Spectacular ranges and national parks, picturesque mountain villages, colourful roadside markets, cosy retreats, quality galleries, and a myriad of other attractions, merge together to render the Sunshine Coast's Hinterland as irresistible! Plan an extended visit as there's more to see and do than even the most complacent tourist could cover in one day.

Supplying the dramatic visual beginning to the southern end of the hinterland are the 300m high volcanic crags of the Glass House Mountains. Rising suddenly out of the coastal plain, the knuckles of these bizarre granite fingers are surrounded by dense tropical wilderness, protected by the four separate pockets of the Glass House Mountains National Park. Traversing the park are several scenic 4WD tracks and bushwalks, beginning close to the charming mountain towns of Beerburrum and Beerwah.

Also on the outskirts of Beerwah is the popular wildlife park of Australia Zoo. Home to TV's famous "Crocodile Hunter", the zoo plays a leading role in conservation through education, holding excellent interactive animal presentations every half hour throughout the day. Highlights include a cuddle from a friendly giant python, petting koalas, hand feeding kangaroos, and feeding time of the enormous, 170 year old Galapagos land tortoise "Harriet".

A short drive north of Beerwah, the pretty town of Landsborough lies at the junction of the hinterland's best tourist drives. Having just followed the scenic Glass House Mountains Drive to this point, the winding mountainous route then branches to the west before beginning it's breathtaking journey across the Blackall Ranges.

Providing much of the Sunshine Coast's stunning backdrop, the Blackall Ranges rolling green pastures, lush rainforests, and gorgeous mountain villages, create the perfect setting for a pleasurable rural getaway. The villages of Melany, Montville and Mapleton are all currently riding the craft craze, and are brimming with galleries, craft studios, and knick-knack speciality stores. Adjacent residences are invariably filled by quaint cafes or sidewalk restaurants, which are only matched in supply by the region's countless number of secluded B&B and guesthouse retreats. If escaping into the wilderness on foot is more your style, the Kondilla National Park on the western slopes of the range, encompasses 330 hectares of broad sweeping valleys, waterfalls, gorges, and rainforest. Three separate walks around the park allow you take in the scenery, as do the picnic and barbeque facilities just beyond the entrance. On the more remote side of the Blackall Ranges, the Conondale National Park protects a more extensive area, and contains the equally spectacular Conondale Ranges. Accessible only via forestry roads, it's location has seen the vast eucalypt and rainforests remain relatively untouched. If you don't have a 4WD, Adventures Downunder (see tours & trips in Things to Do) run excellent tours into this pristine wilderness.

At the northern foothills of the Blackall Range, Nambour is the largest town and the commercial centre of the hinterland. The fertile fields surrounding the town are well utilised, and crops of tropical fruit, macadamia nuts, and sugarcane are grown extensively in the region. Kitsch attractions such as The Big Pineapple, The Ginger Factory, Nutworks Macadamia Processing Factory, and the Honey Factory put the shire's quality produce on display in an interesting way. Also on Nambour's outskirts, the Aussie World complex is home to the cartoon based Ettamogah Pub, as well as a carnival fairground and a bunch of other Australiana shops and attractions.

Further north following the Bruce Highway, the charming rural townships of Eumundi and Cooroy lie less than twenty kilometres from Noosa and the coast. Thousands flock to Eumundi every Wednesday and Saturday morning for the famous Eumundi Village Markets. Spread throughout every nook and cranny along the main street, the colourful collection of fruit and vegetables, arts and crafts, jewellery, and anything else on the cheap is well worth a look.

Marking the end of the Sunshine Coast's hinterland and the start of the Fraser Coast, the large country centre of Gympie is essentially a market town, supporting the thriving local pastoral industries. Born out of a gold rush essential to Queensland's future the 1860's, reminders of the town's illustrious heritage still survive through it's numerous colonial buildings and museums. Today Gympie is most celebrated as the host of the huge Country Music Muster, held at the end of August, and the Goldrush Festival every October. The town also provides the inland route to the isolated coloured beaches of Cooloola National Park.