Stretching from the coastal town of Caloundra, to Great Sandy National Park in the north, the Sunshine Coast is home to picturesque villages, renowned surfing spots and a spectacular rural backcountry. Surrounded by beaches, Noosa is a tourist destination next to the centre of the Sunshine Coast, with many fashionable shops and trendy cafés dotting Hastings Street. Surfers and golfers will love the holiday town of Coolum, while the lush town of Eumundi in the hinterland of Noosa will please market and art lovers with its famous Eumundi Markets. Maroochydore is the cultural capital of the region, but it is far from being a lively city. From the Sunshine Coast, you can take a car ferry from the village of Tewantin and explore the northern shores of Noosa, the Great Sandy National Park and World Heritage Site.The Sunshine Coast begins with a visit to its backcountry: less than 80 km from the capital is Glass House Mountains National Park, a collection of stocky peaks whose distinctive and stunning silhouettes brighten an otherwise flat landscape of green fields and eucalyptus forests. Beyond the Glass House lies the Sunshine Coast itself: the first beaches appear on the Caloundra and Maroochydore sides, but it is a little further north that the region's tourist centre, Noosa Heads, is located.On Hastings Street's waterfront line up shops, bistros and restaurants, but despite its trendy character, Noosa Heads remains far from the superficial ambience of the Gold Coast. Located at the mouth of the Noosa River and at the southern end of the Great Sandy National Park, Noosa still gives pride of place to nature... and especially aquatic activities! Here, it's very easy to temporarily leave your van or sneakers behind: instead, slide on the waves of the Pacific with a surfboard, or borrow a kayak to explore the wooded meanders of the river. While these activities are the most popular here, they are not the only ones and you will also have the opportunity to try diving, kite surfing or fishing. Or simply take a walk along the footpaths of the national park, where you will have to keep your eyes open and your heads up in the air to have a chance to observe koalas in their natural environment.The Great Sandy National Park can also be visited from the north via Rainbow Beach: here, the trails lead through forests rich in lianas, fig trees and palm trees, growing on sandy soil and sometimes diverging to reveal small freshwater lakes. As for Rainbow Beach itself, it stretches for kilometres: an endless white sandbar bordered on one side by the ocean and on the other by multicoloured cliffs giving its name to the beach.