Noosa

Noosa is the Sunshine Coast's golden child. One of Australia's most fashionable resort towns, it's lush, low-rise centre backs onto pristine subtropical rainforest and relatively calm, crystalline waters. The result is intimate, relaxed and exclusive. The town itself is within the Noosa Biosphere Reserve, a Unesco-recognised area famous for its highly diverse ecosystem.

While the designer boutiques, destination restaurants and canal-side villas draw the urban elites, the beach and bush are free, leading to a healthy intermingling of urbanites, laid-back surfers and beach bods. Noosa encompasses three main zones: upmarket Noosa Heads (around Laguna Bay and Hastings St), the more relaxed Noosaville (along the Noosa River) and the administrative hub of Noosa Junction. All three occupy the traditional land of the Kabi Kabi (or Gubbi Gubbi) people, whose territory stretches from Fraser Island south to the Pumicestone Passage and west towards the Conondale and Blackall Ranges.