That's the thing about this stretch of coast. You can say your vows barefoot at sunrise with the ocean going off behind you, and be standing in hinterland cloud with a coffee by nine. Most places make you choose. Here you don't. It's why couples fly in for it and it's why I keep coming back.
[ WHY HERE ]
An hour gets you from the sand to the fog
[ six places ]
Where I'd Take You
1 HR CLIMB · SUNRISE OR LATE
Mt Ngungun is the one I recommend most. A short climb, a huge view, and a summit that feels further from everything than it is. Doable in a dress. Not in heels.
Glass House Mountains
PERMIT REQUIRED · sunrise or sunset
The coastal track, the pandanus, the headland where the water turns that colour. Busy at midday, empty at first light.
Noosa National Park
TELL ME WHERE
There are corners of this coast I'm still working through. If you've got a place that means something, tell me — I'd rather photograph that than another headland.
Somewhere I haven't taken anyone yet
QUIET ON WEEKDAYS · LATE AFTERNOON LIGHT
Old timber buildings, farmland running right up to the road, and a country quiet that Maleny lost a while ago. Twenty minutes from the coast and it feels like another decade.
Yandina
SUNSET · EASY ACCESS
Rocks, spray, the lighthouse, and a sunset that gets the whole sky. Ten minutes from a good dinner, which is not nothing.
Point Cartwright
BEST AT sunrise · 45 MIN FROM NOOSA
Rolling green, the Glass House Mountains on the horizon, and fog that rolls through early and burns off by mid-morning.
Maleny and the hinterlands
National parks and most council land need a permit for a ceremony. Which body issues it depends on exactly where you're standing, and the lead times aren't always short. I'll point you in the right direction on this... — it's part of the planning.
Winter here is the secret. Dry, clear, warm enough, and the light is better. Summer means storms in the afternoon and humidity that will find you.
And there's always a second location agreed before the day. Rain on this coast is usually somewhere else within the hour.
[ the important details ]
Permits, timing, and what nobody tells you
read the whole story
point cartwright. oct 19 2023.
[ real elopement ]
A real Sunshine Coast elopement — Alicia + Jesse
Planning included in every one. Four hours to multiple days, and travel within South East Queensland is included — which, for this coast, means all of it.
[ collections ]
Collections begin at $3,990