As I entered my third trimester, we wanted to plan a ‘babymoon’ for a final adventure before the baby was born. Staying at The Langham in Melbourne, the original plan was a winter getaway. I wanted to wrap up warm, walk the city streets and parks, enjoy a luxury hotel, maybe catch a show, and eat my body weight in treats. But, with the borders closing again due to Covid, it was not meant to be and the entire trip was cancelled a couple of days before.

However, as we had time booked off work, we thought — ‘what should we do that we probably can’t do with a small child for a few years?’ Introducing our Juicy hired campervan, we decided to road trip through as much of Queensland as we could in four days.

Starting in Brisbane, the first checkpoint was a 90-minute drive to the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, staying at Noosa Hinterland Retreat. We’ve stayed here before and loved it so much we had to come back. With a couple of days of camping ahead, I wanted to have at least one comfortable sleep and this retreat in the trees was perfect. The following morning, we popped into Kin Kin General Store for breakfast which operates as both a convenience store and cafe. Set in a cute village with a menu created from fresh, local produce and a lovely outdoor area to sit in, it’s a real wholesome experience here. Read more about my previous trips to Noosa here.

Next up we traveled another 90 minutes to the historical town of Maryborough on the Fraser Coast. Wandering past heritage buildings, we found the Gallipoli to Armistice Trail at Queens Park where you can learn more about the original Anzacs who fought in the 1914-18 Great War.

What I was most looking forward to though was all things Mary Poppins. Author of the series of books P.L.Travers was born in Maryborough and spent the first few years of her life there so the town is very proud. We visited the Mary Poppins Statue, crossed over the road at the Mary Poppins-themed pedestrian lights, and had a peek at The Story Bank museum which tells the author’s story. I wish we could have gone in but alas, we had Albus with us — next time!

That afternoon we drove a further 30 minutes to Hervey Bay, the world’s whale-watching capital. A must-see attraction here is Urangan Pier, one of the longest in Australia, stretching for almost one kilometre into the ocean. Arriving just before sunset, our timing was perfect to capture those beautiful fiery colours over the water.

Over at The Palms Caravan Park, that evening was the first night of sleeping in the campervan. After a BBQ, we settled down with Albus on the double mattress inside and soon realised the air gets thin fast and it wasn’t going to work! Fortunately, there’s an upstairs compartment and as I was edging 30 weeks pregnant, good luck to me getting up and down comfortably so Joe drew the short straw. Surprisingly, we all slept pretty well and Albus even gave us a lie-in as he had no FOMO being away from us.

Day three and the weather was horrendous with heavy rain so we headed over to Enzo’s on the Beach for a hot breakfast and coffee. As an airy cafe overlooking the esplanade, it was quite cosy watching the rain as we ate, and dogs were most welcome.

Our next stop was three hours north in the Town of 1770. It’s a lovely scenic drive and we especially enjoyed driving past the sugar cane fields in Bundaberg. Staying at 1770 Eco Camp, this has to be my favourite camping spot in a long time. It’s spacious, dog-friendly, full of nature and you can build a fire. With toilets and a camp kitchen on-site too, it’s the perfect blend of freedom while staying comfortable. We were parked up next to the glamping tents and as they were unoccupied, I had a little look inside and wow, I was so impressed. I would love to try those out another time.

Waking up on our final day, we had just enough time to grab a coffee and pop over to Agnes Water Main Beach. This town and beach are so wholesome and family-friendly — I can see why accommodation books up fast. The sun was shining and it was a lovely final destination before the 6-hour drive home.

To break up the route, we made a small detour to the coastal town of Bagara to have lunch at The Windmill Cafe. I saw a photo of this place months ago and wanted to try it out ever since and it was a good decision — the staff are especially lovely. Albus even got his first ‘doggy gelato’ which was gone in seconds.

All in all, it wasn’t the babymoon we originally had in mind but an adventure nonetheless to explore new places on our Queensland doorstep. It really is a beautiful state and I thoroughly recommend experiencing it by road.