I should have said, when I was talking about the Food and Wine Festival, that it is only one part of the Noosa Fiesta, which runs for 90 days from May to July.

One of the other big events is the Noosa Longweekend Festival (June 17 to 26), which is a 10-day arts festival with lots of international performers - always a very diverse and creative line-up.

There's also the Australian Body Art Carnivale in Eumundi (May 13-15) - which gives me an excuse to use this groovy pic - and A Taste of Coolum (June 24-26), which is more great eating and drinking.

The Fiesta also includes the Noosa Winter Festival (May 21-22), which is a two-day sporting festival - cycling, swimming and running - run by the same people who do the Noosa Triathlon.

And there's the King of the Mountain Festival in Pomona (July 24), where not-very-sane people run to the top of Mt Cooroora and back and some ridiculously short time.

There are always lots of accommodation and restaurant deals during Fiesta as well, although I haven't seen any details yet. I will try to remember to come back to you on that one!

Noosa Queensland

Juanita says...

Everything you need to know about your next Noosa holiday is now at your fingertips 24/7, with today's launch of the ByNoosa iPhone App. And if you download the App before the end of March, you could win an Apple iPad!

No matter where you are, you can receive up-to-the-minute information and inspiration about all locations and villages, from Coolum to Hastings Street, Noosaville, Eumundi and the Noosa North Shore, with categories across accommodation, tours, restaurants and bars, shopping, events, spas, attractions, transport services and more.

You might want to know where to stay, where’s the nearest Italian restaurant, how to book a surf lesson or spa treatment, or who’s playing at the local surf club tonight.

There are even interactive maps with GPS capabilities so you can easily find your way here and find your way around once you’re in the region.

Download the ByNoosa App FREE from www.visitnoosa.com.au before March 31 and register your details for a chance to win one of five Apple iPads.

Noosa Qld

Tickets have gone on sale for this year's Audi Noosa Food & Wine Festival - a weekend devoted to two of my favourite things!

The festival runs from May 13 to 15 and you get a 10 per cent discount if you buy tickets before April 1, so you might want to start getting yourself organised.

The event keeps getting better every year and one of the big features this year will be the inaugural Qantas Best Dinner in the World, featuring seven chefs from the 2010 San Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants list.

The program also includes cooking classes, demonstrations, degustation dinners, guest chefs at restaurants, food trails and a load of other food and wine related events.

They certainly know how to pull in the celebrities, with this year's line up including Stephanie Alexander, Maggie and Saskia Beer, Tetsuya Wakuda, Ben O'Donoghue and Matt Preston. And the entertainment line up includes The Australian Michael Jackson Tribute Show and the 100% Kylie Show, which should be fun. 

For more info, or to buy tickets, go to www.noosafoodandwine.com.au.

Noosa Qld

The weather gods weren't very kind for the Ironman and Ironwman finals in Noosa yesterday (they're not being very kind to anyone at the moment, are they??) but it was still a top event. There was a big crowd there, given how wet it was, and the atmosphere was great.

I'm so much in awe of the women and men who do these races. For the Noosa event, which was the final of a five race series, they did a 1.3km swim, 2.3km on the boards and 3.2km on paddle skis - and they do it an incredible speed. They didn't have to contend with the waves they struck at Portsea in Victoria last weekend but they were still challenging conditions.

Here's a snap I took from the balcony of the Surf Club, where it was nice and dry!

Noosa Qld

If you're in Noosa this weekend, the finals of the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Surf Ironman Series and Ironwoman Series will be held on Main Beach, Noosa Heads, on Sunday the 9th.

I went down and watched some of the Coolum event just before Christmas and it was great fun. (And not just because there are super fit bodies everywhere!)

Here are a couple of pics I took at the Coolum event. Hopefully there will be clearer skies for the finals!

South East Queensland has had its fair share of tropical summer downpours lately, so I thought I might put together some ideas for what you can do in Noosa and surrounds when it's wet - along with the obvious options of shopping, dining, pubs and bars, for which wet weather makes a perfect excuse!

* Noosa has a good independent cinema, Noosa 5 Cinemas, on Sunshine Beach Road in Noosa Junction, and there's a cafe downstairs if you want to do a movie/meal deal.

* Kids up to about ten love Panda's Playland (pictured) - and they serve good coffee and food.

* Noosa has an unbelievable number of spas, massage services and other wellbeing options, from glamorous day spas to mobile massage and yoga instruction.

* Underwater World is only about half an hour from Noosa, and there's a shuttle bus service if you need transport. A very appropriate place to spend a wet day!

* There are loads of galleries around Noosa and Eumundi, including the Noosa Regional Gallery, David Hart Galleries, Desert Rain Indigenous Fine Art, Putipula Gallery, The Cooper Gallery and The Gallery Eumundi.

* You can go ten pin bowling in Noosaville.

* Belmondos Fresh Food Market is indoors and is a great place to wander and pick up gourmet goodies if you're a foodie. Or shop and dine at the Organika shop and cafe if you're into organic food.

* The J in Noosa Junction has a wide range of shows, workshops and other entertainment for adults and children. Check their website for listings.

Noosa Queensland

The PGA Championship Australia kicks off at Coolum tomorrow. I'm not going to pretend to know a lot about it, but the big names include Robert Allenby, Geoff Ogilvy, John Daly and Adam Scott.

The championship is held at the Hyatt Regency Coolum, through til Sunday, and you can still get tickets if you want to go along. I'm certainly planning to get down there for a look. Let us just pray for good weather!

Noosa Qld

I was unfortunately away for the Noosa Tri on the weekend but I thought I'd just post a couple of pics from the event.

Aussie Courtney Atkinson won the men's title for the third year in a row, which is a pretty impressive feat in such a hotly contested competition, while Swiss athlete Caroline Steffen was the first woman across the line.

The town was apparently buzzing as usual - not surprising when you know that more than 8000 (not very sane) people compete in the triathlon alone, with several thousand more taking part in other festival events.

(That's Courtney Atkinson on the left, and below is Olympic swimmer Susie O'Neill, who took part in the Legends Tri event. Pictures by Eyes Wide Open Images.)

If you're going to be in Noosa later this month, Sunday the 19th is Noosa Biosphere Day, a free day of music, cultural performances, food, film and information about local plants and sustainability. There will be things for kids as well as adults, and it's going to be held in the Noosa Woods (at the end of Hastings Street), so you can just sit and chill out by the water, too.

It starts at 10am and will go through until about 4pm. For more information, go to the Noosa Biosphere website.

Noosa Queensland

If you’re heading to Noosa between now and the end of August, restaurants and retailers in Hastings Street are giving away ‘Hastings Street Dollars’ that you can use at other businesses along the famous strip. You get $5 if you spend $45, $10 if you spend $95 and so on, and you can use the ‘money’ towards a purchase at another participating eatery or shop.

If you’re staying in accommodation on Hastings Street, you’ll be given $100 Hastings Street Dollars when you check in and the Westpac on Hastings Street is also giving away free Hastings Street notes. The Hastings Street traders have also managed to convince the council to extend parking on the street from one hour to three hours, so you won’t get a ticket while you’re out spending.

Hang on, this is starting to sound a bit like an April Fool’s joke. Banks giving away money and councils giving away parking revenue? That's ridiculous.

Noosa Queensland