Expert: Frank Denison - 12/10/2004

Question
Howdy Frank, We are planning an approx. 2 month holiday sometime between Nov. 2005-Feb.2006 and we hope to do some surfing. (2 adults and their children, aged 15 and 19). Please advise us of what you would call the best beach for beginners in your area. And when is the best time to avoid crowds? Many thanks.  The Booth family
PS- we are from vancouver island,bc,canada


Answer
G'Day Booth family,
                  Your holiday sounds fantastic.
The school holidays in Queensland are from around December 10 to January 31, so to avoid crowds, February would be perfect.

I would recommend a place called Mooloolaba beach on the Sunshine Coast It is about an hours drive from the centre of Brisbane. We holiday there at least once a year.
See link - http://www.mooloolabamagic.com/

The beach is great, and Mooloolaba is central to a lot of attractions on the coast. There are plenty of other beaches to try only minutes away from Mooloolaba, but they are more exposed, and the surf can be quite big at times.

A link for value accommodation is http://www.wotif.com/
This link offers all types of accomodation from 5 star to backpackers. You can only book 14 days in advance, but I use it all the time and it is a great site. There are penalties if you cancel though. You will have no problems getting accommodation at that time of the year though. February is a quiet time because all the kids have gone back to school. Two of the places we have stayed at in Mooloolaba are Outrigger Resort, and Landmark. Both are right on the beach, and have everything you need.

Sorry the reply took so long, I was away for most of the weekend.

If you require any more info, please email me direct at
franksue@bigpond.net.au.

I also love showing the city of Brisbane to visitors, so contact me if you  want to do that. I can also advise you of places of interest to see in Brisbane.
Enjoy your stay, and contact me anytime for assistance.

Regards,
Frank & Sue