the real people of noosa

Tamara Ogilvy

The Groom Room Beauty Lounge - Business Owner

1 Why Noosa? What brought you here?

 

We entered Australia from Zimbabwe and were immediately impressed buy the cleanliness of the country. We spent a few days in Perth, Brisbane and the Gold coast. We came up to Noosa for a week end and literally decided there and then we had to live in noosa. We fell in love with the beach, national park and slower pace Noosa had to offer.


2 What did you do in a former life, before coming to Noosa?

 

I extensively trained with the top international beauty school in Zimbabwe and received a number of world recognised diplomas. I worked with my husband in his transport business, assisting in all management areas and adjusting to motherhood with our new born baby, Daniela.

3 What makes you stay in Noosa?Describe your relationship with the place?

 

We work and live and play in Noosa and have now since 2000. Our children go to the Good Shepherd College in Noosa and have established fantastic friends, great relationships with staff and teachers of the school and we literally wave and say hello to hundreds of people daily. Living in a smaller community such as Noosa allows you to become part of a family, and that is extremely important to us since we left our family in Africa. We still love the beach, and as our two children, Daniela and William grow we are utilising more and more of what noosa has to offer. We cycle, run and walk often on the beautiful tracks, we picnic on the river, socialise and dine out and enjoy the markets. We are very happy and content with living in Noosa and love the many friends we have made over the years.



4 What do you do?

 

I own/manage a beauty salon/day spa called The Beauty Lounge Noosa.(formally The Groom Room) This salon was a dream of mine since I was young, and together with my husband we put together a place where woman and men could enjoy world class treatments by world class therapists in a local salon that catered for the luxury day spa clientele to those simply wanting a wax and everyone in between. We developed a salon that caters for mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, brides, bridal parties and Grooms and with our luxury pick up and drop off service we can cater for large parties.



5 What makes Noosa ‘tick’ and what are its unique characteristics?

 

Noosa is unique in that it has the holiday town sort of feel all year round. Noosa has grown into an area that supports local business and allows local business to grow and develop. Sure there are some restrictions to living in a Small town but the positives way out weigh the negatives. Noosa offers a safe environment for kids to grow and play whatever their age. Noosa is driven by tourism and this area is managed passionately by Tourism noosa, its members and the community. I think the passion people feel for Noosa makes this place unique.



6 How would you describe Noosa to someone with no knowledge of it?

 

Noosa is a place where only the lucky get to live. Stunning beaches, great shopping, excellent dining, fantastic walking and cycling tracks and The Beauty Lounge to treat and pamper your self in.



7 What’s your favourite haunt/spot/view/thing to do around Noosa?

 

We love the beach and can spend hours there. We also love the river front and have many happy memories and photos of days spent there. We have our favourite restaurants which we frequent and each time we walk through the national park off Hastings Street our family marvels at the beauty and has such an uplifting time.



8 Your most unusual Noosa experience…

 

Nothing that comes to mind...



9 Where was your last holiday?

 

We recently went to Hong Kong, for mostly business, but last year went to London and the USA. We had a great time and loved the hustle and bustle, and got our “fix” for big city life. Brisbane is always an enjoyable night, as are the other capital cities of Australia. We are planning a camping holiday soon but as my husband says, “where are we going to go that compares to Noosa? “



10 Name someone who has inspired you and why?

 

I am inspired by acts of kindness as much as life stories packed with motivation and success. I love Louise Hay's book, “You Can Heal Your Life”. I learn so much from it and each time I stumble across it I read various pages, paragraphs and chapters, not from cover to cover but skipping through and loving what I read and how it relates to me.