, the baking, the art, and the fabulous produce that the schools on the Sunshine Coast are growing. There’s really something so wonderful about seeing the numbers of entries and the efforts the entrants have put into their offerings. I was, however, concerned that there were prizes given for the best chokos…my memories of them from childhood were not good!
We watched the judging of the dairy cattle, were crowded in the poultry shed, and sat and watched the showjumping while enjoying a fabulous lunch from the Mexican Cantina – the TS Jalopeno (supporting the Navy Cadets). This burrito bowl was more than I could eat, and was great value at $8. Yes, you heard that right. They even had little tables decorated. Very pleasant indeed.
Sure, you can blow a fortune on showbags and rides and crap food, but you can also have hours of fun for not a lot of money – and some really really good food as well. I wish that we’d seen the Black Angus Burgers earlier – and the swim club was selling roast dinners piled on plates for only about $12 (or was it $15?). I was also really tempted by the bahn mi and green papaya salad on offer at the Vietnamese food truck.
Anyways, Maleny Show is in its 80th year and it’s on again tomorrow Saturday June 3, 2017. Go to the show website for more information – and details about park and ride. There were big crowds there today and with tomorrow also forecast to be a cracker (weather wise) I suspect there’ll be even more people there tomorrow.
A noisy and overexcited reaction or response to something…
Synchronicity
noun
The simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.
It was synchronicity that led us to lunch at Brouhaha Brewery. Synchronicity and instagram. You see, it was a few days before Mother’s Day and my husband had uncharacteristically failed to organise a venue for lunch. Which translates to he realised that Mother’s Day was on Sunday, hadn’t booked anywhere, had no idea where to book, so threw his hands up in the air and said, ‘well, I don’t know where you want to go!’
As it happened, I’d been scrolling through instagram and just happened to see a post from Brouhaha. ‘Here,’ I said. ‘Let’s try here.’ Synchronicity.
So we did.
Mother’s Day is rarely a good day to try a new place out. The menu is usually cut down, the service staff are run ragged, and every last available inch of space is occupied. And yes, that was the case with Brouhaha too – but it was Mother’s Day – and we ate early enough that the roast was fresh and good (a real Sunday roast with proper yorkies, perfectly cooked veg and fresh horseradish…yes, fresh – not out of a jar).
Plus, the service was still good…and the pork scratchings with beer mustard dip worth the trip alone.
Beer paddle
pork scratchings
Sunday roast beef
‘We’ll come back another day,’ we promised ourselves. ‘When it’s not Mother’s Day and the full menu is available.’
That someday was today. With beer loving friends in town, it was the perfect excuse to revisit Brouhaha. This time around we took our time, chose the beer for the paddle, and sat outside on the deck.
The verdict? I think we’ll need to come back again some time to make really sure that it’s worth coming back 🙂
The view from the deck
another beer paddle
Salmon with potato salad
Ploughman’s paddle
roast beef, haloumi, mushroom pizza
Pate and toast
You’ll find Brouhaha Brewery in Coral Street, Maleny. Booking is recommended and, the best bit, there’s plenty of parking. If you’re after more information, you can find it on the website. Oh, and there’s even an open fire for those cold, wintry, Sunshine Coast days…
I’m not sure whether it’s the bookstores, the photo gallery, the cafe’s, the fabulous cheese range at Maleny Food Co, or the organic-y, new age-y places, but Maleny is probably my favourite town to visit in the Hinterland. Perhaps it’s just the general vibe of the place.
Sunshine Coasting 