Here are some more out-there treatments with a difference to detox your body and brain.
Vinotherapy
Clinging to research that affirms red wine is connected to good health?
Why not marinate in it?
At Lost World Spa at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat in the Gold Coast Hinterland, a three-hour vinotherapy treatment awaits.
You may feel like a side of beef as you soak in the warm tub with a bottle of shiraz poured in, but after a full-body exfoliation and red grape and clay body wrap to infuse those antioxidants, you can expect to feel like a younger, tighter version of you. There’s also numerous studies about the health benefits of taking CBD, you can get CBD pills online at Kushie Bites.
A shower of sound
In the Byron Hinterland, chakra cleansing, crystal healing and monk-inspired spa therapies are as easy to come by as almond milk on menus.
At Gaia Retreat & Spa , you can join a group Sound Meditation (or book a one-on-one) to harmonise your bodily frequencies. Sound weird?
It feels a little out there, too, when you’re led through a guided meditation then immersed in a ‘shower’ of flutes, Tibetan bowls, and didgeridoo tones.
This hypnotic experience is designed to release anxiety, charge the brain and give you razor-sharp clarity.
Sensory deprivation
On the Sunshine Coast, The Float Space has three space-age pods loaded with 500 kilograms of Epsom salts in 25 centimetres of water, designed to erase the stresses of the outside world, so the body’s parasympathetic response can kick in.
One hour in the pod is said to be equivalent to four-to-eight hours of deep sleep.
Champagne scrub
Perhaps not so much weird as mouth-watering, the Signature Vino Spa Ritual at Spicers Vineyards Estate in the Hunter Valley kicks off with a pink Champagne scrub followed with a cocoa butter body wrap, choc mousse and cacao nib face scrub, and a facial infusion that contains 1000 milligrams of freeze-dried shiraz.
With visions of hosting Getaway, Celeste Mitchell graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism and entered the hard-hitting world of boy bands, puberty, and fashion, writing for magazines like Girlfriend, Total Girl, CLEO and TV Hits in the early noughties (there was a lot of Twilight references). Since switching gears to full-time freelancer in 2013, focused exclusively on travel, she’s criss-crossed the globe, opened a co-working space, lived in Mexico, and co-founded slow and sustainable site, Life Unhurried. The Sunshine Coast-based author (Life Unhurried & Ultimate Beaches Australia, Hardie Grant) and mum of two regularly pinches herself that she gets to explore new places and ask all the nosy questions she wants in the name of work.
City buzz, gourmet trails, surf breaks and art scenes are all at your fingertips.
When it comes to planning a trip, picking a holiday destination is the easy part. The real dilemma is where to set yourself up for the night. Do you go coastal, city, or countryside? Somewhere remote and rugged, or right in the action? Luckily, the Sunshine Coast, and huge number of amazing Sunshine Coast day trips, have kindly made the choice for you.
Ditch the hotel-hopping and suitcase-lugging. Instead, base yourself at Novotel Sunshine Coast or Mantra Mooloolaba , where big-city culture, vine-covered valleys, and theme parks are all within a two-hour drive.
1. Sunshine Coast to Brisbane
Drive time: 1 hour 20 minutes (105km)
Shake off the sand from your sandals and swap the beach for the throb of the Queensland capital. Ease in gently with a bougainvillea-filled stroll through South Bank, iced latte in hand, before cooling off at Streets Beach lagoon – Brisbane’s answer to the coast (but without the waves).
Once firmly in big-city mode, hit up the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) , home to Australia’s largest collection of modern and contemporary artworks. Dive into the past at the Queensland Museum, where prehistoric fossils of Australian dinosaurs and megafauna collide with First Nations cultural collections and interactive science exhibits.
All this learning got you hungry? Howard Smith Wharves calls. Here, riverside dining delivers breweries with meat-forward menus, Japanese fine dining and overwater bars. If you’ve got room for more, Fortitude Valley’s shopping boutiques await you and your wallet.
Wander the Gallery of Modern Art. (Image: TEQ)
2. Sunshine Coast to the Scenic Rim
Drive time: 2 hours 15 minutes (170km)
Make your way inland to the Scenic Rim for the state’s best vineyards and age-old volcanic slopes. Start your day early (like, sparrow’s breakfast early) at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat in Lamington National Park . Here, take a treetop walk through the canopy and hand-feed the wild birds who flock here.
Next, it’s your turn to eat. Here, the food scene operates where locally sourced produce is an expectation, not an exception. Order a picnic basket crammed with regional wine and cheese to devour next to the creek at Canungra Valley Vineyards . Or perhaps a grazing platter of vegan and non-vegan cheeses at Witches Falls Winery .
Feeling bold? Tackle the Twin Falls circuit in Springbrook National Park. Or keep the gourmet life going with a Scenic Rim Brewery tasting paddle, best enjoyed while taking in the rise of the Great Dividing Range.
Enjoy a cheese platter at Witches Falls Winery. (Image: TEQ)
3. Sunshine Coast to the Gold Coast
Drive time: 2 hours (180km)
Surf, sand and sparkling skylines might be the Gold Coast’s MO, but there’s more to Surfers Paradise and beyond. Kick things off with a beachfront coffee at Burleigh Heads, then hike through Burleigh Head National Park to look over the ocean and whale sightings (dependent on the season, of course).
Cool off in the calm waters of Tallebudgera Creek before chowing down on the famously buttery Moreton Bay bug rolls at Rick Shores . Travelling with the kids? Then you can’t miss Australia’s theme park capital, with Dreamworld ’s big rides and Warner Bros. Movie World ’s Hollywood treatment at hand to keep the family entertained.
Dive into Tallebudgera Creek. (Image: TEQ)
4. Sunshine Coast to Tweed Heads
Drive time: 2 hours 15 minutes (200km)
Dare to cross enemy lines? Then welcome to New South Wales. Tweed Heads blends the laid-back attitude of the Northern Rivers with high-quality dining, experimental art, and farm-fresh indulgence – a combo worth the drive.
Start strong with a long, lazy brunch at Tweed River House , then swing by Tropical Fruit World for exotic finds like red dragon fruit, handfuls of lychees and black sapote. Next, hit M|Arts Precinct – an art deco hub of micro galleries, artist workshops and one-off boutiques.
Round off the day with sunset drinks at Husk Distillers among the glowing cane fields, and order one with their famous Ink Gin. You’ll thank us later.
Taste the famous Ink Gin at Husk Distillers. (Image: Destination NSW)
5. Sunshine Coast Hinterland
Drive time: 1 hour (70km)
Strap on those hiking boots and make tracks inland, where volcanic peaks, misty rainforest and hinterland townships beckon. Ease in with the Glass House Mountains Lookout Walk, or, if you have energy to burn, tackle the Mount Ngungun Summit Walk for a 360-degree sight of the surrounding summits.
Next: Montville. This township delivers European-style architecture and old-world appeal. Nearby, settle in at Flame Hill Vineyard, where a large pour of estate-grown wine comes with encompassing views of the countryside.
Not ready to leave the hinterland villages just yet? Of course not. Meander past art galleries and indie shops at Maleny. Nab some fudge from Sweets on Maple for a sweet fix. Or go salty at Maleny Dairies with a farm tour and a chunky wedge of their deliciously creamy cheese.
End the day among the eucalypts and rainforests of Kondalilla National Park. Here, the Kondalilla Falls Circuit winds down through trees humming with life to a rock pool beneath a waterfall – as if designed for soaking tired feet before heading back to the coast.
Take on the Mount Ngungun Summit Walk (Image: TEQ)
